by Jolene | Jan 27, 2025 | Different Dream, Encouragement, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Support
The lessons I learned while raising a child with EA/TEF have been many and varied. That’s to be expected since our son was born in 1982 with esophageal atresia (EA) and a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), two conditions that left him unable to swallow and required...
by Maggi Gale | Jan 22, 2025 | Different Dream, Encouragement, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Support
Looking back at your child’s EA/TEF journey can give parents a new perspective about past events. Guest blogger Maggi Gale shares how her look back clearly showed her how God was with their family during their daughter’s very unusual first weeks of life in 2002. Three...
by Valeria Conshafter | Jan 15, 2025 | Different Dream, How-Tos, In Parents, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Support
How do I let go of my adult EA/TEF child? That’s the question every parent of a baby born with EA/TEF hope to ask one day in future. That future is now for guest blogger Valeria Conshafter. Her daughter is looking at colleges as she nears adulthood. Today Valeria...
by Karena Skibinski | Jan 8, 2025 | Different Dream, How-Tos, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
How can an EA/TEF parent’s anxiety be held in check before their child starts school? Karena Skibinski began asking herself that question several months before her son started preschool. In today’s post, which is part of Different Dream’s ongoing series for EA/TEF...
by Jolene | Jan 2, 2025 | Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting
Ringing in the New Year with EA/TEF Awareness Month has been a Different Dream tradition since 2011. The “TEF” part is short for a condition known as tracheoesophageal fistula. The initials “EA” are short for esophageal atresia, a condition that often, but not always,...
by Jolene | Dec 23, 2024 | Different Dream, Encouragement, Holidays, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Support
When God redeemed my worst Christmas ever by using it for good, it came as a big surprise. Most likely because 1982 was the year of my worst Christmas ever, and the using it for good part didn’t come along until December of 2024. 42 years is a long time, which...
