He has fragile X syndrome but it does not have him!
By Melissa Welin
Our son, Caleb, is 7 and he has fragile X syndrome but fragile X syndrome does not have him.
I remember reading the descriptions on the internet of the effects of FX, in those first few days after we received the diagnosis but didn’t yet know where to turn. Nothing I read prepared me for life with this boy. He is so much more than a list of symptoms and effects.
His enthusiasm and love of life can turn even the most mundane moments into an adventure. I drag myself home on the same long commute I’ve taken for five days a week for 9 years but if I add Caleb to the mix, it becomes an exciting, what will happen next, journey.
He lights up from the inside out when he’s happy and you can’t help but smile back. His smile and laugh are simply infectious. It’s not easy to get an MBTA bus driver to smile after a long, hard day, I can barely get a “good night” from them, but I’ve been told more than once that Caleb’s greetings are the best they’ve ever gotten.
Our lives may not be perfect but he is perfectly Caleb and though I would do anything to make his life easier, I wouldn’t change a single thing about him! He makes me want to change the world, he makes me think I can.
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He will move mountains!
Simply… Awesome!
Beautiful post, Melissa.
[...] visit the Fragile X Awareness page and share it with your friends and family. We’ve shared our story and we hope you’ll share yours as well. The National Fragile X Foundation has also created a [...]
Awesome kid – awesome parents
Beautifully said Melissa. I feel exactly the same way about my Josh. We are blessed every day with his unconditional love for us and for life. I, too, would not want to change him, but instead make his world more accepting and accommodating. We’ve come so far in his 18 years. Now our journey into adulthood begins with more resources and a Fragile X family surrounding us that we never could have imagined during the early years. Thank you for all that you and Eric have done to make the journey more exciting and a little less overwhelming.
That’s awesome!