just keep swimming

 

cami and i have made it "our thing" to see re-released disney movies in 3d.

we watched beauty and the beast together last year and on friday we saw finding nemo.

this was her first movie to see in the theater many years ago.

it ended up being her favorite movie growing up.

she would squeal, "memo!" anytime she saw him.

she literally watched the dvd every single day. 

this was one of the only disney movies that we owned back then.

it is a very special movie to us and it brings back many special memories.

i have seen this movie, as i mentioned above, probably close to a 1,000 times

but it felt different seeing it together now after almost 10 years.

as many of you already know...

in the movie, nemo survives a pretty traumatic event while he was still in his egg.

because of that, he was born with one very small fin that they call his "lucky fin."

the little fish doesn't let that stop him, but the father, marlin, is reminded of the accident

and is fearful that something terrible might happen to him again.

in his fear, he does everything he can to protect nemo. 

of course, he quickly finds out that many things are out of his control 

and he needs to let his son experience life despite his handicap.

when cami was born, she went through a traumatic event as well. 

i know i have mentioned this in the past, but she was deprived of oxygen

from the umbilical cord that strangled tight around her neck.

after being on medicine over a year, several tests and visits to doctors, 

she was finally cleared from seizures and our worries were over.

until...

we started noticing her struggling with facial ticks. 

when our pediatrician first mentioned tourette's syndrome we thought she 

was way off and i became angry, scared, and in complete denial.

now, after a year later, we have a better understanding on the condition

and have learned it can be caused by a lack of oxygen at birth.

hanging out with her during the movie helped me realize

that this condition is no worse than a small fin.

some precious people deal with a lot worse and 

we are grateful that it is not affecting her quality of life.

her symptoms will eventually become controlled after her teen years and

we are working with signals and other methods to help her for the time being.

both cami and nemo escaped death during their births.

they both deal with worried parents from time to time.

they both have accomplished great things despite their unique handicaps.

they both are an inspiration to others.

 

i love you cami! 

just keep swimming :)