My son (6) seems to take it in stride as well. He has rare moments of sadness, and he'll tell me that he wishes I could walk again. I remind him of how happy I am to be able to do the things I can do, like attend his sports, play on the floor with him, and kick his butt in checkers. There was a time when I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do any of those things...so it's all a blessing.

He was only three y/o at the onset of my paralysis...so I tried to give him the vocabulary to express what he might be feeling. I have to say, he did challenge my authority from a wheelchair at the start...I guess he just had to make sure that the same rules still applied. I set him straight right away.

Last year, I spoke with his kindergarten class about disabilities. It went so well that I think I'll offer again this year. I'm in the process of applying for an assistance dog, so if that goes through, I'll be especially excited to go into the class and talk with them.

In a small way, I hope I can positively impact these children and help them to be at ease around people with disabilities. After my talk last year, I overheard one of my son's classmates tell the teacher, "Boy, Noah's Mom is...is....really COOL!" Best review I could ever hope for.