My beautiful daughter Adalynn

By Caris

My beautiful daughter Adalynn is now eight years old, but when she was a baby, I noticed that she never met her milestones on time.

Alarm bells went off in my mind, so when Adalynn was around nine months old, I decided to get her checked out by a doctor. We were referred to specialists, and testing began.

One month later, we were told Adalynn had suffered a massive stroke as a small baby. I just about fell off my chair when the doctor told me.

My baby had suffered a stroke! I thought that was only something that happened to older people.

We were told it was uncertain if Adalynn would ever walk or talk. It was a bleak diagnosis.

I was terrified about Adalynn’s future and mixed in with that terror was guilt. Had I done something to cause this stroke, and could I have done something differently? I have struggled with this emotion over the years. Paediatric stroke isn’t anyone's fault – never was and never will be.

Adalynn began intense therapy. We had a lot of hurdles to get over, there were the impacts of the stroke to deal with, and we live in regional WA, so we do not always have the same access to therapies close by as people living in the city. This can be hard because we all just want to do the absolute best for our kids.

We noticed early on that ‘sibling power’ has had an enormous impact on Adalynn’s progress.

Adalynn’s big brother Bentley was only a year older when ten-month-old Adalynn started therapy. Bentley was always better at getting her to cooperate in therapy than I was! Most of the time the therapist and I would ask Bentley to do the activity first, knowing he would be able to coach Adalynn into completing it!

Then when three more siblings were born, natural big sister instincts, and competitiveness, kicked in. Adalynn taught herself to use the PlayStation consul one-handed. I challenge anyone to do that – but she does, and well.

Adalynn also climbs on playground equipment, including the thick rope netting which kids love. She does this despite having cerebral palsy, left-side weakness, epilepsy, global development delay, hip issues, and visual defects – and despite her parents warning her not to.

Do I sound like a proud Mum? I am!

This little girl has taught our family so many lessons. She fills my mind with awe and my heart with absolute love. The fear I had in the beginning has faded – thankfully.

She has taught me patience, forgiveness, strength, and to never give up just because you are told you can’t do something. Adalynn is such a loving child. I’m really honoured to be her mother and can’t wait to see where she goes in life.

In the beginning we thought that Adalynn would not walk or talk, but eight years later she can walk, and she can definitely talk. 😊

My daughter has been poked, prodded, uncomfortably stretched, and put to sleep more than any child I know, but we have been so blessed through every experience. We’ve had amazing therapists and doctors and have experienced the most beautiful acts of kindness from friends, family, and our community.

This road has not been easy, and I would certainly stop the pain for her if I could, but I wouldn’t change one thing about Adalynn. She has shown me such strength and courage in so many situations, which I have been lucky enough to witness firsthand.

She is an amazing child who does not let anything stop her.

From Caris

P.S. For the parents reading this, you are part of a club now. You get to experience things others will never understand. It can be unbelievably frightening, but also amazingly wonderful.