EA/TEF Awareness Month Is Celebrating 10 Years
EA/TEF Awareness Month is celebrating 10 years of stories here at Different Dream. To mark the occasion, I’ve complied 1 post per year from 2011 through 2020. Your invited to join me for this walk through the past decade.
2011: You Might Be an EA/TEF Parent If… Part 1 and Part 2 by Christine Lester. Her humorous take has been a favorite wit EA/TEF parents for 10 years now.
2012: Fascinating Stuff: The History of EA/TEF Treatment by Jolene Philo. This history focuses on early methods rather than on the huge strides made in the last 10 years. However, it encourages parents to do something that never becomes dated–thank the doctors and nurses who have touched their kids’ lives.
2013:Top 10 Signs You’e the Parent of an Adult Child with EA/TEF by Jolene Philo. This is a twist on Christine Lester’s 2011 post about raising young kids with EA/TEF. And it’s true. All true.
2014: EA/TEF Awareness Month 2014 is the only post on the topic. Hmmm. Did I forget to ask for guest bloggers or was it because our family was going through some hard stuff? I’m not sure. But this one post is a round up of several good articles from past years.
2015: Life Changes in a Moment by Ami Hays. Life changes at the moment of diagnosis and in countless tiny ways from day to day. Ami recounts several pivotal points she and her husband experienced while raising their daughter Abigail.
2016: So You’re a NICU Parent by Brianna Lennon. Brianna’s boy had just turned 1 when she wrote this post advising parents about how to be the moms and dads their kids need them to be.
2017: Our EA/TEF Adventure: A Journey with our Son by Maheen Tarver. You’ll be captivated by this family’s journey which takes them from one side of the country to the other in search of medical treatment for their little boy.
2018: My 4 Greatest EA/TEF Mom Fears by Jill Seaney. Jill speaks for every EA/TEF parent who hasn’t had the time our courage to give voice to the fears they live with every day. Your fears may be different than hers, but we’ve all got them.
2019: What It’s Like to Parent a Child with EA/TEF by Danielle Drummond. Danielle shares the good, the bad, the ugly, and the transcendent joy of parenting her son with EA/TEF.
2020: My First EA/TEF Memories by Mary Monahan. Mary is a 60+ year survivor of EA/TEF repair and she shares what she remembers about her early days. It’s an amazing story!
There’s not room to share every story from the past 10 years, but you can find more by typing “EA/TEF” in the search bar at the top of the page. When you’re done exploring, leave a comment about your favorite and why. It’s always great to hear from other EA/TEF parents.
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By Jolene
Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.
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