Your Transition into MotherhoodA few years ago I was blessed to adopt a very special dog with four paws and two wheels. She was found in a ditch after being stuck by a car and left paralyzed in her hind end. The volunteers who rescued this sweet girl named her Lucky. Without any control over her bowels or bladder, Lucky wore diapers and suffered from chronic urinary tract infections. Sadly this ultimately ended her life, when I was no longer able to manually express her bladder, putting her at risk of becoming septic. One of Lucky’s greatest gifts to me was making me feel like a “real” mom. I spent two decades suffering from ulcerative colitis and resulting complications, leaving me bereft that I was never able to have a child. At one point when I was trying to put some positive vibes out there, I sewed a diaper bag and a few other items to tuck away in a baby hope chest. Upon welcoming Lucky home, I happily dug out this bag. People frequently commented on how much work it was to look after Lucky, but I felt incredibly proud and grateful to have an opportunity to change diapers, use baby wipes, and carry a diaper bag everywhere just like any other mom. |
Lucky was more than a dog to me; she was my daughter. She healed a part of my heart that had been broken for years. I was truly the lucky one, who finally experienced motherhood because of her.