Avery's Bucket List

I'm not someone who needs to read about what's going on in the world to appreciate my life.  I don't need to hear about infertility to appreciate being pregnant or having a wonderful child, I don't need to hear about lousy husbands or women losing husbands to think mine is a rock star (and to tell him as much), and I don't need to hear about struggling families to be grateful for the roof over my head and food in my mouth.  That said, there are some things in life that I hear or read about that open my eyes to  things that maybe we (as a collective) take for granted.

Any parent knows that being faced with losing our children is the absolute worst thing we can ever imagine.  The thought of being shot, stabbed, or flattened by a steamroller doesn't compare with the thought of anything bad happening to my child.  In fact, my OCD revolved squarely on that exact thing.  I spent months trying to anticipate any possible (and honestly, not really possible) scenario in which something *could* happen to her, and how my consistent "rituals" could help ward them off (washing bottles/hands/bowls a certain number of times, putting on jewelry in a certain order, etc).  I was fortunate enough I had no basis for any such worry, but when I read about families facing a crisis, I'm genuinely astounded and inspired by their strength.

Just recently, Mike and Laura Canahuati received the devastating news that their 5 month old daughter, Avery, was diagnosed with a form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy that her doctors say will likely end her short life before the age of 2.  This amazing couple, instead of hanging their heads with hopelessness, started a bucket list for their daughter, and blog about it from her perspective to help raise awareness about her disorder.  I've only gotten through a couple of posts this morning, but it's so hard not to be amazed and inspired by this family (feel free to read yourself at: http://averycan.blogspot.com/ ).  I know I keep using the words "inspired"- but really, I can't think of any better word to use to describe how I view these parents, as an inspiration.  Their strength, courage and undeniable resilience in the face of something so awful is nothing short of miraculous (and truth be known, I'm really not sure it's something I'd ever be able to do if I were in their position, God willing I never know).

They've turned the most negative thing that can possibly happen in life into a beautiful positive; not only ensuring that their daughter gets to experience a host of amazing firsts, but to spread awareness about a little known disorder (I don't know about you, but I'd never heard of it before reading about Avery).  I figured if I could help reach just a few more people who maybe hadn't heard about their story, that's a few more people aware of SMA and of Avery's journey.  So please read, and learn about Avery and her family, and I hope you'll be as inspired by these amazing people as I am. Again, their website is: http://averycan.blogspot.com/.

(Note: I do not know these people, personally. Their story has been making headlines in recent days in national news and parent/blog websites such as LilSugar, Huffington Post, CNN, etc).