To the World, You Are a Mother. To Your Family, You Are the World. Happy Mothers’ Day!

Hello, my name is Pamela. I am part of a small family of only 4 people - my husband, Jesus, my daughter, Renata and my son, Matías. Motherhood is a constant challenge. I can talk about my two children for hours, but this time I will focus on Mat.

Matías has been a child full of surprises. During the sixth month of pregnancy, the Doctor said "something is not right ... there is something that should not be." Those words resounded in my being in such a way that when I came out of the consultation with a meningocele report, the only thing I could do was investigate what that word meant. That's when I found out that there are many types of malformations, some more complex than others. I found MYELOMENINGOCELE and prayed that it wasn’t the final diagnosis of Matthias.

Matías has taught me that nothing is impossible. Even though we can do something one way, it can probably be done in another.

And so it was then, on November 25, 2015, Matías came to this world at 5:10 pm. After listening to him cry, my next question was... the "defect", what is the extent of it? They answered, “MYELOMENINGOCELE.” I remember that despite the anesthesia, I asked, “Did it break?” and they answered, “No.” “Is he okay?” “Yes.” Then I breathed easy and fell asleep.

Upon awakening from the anesthesia, I was informed that Mat would enter his surgery (myeloplasty) at 9:00 a.m. on November 26 and I realized that life with this small whirlwind would never be calm. I waited anxiously to be informed of what happened, but the reports did not arrive, so I got up and went to the nursery. Just as I got to the door, Matías was coming in and they told me everything went well. In my head there was only one question. Is everything OK?

The stay in the hospital lasted about 1 month between going to and from the visits three times a day - a month in which I prayed to God that the operation go well and that God heard me - a month of listening to the nurses say, "your son is a lion" - a month away from my daughter Renata - a month of meeting more moms whose children I looked forward to being discharged - a month of begging every day that Mat will not need more operations like his other roommates with the same diagnosis - a month of showing a smile to the other moms and throwing myself in tears in front of a small "piece of meat" - a month saying everything will be fine, when sometimes I did not believe it myself - a month in which I discovered that you always have to stand up. The soul is in the knee.

This is Mat for me, a super son.

Mat finally came home and new fears arose: how do i bathe him? How do I hug him without hurting him? How do I change the diaper? Is the time you sleep normal? Is it normal to grow at this rate? I realized that it was not just my fears. At home there were two other people that I love, with the same or more fears than myself. I said to myself, “Pamela you are not alone, you have to share Mat.”

Two years and 4 operations have already passed, and my Mat continues to surprise me. For all mothers, our children are the best in the world and our whole life. They can understand when I say that when they do something as simple as a new gesture it is a huge achievement for us that we want to show off to the world, That's Mat for me, a super son - a child with a diagnosis that could not possibly speak and whose cognitive development would be diminished - whose body probably could not even stay seated has grown into a child whose disability doesn’t limit mobility - a child who speaks up to the elbows and defends what he wants - who learned to swim and play baseball from his wheelchair - a child looks "normal" according to people on the street

Matías has taught me that nothing is impossible. While we can’t do in one way, we can probably do in another. The important thing is to never stop trying and know that on that road you are never alone.

It is clear to me that being a mom is very difficult and with a disabled child a little bit more. I'm discovering step-by-step how to be a better mom, but what I do know is that as long as I have a life, I will make the conditions in which Mat develops that will allow him not to depend on me to move and have enough courage to get what makes him happy.