J a Busick

Cora Means Heart J a Busick

"Wait here, I want the doctor to see this." Everyone looks forward to the twenty-week ultrasound - to that first glimpse, grainy and shifting when the ultrasound tech says things you've been waiting so long to hear: "It's a boy," or, "See that, she's sucking her thumb." Nobody wants to hear, "Wait here, I want the doctor to see this." What happens when the road takes a sudden turn from "healthy pregnancy" to "devastating prenatal diagnosis" to "life as a special needs parent"? Christian author Jennifer Busick relates with unflinching honesty and deep affection the ups and downs of raising a disabled child-and the many ways in which God comes alongside special needs parents, lifting them up and carrying them through the storm. From the lowest moments, like walking out of a hospital room after several failed attempts to place an IV - "I just couldn't stand to be the person torturing my child any longer" - to the unexpected bright spots, like finding adaptive sports - "I knew that being on a basketball team where she could keep up with everyone else would be normalizing for Cora...what surprised me was how normalizing the experience is for parents" - this is an uplifting story of resilience in the face of adversity.