I’ve been watching The Walking Dead older seasons lately. It occurred to me how the lives of parents of medical-needs kids are a lot like the lives of people in a zombie apocalypse.
It is constant stress. There is no time for PTSD, just…DTSD (During Trauma Stress Disorder). This was what kept bouncing in my head all through the first season. The constant stress. The always looking over your shoulder. The never fully relaxing.
There is no safety. There is the illusion of safety. Sometimes, you can lull yourself into thinking you’ve achieved safety. But then your farm gets overrun by a herd of the undead.
You need ammo. For zombies, you need actual ammo. For medical needs kids, you need prescriptions, adaptive equipment, etc. – all of which can be just as hard to find as ammo is during an zombie invasion.
You have to fight for supplies. For zombies, you have to be prepared to fight the undead and also other living beings for food and other basic needs. For medical kids, you have to be prepared to fight doctors, insurance, red tape, and ignorant people everywhere for therapies, treatments, diagnoses, and other necessities.
You are safer in a group. As Andrea found back in season 3, and everyone else knew, it’s hard to make it on your own. You need people with you to survive.
Just when you think it’s safe to relax for a minute, a new problem presents itself. The group is all cozy in their prison, they’re winning against their original problem (the zombies). Then BAM! They’re hit by another problem. One they didn’t see coming.
But the people in a zombie apocalypse can see what they are fighting. They’re fighting real, physical beings. Medical needs parents are fighting invisible, sneaky, silent zombies. Our zombies don’t growl and shuffle. They aren’t distracted by fresh meat or flashy lights. Our zombies are silent, invisible shapeshifters who relentlessly pursue our children. It’s as exhausting as a zombie apocalypse.
Our Teddy Bear's Journey 