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HUGS FOR THE SOUL
Copyright © 2010 Hugs for the Soul - All rights reserved.
COMING SOON--A WEBSITE THAT SHARES HARD EARNED WISDOM FROM PARENTS WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT AND WANT TO SHARE THINGS THEY LEARNED THE HARD WAY WHILE ON THEIR JOURNEY AND WANT TO SPARE OTHERS FROM LEARNING IT THE SAME WAY!
Please Read the story behind the website and how to share your story or you can simply become a cheerleader by asking to be on the mailing list for newsletters to follow Winston's story or anything else that stems from "Hugs for the Soul".
Please Read the story behind the website and how to share your story or you can simply become a cheerleader by asking to be on the mailing list for newsletters to follow Winston's story or anything else that stems from "Hugs for the Soul".
More Stories From Other Parents Coming Soon!! Get Excited!!
Brief Message
Who are we and why should you care? :)
My name is Jennifer Bertrand and my husband, Chris, and I have a 7 month old son (Winston) who was born with a mixed lymphatic and venous malformation. We wanted to create a website that shares everything we learned the hard way…..and boy do we have a lot to share! And since life isn’t all about us, we want to share other parents’ hard earned wisdom from their adventures. After all, if we’ve already all been through it, why not make someone else’s journey easier.
Winston was born with an EXIT surgery, he was in the NICU for 7 weeks, he had a surgery at 6 days old to remove two macro cysts to make room for his trach to be put in, he has a mic-key button, we feel like we live in hospitals, we have 16 hours of nursing care a day, we survived a day where Winston stopped breathing and Chris and our nurse had to perform CPR, as well as traveling out of state to NYC every six weeks for medical care.................not to mention, I won a reality show (HGTV Design Star 3rd season) all in the same year!!! :)
But it’s all about perspective!!! We could say all of this is a nightmare but what good would that do!! Instead we look at the positives. Life is not over, it’s only been redefined! When we scoured the internet looking for answers, everything only seemed depressing. But not on this website!!!! We want this website to be about hope, laughter, and as many tips and resources as we can share. So if you’re just starting your adventure, please know, that things will be okay!!!!! Will things go how you want them to go? Probably not. But know that the parents on this site will have weathered all kind of storms and we’re all still standing.
We want to create a website that is something we would have loved to happen upon when you are in the moment in life where you find out your child has an issue and your life feels completely out of control. Or if you’re not facing an issue, you can cheer others on who are!
We want the site to be a hug to the soul for anyone who needs help.
For those of you thinking you may share your story, remember when in the beginning of the journey, it is very lonely as parents when you don't know or understand what you're up against. So why should anyone else have to learn something the hard way when we've already been through it all!!!! Just try and think about what info you would have wanted to find when you first began your journey. We all now have the gift of hindsight and time under our belts and can use it to make others journey much easier. If you have a child or know of anyone who has a child with any kind of illness, malformation, special need, etc. please pass this along to them!!!! :) This includes anything and everything! It is open to anything you think there may think there may be other parents out there looking for resources. For example even food allergies, IVF, adoption, loss, anything!!! Share all of the info you spent all of that time gathering.
Brief Message
Who are we and why should you care? :)
My name is Jennifer Bertrand and my husband, Chris, and I have a 7 month old son (Winston) who was born with a mixed lymphatic and venous malformation. We wanted to create a website that shares everything we learned the hard way…..and boy do we have a lot to share! And since life isn’t all about us, we want to share other parents’ hard earned wisdom from their adventures. After all, if we’ve already all been through it, why not make someone else’s journey easier.
Winston was born with an EXIT surgery, he was in the NICU for 7 weeks, he had a surgery at 6 days old to remove two macro cysts to make room for his trach to be put in, he has a mic-key button, we feel like we live in hospitals, we have 16 hours of nursing care a day, we survived a day where Winston stopped breathing and Chris and our nurse had to perform CPR, as well as traveling out of state to NYC every six weeks for medical care.................not to mention, I won a reality show (HGTV Design Star 3rd season) all in the same year!!! :)
But it’s all about perspective!!! We could say all of this is a nightmare but what good would that do!! Instead we look at the positives. Life is not over, it’s only been redefined! When we scoured the internet looking for answers, everything only seemed depressing. But not on this website!!!! We want this website to be about hope, laughter, and as many tips and resources as we can share. So if you’re just starting your adventure, please know, that things will be okay!!!!! Will things go how you want them to go? Probably not. But know that the parents on this site will have weathered all kind of storms and we’re all still standing.
We want to create a website that is something we would have loved to happen upon when you are in the moment in life where you find out your child has an issue and your life feels completely out of control. Or if you’re not facing an issue, you can cheer others on who are!
We want the site to be a hug to the soul for anyone who needs help.
For those of you thinking you may share your story, remember when in the beginning of the journey, it is very lonely as parents when you don't know or understand what you're up against. So why should anyone else have to learn something the hard way when we've already been through it all!!!! Just try and think about what info you would have wanted to find when you first began your journey. We all now have the gift of hindsight and time under our belts and can use it to make others journey much easier. If you have a child or know of anyone who has a child with any kind of illness, malformation, special need, etc. please pass this along to them!!!! :) This includes anything and everything! It is open to anything you think there may think there may be other parents out there looking for resources. For example even food allergies, IVF, adoption, loss, anything!!! Share all of the info you spent all of that time gathering.
If you'd like to share your story, click here!
These are the questions I ask parents to answer and then add their own. This is from a letter I send out to parents:
Things to include in your email (Please section your answers with each of these questions as the header--it will make my job a little easier to sort through all of the info!)
THINK ABOUT WHAT INFO YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED TO KNOW WHEN YOU WERE JUST STARTING YOUR ADVENTURE!!!!
It’s your chance to pass it all on to someone else! I'll email these exact questions to you, if you choose to share your story and contact us through the 'contact us' button. And please know we will handle your stories with love and respect and if you choose so, you may ask to have your story removed at any time.
Things to include in your email (Please section your answers with each of these questions as the header--it will make my job a little easier to sort through all of the info!)
THINK ABOUT WHAT INFO YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED TO KNOW WHEN YOU WERE JUST STARTING YOUR ADVENTURE!!!!
It’s your chance to pass it all on to someone else! I'll email these exact questions to you, if you choose to share your story and contact us through the 'contact us' button. And please know we will handle your stories with love and respect and if you choose so, you may ask to have your story removed at any time.
1.) Short story/bio of what your child has and what you have gone through.
2.) A few photos if you wanted (Put a face to an issue)
3.) A list of things you "learned the hard way" (save others from learning it the hard way)
4.) A list of resources that helped you in learning about the syndrome/disease (websites, books, hospitals, even specific doctors, support sites) VERY IMPORTANT (What were the credible and helpful resources you found! Please share them!)
5.) Any education on the syndrome for new parents facing it or for those who don't know what it is. Even just a brief summary to educate others on it.
6.) How did you adapt your child's room or rooms in your house to make their life easier?
7.) Were you ever in the NICU or PICU or anything similar? (Then tips on how to survive it and any advice about how you got through it.)
8.) Any tips on traveling with your special needs child or websites that helped you when you did?
9.) Any McGyver moments where you figured out things that worked easier?
10.) Did you find websites that make clothes specific to your child's needs? If so what are they? How did you adapt any clothes for them?
11.) If you have home nurses, any advice on preparing oneself for life with a home nurse? I know how hard that is but positive advice for making the best of it!!
12.) Any tips on how to keep a marriage strong through a crisis.
13.) Any tips on how to handle the financial side.....how did you address a stack of medical bills? Did you find any websites, books or consultants who had advice or could help?
14.) Would you share your email address and be a resource for someone else? If so, what is it. And do you have your own blog/website if so what is that as well. Or list any blogs that gave you encouragement of others you met that had strong positive attitudes about what they were up against!!!
When you're ready let us know and we'll provide you with the Email address to send all the info to.
Thanks so much for Sharing!
Jen, Chris and Winston Bertrand
2.) A few photos if you wanted (Put a face to an issue)
3.) A list of things you "learned the hard way" (save others from learning it the hard way)
4.) A list of resources that helped you in learning about the syndrome/disease (websites, books, hospitals, even specific doctors, support sites) VERY IMPORTANT (What were the credible and helpful resources you found! Please share them!)
5.) Any education on the syndrome for new parents facing it or for those who don't know what it is. Even just a brief summary to educate others on it.
6.) How did you adapt your child's room or rooms in your house to make their life easier?
7.) Were you ever in the NICU or PICU or anything similar? (Then tips on how to survive it and any advice about how you got through it.)
8.) Any tips on traveling with your special needs child or websites that helped you when you did?
9.) Any McGyver moments where you figured out things that worked easier?
10.) Did you find websites that make clothes specific to your child's needs? If so what are they? How did you adapt any clothes for them?
11.) If you have home nurses, any advice on preparing oneself for life with a home nurse? I know how hard that is but positive advice for making the best of it!!
12.) Any tips on how to keep a marriage strong through a crisis.
13.) Any tips on how to handle the financial side.....how did you address a stack of medical bills? Did you find any websites, books or consultants who had advice or could help?
14.) Would you share your email address and be a resource for someone else? If so, what is it. And do you have your own blog/website if so what is that as well. Or list any blogs that gave you encouragement of others you met that had strong positive attitudes about what they were up against!!!
When you're ready let us know and we'll provide you with the Email address to send all the info to.
Thanks so much for Sharing!
Jen, Chris and Winston Bertrand
