This week it is my
turn to be the spotlight board member. I am married to Scott Christensen and we
have been married for almost 14 years. We have four kids. Trevor is almost 13
(Autism, ADHD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, and Intellectual Disability). Jordan
is turning 11 in a week (ADHD, Anxiety), Josh is 7 (Microcephaly, Pseudo
Obstruction, Dysautonomia, Dysphagia, Dyspraxia, Speech Apraxia, FTT, and a few
other diagnosis). Our youngest is Kaitlyn and she is 4. She was a former 33
weeker, who is doing fine with no lingering issues. My position on the Utah
Kids Foundation Board is a Northern Utah Parent Advocate as well as the
secretary. My hobbies include reading, organizing and spending time with my
family….simply because that is all I have time to squeeze inJ One of my favorite quotes I love is “Some
Superheros don’t wear capes”. My kids deal with a lot and are an inspiration to
me.
The
Hardest thing I have ever had to do as a special needs parent is a toss up for
me. So I am going to talk about both.
First
thing is just being there for procedures and hospital stays with Josh. I love
that at Primary’s they are so great to let parents be there for most
everything. The downfall of that is having to hold him down for yet another painful
thing, or something he is scared to do. It’s emotionally overwhelming to have
to try to explain to Josh that he needs this stuff to get feeling better, when
I know he really has no comprehension of what is going on. His record for IV’s
was 32 in a 5 day period. He is amazing at adapting and I think a lot of times
it’s harder on me than him. We have been to the OR probably around 40 times now
and he is a trooper. He knows where we give a kiss goodbye and tells me bye
without any tears anymore. Wish it was that easy for me. The second hardest
thing I deal with is simply the division of my time. Josh is my most time
consuming on a daily basis. He is on a lot of meds, has a GJ tube and is TPN
dependent so has a central line too. Just doing daily
cares is hard and having other kids who feel like I don’t pay attention to them
is hard.
10
interesting or little known facts about me:
*I lived in Arizona and was
a cheerleader for 2 years.
* I love to organize and
label things
*I am addicted to Mountain
Dew…by default and lack of sleep.
*My favorite color is pink.
*I used to work for Delta
Airlines and because of that was able to go back east and visit family, as well
as go to Disneyland for the day a couple times.
*I have spend most of my
life taking care of people. My sisters when I was younger, cousins, a great
uncle and my grandpa.
*I love amusement park
rides. The scarier the better.
I *I hate horror or scary
movies. They mess with my mind.
*I played Tennis in 9th
and 10th grades.
*I also played softball for several years and
loved it.
Some of my favorite pictures:
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