This Journey Our Life: 31 Days of Support—Day 9: The importance of joining a support group

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Read 31 Days of Support in Your Special Needs Parenting Journey from the beginning, here.

Shortly after our daughter’s premature birth we were notified of a support group being offered there at the hospital. This support group was specifically for parents whose babies were currently in the NICU.

They made it as convenient as possible for parents to attend, offering the support group once a week during the hour and half the NICU was closed for shift change.

Happy to fill our waiting time, we decided to join.

Little did we know our decision to join would be one that still impacts our lives today.

After attending the support group for some time, we met another couple whose daughter was born prematurely a few months following Cami’s birth. We developed a mutual friendship, unaware of the blessing they would come to be in our lives.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, our friend Kim has “…extensive experience working with families and persons with disabilities from extremely premature infants to senior citizens and every age in between. She served as a teacher of students with visual impairments for several years and continues to teach graduate level courses as an adjunct instructor for a consortium of five Virginia Universities. She has more than 13 years of experience as a congressional advocate for disability related issues and is a former staffer for a U.S. Senator. Kimberly is a contributing author to Raising a Child with Albinism: a Guide to the Early Years published in 2008 by the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation’s (NOAH). Kimberly also has developed numerous research projects and curricula for persons with visual impairments parents/guardians/caregivers and service providers.” (excerpt from the Amante Mariamu website).

Though we don’t get together as often as we’d like, we keep up to date through Christmas cards, Facebook, birthday parties, and the occasional phone call (during which Kim graciously extends her listening ear and offers her invaluable advice and input regarding Cami’s visual impairment and any struggles pertaining to such).

I believe only God could have orchestrated the details in this story and I’m thankful He chose to allow our paths to cross with that couple from the support group, a couple whom we now consider dear friends.

So, go ahead—join a support group today.

You never know who you’ll meet.

Unsure of how or where to find a support group? Stayed tuned for tomorrow’s post in which I’ll be sharing an overview of various types of groups, each offering support for parents raising a child with special needs.

Your Journey: Have you ever participated in a support group? How did it help you in your journey? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Have an extra minute? Click on a box below to check out a three of my blogging friends also participating in the 31 Days series, hosted by the Nester: