My support group is very important to me being that I am not living around any of my family members. Family is so important and sometimes we take them for granted because they are always there, but just imagine if they were not around for whatever reason, a move away, or death.
I have experienced both, I moved away from my family, and I have experienced a loss in death. Within the past few years, I have lost in death, a grandmother an aunt, two first cousins, and most heart wrenching, my Mom, Each of these people were extremely close to me especially my mother, and I now live my life without them, and those who are still living are in different states.
I now have what’s known as my church family. The friends from my church and a few that live around me are my support team. I can’t imagine what my life would be without them. We pray for each other, we have cookouts and holiday parties, tea parties, and all sorts of fancy gatherings. Last semester I got very ill and had to have an unexpected surgery, and my church family supported me. They prayed for me took me to the Hospital, stayed there with me and visited me bringing food and flowers. Each day someone new came by. Sometimes our friends can be closer to us than our own biological family members.
I would imagine that if I had a child with a physical disability, I would need emotional support as well as physical and cultural support. I imagine that I would be so upset to see my child with such a disability that I would learn how to be strong in spirit in order to keep my child’s spirits up-lifted and his courage solid. The friends and family around us would have to be people who don’t mind supporting us in every needed area; such as, physically lifting the child getting him/her in and out of vehicles or buildings, emotional, as I would need to stay strong for the child, or may have to answer the child as to why are they’re in that condition? I could not imagine not having a support system in my life either with or without a challenging condition in my life. In my opinion, if you have a great family and good friends supporting you embrace them and don't take them for granted live each day celebrating them.
