Pathways Foundation- There When You Need Them Most.

Being a parent is the ultimate endurance sport.  I am a parent, yet I have parents that still worry and fret over me as if I was still living at home (like my 28 year old brother in law and yes ladies he is single!).

The point is that it's a life long job, you never stop being a parent. What happens when the beginning of this amazing journey starts with a massive complications, which is what happened to my family.

My son, is turning one on the 11th of this month and has been a patient of the Pathways Center in Glenview since he was 6 weeks old.  Pathways is a lot like having flood insurance, you hope you never have to use it, but if you need it you are grateful that it's there.

They have a fancy way of describing what they do on their web site, but to me they are the miracle workers that fix broken babies and kids.  The therapists who work there help restore hope to families who are faced with seemingly hopeless situations.  They give dignity and pride to children with disabilities and help them grow and thrive.

On Monday November 16th, Pathways Foundation is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a fund raiser at the Four Seasons Hotel, it's a night to help honor this amazing organization, celebrate their success stories and also learn about Tummy Time, which as been proven to help prevent early motor delays and torticollis. Or look at it your child's first real core workout.

If you can't make the event, there are other ways to learn about Pathways and support their amazing efforts. Click here to see a great video on the importance of Tummy Time, click here to find out how to support Pathways.

We were faced with a situation that seemed helpless, they helped us realize that anything is possible and that help and hope are always there for you.

This is our story.

Last year, my wife and I were blessed with our second child, Johnny.  Our 10 pound 1 ounce chunk of joy was a C section, which we were told would be the safest thing for both Johnny and my wife.  That's what we were told, not how it turned out.

Long story short, the doctor who was delivering our son ( I can't mention her name, we call her Dr. Break Your Kid), broke his arm above the elbow.  He was less than two hours old and they were taking X-Rays and talking about "procedures." 

I can't name the hospital, but it's a prominent teaching hospital, and the residents diagnosed that our son had a dislocated elbow, so they took him from us to essentially snap his arm into place.  

Here's the funny part.

We didn't learn this until two "procedures" into the ordeal, that a new born baby doesn't have an "elbow," they don't develop until much later in life.  It was the bone in his arm that was fractured in the delivery, and every time they performed a procedure, they were actually breaking his arm more.

Why you ask?  Well come to find out, there hasn't been a recorded case of this kind of break in over 20 years and apparently everyone was very excited to be in on the new and exciting case.