Speaking Life Into Motherhood ~ Holistic Health, Self Care, Resources, & Support for Christian Moms of Children With Special Needs & Disabilities

02 Supporting Mothers Through Their Child's Cancer Journey with Amy Sloan: A Christian Mom's Story of Faith, Self-Care, and Finding Support | Special Needs Caregiving

• Elyse Scheeler • Season 1 • Episode 2

Share episode

In this heartfelt conversation, Amy Sloan shares her family's journey through her son Isaac's leukemia diagnosis. She discusses the challenges they faced, the importance of faith, community support, and the adjustments they made in their homeschooling and family life. Amy emphasizes the significance of maintaining relationships, both within the family and with friends, and offers practical advice for those navigating similar situations. Her story is one of resilience, hope, and the power of community in times of crisis.


Episode Blog Post: 

Key Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to the Sloan Family's Journey

01:29 Isaac's Diagnosis: A Life-Changing Moment

04:14 Faith in the Face of Adversity

09:42 Adjusting to a New Normal

14:50 Community Support and Connection

19:08 Navigating Isolation and Inclusion

23:19 Strengthening Marital Bonds During Crisis

28:22 Advice for Moms and Friends in Crisis


Connect with the guest: Amy Sloan


Resources & More Related to the Episode:

  • Poem: Death Be Not Proud by John Donne

Podcast Website: https://speakinglife.buzzsprout.com

While you're here, please leave a quick rating or review! I pray this episode blesses you! Remember, you don't just have to survive mama- you can thrive!

Connect with the host: Elyse Scheeler


Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and hosts and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Speaking Life Into Motherhood. None of the advice or discussion on the podcast is medical advice.

Elyse Scheeler (00:01.058)

Welcome back, everyone. I am so excited for our conversation today. I have Amy Sloan with us. Amy and her husband, John, are second generation homeschoolers to five children from ages nine to 19 years old, including a homeschool graduate. The Sloan family adventures together in North Carolina, where they pursue a restfully classical education filled with books, conversation, and not so occasional nerdiness. If you hang out with her for any length of time,


you'll quickly learn that she loves overflowing book stacks, giant mugs of coffee, beautiful memory work and silly memes. Amy encourages homeschoolers through her homeschool conversations with Humility and Doxology podcast and at humilityanddoxology.com. Amy's son Isaac was diagnosed with leukemia in September of 2023. God's grace continues to sustain the Sloan family through this time. Welcome Amy, I am.


So excited to talk to you today. I have been a loyal listener to your Humility and Doxology podcast and just really wanted to be able to have the opportunity to share your story a little bit. Families that are experiencing cancer maybe are feeling very isolated. And hopefully today our conversation can maybe help give them a little bit of hope, a little bit of joy, just a little bit of understanding that.


they are not alone. Can you talk us through a little bit about your experience when Isaac was first diagnosed?


Amy Sloan (01:29.994)

Yeah, well first, thank you so much for having me today. I always enjoy being on the side of the microphone and getting a chance to chat with you. I'm really looking forward to it and to sharing a little bit about Isaac's story and our family's story and how God has brought us each step of the way and continues to as we are about halfway through treatment now. So over a year ago in September of 2023,


After a few weeks of just noticing some kind of unsettling symptoms Isaac never seemed to really recover from a virus that our whole family had had and his skin color was changing his appetite was changing just Something didn't seem quite right. So we took him into the pediatrician asked them to run some blood work and They we were like we're supposed to be leaving for a beach trip as a family this afternoon Like do you think it's still safe for us to go?


yeah, sure, it'll be fine. This isn't an emergency. And about an hour down the highway, we get a call from the pediatrician and there's some concerns with the blood work. We want you to come back and just run a second test to make sure this was accurate. I was like, I mean, like right now they were like, yeah, we'll keep the office open for you. So we literally got back after the office had already closed and that was


Elyse Scheeler (02:48.872)

my goodness.


Amy Sloan (02:54.08)

The first time that we kind of realized something serious is going on that night, we ended up being sent to the emergency room of a children's hospital in our area and received the diagnosis of leukemia that night, which was confirmed through further testing. Isaac's genetic type of leukemia is actually high risk. so within the first


month we realized he was going to be put on a higher intensity of treatment for that first year. So the past year has been very difficult on Isaac and our whole family. And it was certainly not something like you never really think cancer is going to be the diagnosis when you take your kid in for a routine pediatrician visit. But that was kind of how it all got started.


Elyse Scheeler (03:36.207)

Yeah.


Elyse Scheeler (03:44.242)

my goodness. Yeah, that sounds sounds really challenging. So when all of this happened, you know, how did you or did you or did you not lean into your faith? Sometimes I feel like when we have these really hard and unexpected situations, it's kind of like, God, what, what are you doing? Like, I'm here, I've been loyal, I've been faithful. How how did that, that experience either strengthen or change? Or what was that experience with within your faith?


Amy Sloan (04:14.508)

There are a few specific memories that come to mind in relationship to this question. One was actually as we were sitting in the ER waiting room that first night waiting for him to go back for testing. And one of the things, as you mentioned in the bio, that is important to our family is beautiful memory work. And a poem that is one of our favorites is Death Be Not Proud by John Dunn. And I had always sort of joked with my kids


that I wanted them to memorize that poem in case, you know, in the future if they were in a hard time, I didn't think a list of, you know, battle dates was going to really support their soul, but I wanted this poem to come back to their mind. And so I was, sorry, I'm going to try not to cry. I didn't think I was going to, and I'm already starting. As I was sitting in the ER waiting room, again, at that point, not really knowing what was going on, but knowing whatever it was was very serious. That poem.


came to mind. I would encourage you, I won't recite it for you all here, but I would encourage you to look it up. But the very last part of this poem is that death, thou shalt die. And it's a poem about how death is our enemy and it's a great fear that humans as we, you know, we face as humans, it's our enemy. And yet we already know that death will die, it's been defeated. So that was just, I was so thankful right there at the beginning, God reminding me of the promise that I didn't have to be afraid.


regardless of the outcome, that I knew the end of the story. Within the first week or so, I was in the hospital with Isaac and I happened to be reading in the book of Daniel and my devotions that day. And I was so struck by the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in a different way. We're all familiar with this story, you know, since Sunday school days. And the king calls them up and he's like,


If you don't bow down to this statue, you're getting thrown in to the fiery furnace. And their statement of faith struck me so profoundly that week and it has continued to be my statement of faith over the whole year. And they basically say to him, you know, our God is totally able to deliver us out of this fiery furnace, but even if he does not, we are still going to worship him and trust him.


Amy Sloan (06:42.956)

That's the Amy paraphrase version. And I took that as my own statement of faith. My God is able to completely heal Isaac to either supernaturally or through the course of the treatment. God is able to do those things. But my faith in him is not dependent on the long-term results and it's not dependent on how Isaac or any of us are feeling on a day-to-day basis.


My faith is in the character of a God who, as 2nd Timothy 2 says, cannot deny himself. And so I think those were two very vivid memories I have. I actually don't have very many vivid memories from this past year. I think that's kind of like the mercy of God, like after labor you forget a lot of it. But those two things really set the tone for how I


Elyse Scheeler (07:32.046)

Yep. Mm-hmm.


Amy Sloan (07:40.052)

wanted by God's grace to approach that the rest of of Isaac's treatment. And I think the other thing that really has struck me this year, it struck me at the beginning and that first exceptionally hard, just overwhelming month and has remained true. All those things that I've always said I believed about God, I can't remember a time when I didn't know and love Jesus. All those things that I


I said I was true, I said I believed about God and His word and all those things, like they actually are true. God is who He says He is. And I'm so thankful to have seen that proved true. That doesn't mean it's easy or happy or simple, but God is who He says He is. And it's been very clear through this whole very difficult time.


Elyse Scheeler (08:32.056)

Yeah, the amen. mean, that is absolutely amazing. It reminds me. And of course, I can't remember the name of the song right now, but there's a popular Christian song which essentially is like I'm going to worship through it. I may not know. I may not be feeling that breakthrough, but I am just going to worship through it. I'm going to praise you. I'm going to trust. I'm going to have faith. And even just like saying it, I can feel for myself. I have goosebumps listening to you talk, but you can just feel that release when you start giving some of that fear up to God.


because you're replacing that fear with that faith and that is just so amazing. So let's say, you you're a year out, there is someone listening today who is, you know, unfortunately facing a diagnosis, a recent diagnosis. What kinds of things did you do to maybe change your lifestyle in order to like accommodate his diagnosis? I know with homeschooling you have a little bit more flexibility, but


Is there anything maybe that you would suggest like, hey, don't worry about this or here, you know, some of the things that that worked for me to be able to kind of hone in and not feel so overwhelmed.


Amy Sloan (09:42.624)

Yeah, a few things come to mind and I will say before I share what worked and was helpful for us, that it's very unique and different for each person. And so if you hear my story or you're reading someone else's story, don't feel odd or weird or like you're doing something wrong if you're like, but I don't want to do that. Or if that doesn't seem helpful to me, I'd rather have this as a help, right? Like we all accept help and need


different kinds of help at different times. And so that's okay too. I'm not being prescriptive here. I'll just share what has been helpful for us. One thing that was really helpful was to make a decision right away about which things I was going to proactively decide to stop. I knew that if I knew things were gonna have to dramatically change for that year, especially. And I knew if I tried to keep everything with the status quo as our ideal plan,


Elyse Scheeler (10:16.538)

Mm-hmm.


Amy Sloan (10:40.62)

for the year that it was going to be very frustrating and difficult. And so rather than running myself ragged, trying to keep up with something I already knew I wasn't gonna be able to keep up with, I went ahead and proactively chose some things to say no to. And that just gave us a little bit more space in the calendar, which was really necessary both for like logistics, but also our emotional and spiritual needs. We just needed.


more space and it was one of the simplest years, like very different than what we normally would do in a year. But that was really helpful to feel like in a life where like right then I didn't have a lot of choice or control. That was something I could proactively choose to do. So look at your schedule, your plans and go ahead and proactively choose to set some things aside and just know that you're going to need lots of space in your time and for your emotions.


Another thing that was really helpful is I had an amazing friend who became our point person. So immediately after diagnosis, so many people were texting and calling and emailing and so generously and kindly wanting to help, which is great. But it was also very overwhelming to think about trying to coordinate all of that and rides for my other children and meals and cleaning while I'm also trying to just like...


process the diagnosis and like what was happening. So my amazing friend, she became our point person. And so everyone texted or emailed or called her and she had, she and another friend put together a spreadsheet. So I only had to talk to her. I had one person to deal with and I sorta told her, okay, here's what we need. Here are all the places our other kids need to be.


Elyse Scheeler (12:09.568)

Mm-hmm. absolutely.


Amy Sloan (12:37.306)

Here's what I don't want." Those kinds of things. And then she could kind of navigate all the details and figure out everyone else's schedule. So if you have someone in your church or community that can be that point person for you, that was so valuable, especially in those first few months. She's not doing that anymore a year in, but for those first few months, it was so valuable to just relieve some of my logistics, my emotional burden.


Even just like having to reply to everyone who says they love you and are praying for you could almost get a little overwhelming too. So just having her kind of be that intermediate for me was really helpful. I don't know, I could go on, but those are just a couple of things that came to mind at first.


Elyse Scheeler (13:12.354)

Mm-hmm.


Elyse Scheeler (13:20.782)

Yeah, and.


Elyse Scheeler (13:25.72)

I think that that's amazing. the first point that you made, I know that not everybody is going to have a situation with a diagnosis of cancer, but I think the first point that you made can be utilized for a variety of things. When we have families that just get a diagnosis of autism or they just get a diagnosis of some other developmental difficulty, really looking at that and going through what can I purposefully lay down.


And then rather than seeing it as something that is, I'm losing that, it's more of I'm giving myself space. I'm giving myself grace. Like my choice to do that is actually going to help me be more successful and help my child be more successful. I think that that's a really, just a really amazing point. And then the point person too, I mean, absolutely. We did that when my kids were born. It was like, go through that person. can tell them. think that having those people


around you if it's possible is just so amazing. And that kind of goes right into my next question was, you know, were you able to kind of dig into your church community when this happened? that something that you were able to, you were you still able to go to church? How did you maintain that connection? Not that you have to go to church to maintain your faith, but sometimes that community part is really an important part of the family unit and the family routine.


Amy Sloan (14:50.892)

Yeah, so we are incredibly blessed with a small, wonderful church. I've actually been there since I was 16, met my husband there, and they have been incredible, both our local church community, our local homeschool community outside the church, friends, family, even strangers on the internet. So many people who have continued to support and encourage our family through this. I will say as a side note, and then I'll come back to answer your question.


Near the beginning, I knew it was going to be hard for me to accept so much help because I've always been the person who helps the other people, right? And so I told myself at the very beginning, said, all right, self, you're just going to say yes. If someone says, can I do this for you? You're going to say yes. You're just going to say yes to offers of help. And it took a lot of humility. It has been a very humbling experience to accept so much help. But it has also been a really blessed experience. So I would just say people want to help you.


Elyse Scheeler (15:30.713)

haha


Amy Sloan (15:46.934)

and you don't have to do it all by yourself. But as far as our church, our family has always prioritized morning and evening worship on Sundays, you know, where the people go to all the church events and are very involved. Of course, that had to dramatically shift after Isaac's diagnosis. For those of you who maybe are unfamiliar with cancer treatment, especially with the high intensity of Isaac's first year of treatment,


that came with a great deal of suppression of his immune system. And the smallest fever required an ER visit. And sometimes the smallest fever from a cold actually on more than one occasion put him in the hospital for several weeks at a time. And so we were very aware and cautious of exposure in big groups of people and things like that. So what we would do,


for a lot of those times is my husband and I would alternate. Thankfully, our church has both morning and evening worship. And so one of us would go in the morning and the other would stay home with Isaac and watch from home. And then we would switch off in the evening. On very, a few occasions, Isaac's blood work was okay and he was feeling all right. And we all got to go for a short time to church. And that just, I will never take for granted, being able to worship altogether.


actually being able to worship with my husband. It was a very long time before he and I were able to sit together in church. I just will not take that for granted anymore. And so we just really tried to prioritize still being a part of our church insofar as we were able. That was really important for our other children. And then our church was so incredible. Like a bunch of families came.


And Isaac was lying down outside, and they all came and sang psalms and hymns in our backyard with him once. Other friends came and would consistently visit him in the hospital or come over and play with him. And everyone was just very aware and careful with exposing him to germs and things like this, but making sure that he knew that he was still a part of the church and was loved and cared for. And I know that is actually


Amy Sloan (18:06.806)

From what I've learned, a very unusual experience. Pediatric cancer patients often struggle with being very isolated, abandoned, no longer invited to things or kind of included in friend groups. And I've been blown away by just the other young men, these little guys in Isaac's life and their families who obviously are enabling them to keep up that relationship with Isaac this year. That's been a real important


part of his emotional and psychological support this year.


Elyse Scheeler (18:40.516)

Do you have ideas then for families who maybe are experiencing some of that isolation? I guess I didn't think about that. I can see where that would happen, maybe not intentionally, not people trying to intentionally uninclude them, but how were you successful? Was it just that people were willing to include him or were there other things that maybe you were taking the lead on to make sure that that wasn't something that he had to deal with?


Amy Sloan (19:08.706)

So in the hospital, you have someone called a child life specialist, and their whole job is to instruct and educate children about either what's going on to their own body or maybe their sibling, and kind of explain medical things at an age-appropriate way, but to be very clear and honest and direct about what's going on. So Isaac actually received quite a bit of really helpful information from his child life specialist.


that first initial time in the hospital after his diagnosis. And so I ended up, got, I know I asked permission, I ended up sharing that information with our church and with other families and friends who had children that Isaac interacted with. Even just things about like, hey, this is what a port is, you know?


Isaac's, you're gonna need to be more careful. When you play with him, just be aware. You can't be rough and tumble. Can't be throwing things or hitting him in the chest. know, things like that that are important. And so I was able to kind of get that information to the other parents and ask them to talk to their kids about it. Like kind of explain to them, this is what's happening. Isaac isn't contagious, for instance, right? Like small children think someone's sick. I don't wanna get sick from them, right? So explaining to...


Elyse Scheeler (20:30.17)

Mm-hmm.


Amy Sloan (20:32.032)

little children, like cancer is not contagious. Isaac loves to play, you know, just wash your hands, things like that. So I think pre-handling it was really helpful in that way. And then just having people who were willing to come over when Isaac was on the sofa, like could barely interact, but having these, you know, guys who were willing to come for short times. And I would say, you know, it's


The little boys were very sweet, but I appreciate their moms facilitating this, being willing to come to our house, play a card game, sit there and just sort of play Legos beside Isaac on the sofa, talk to him for a short time, and then leave. Just those little kind of moments. It doesn't have to be like a big play date. And then still inviting him to things. He might not have always been able to go to things.


And sometimes there were last minute cancellations depending on his health, but still inviting him to birthday parties, letting him know he was included. Now those kinds of things really, they really mean a lot. So I think you can find creative ways to still stay engaged in person, even in the same room. I was thankful we were able to do that. Of course, there's always, you know, card games over Zoom and stuff like that, but that's not quite as much fun.


Elyse Scheeler (21:56.812)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's amazing. And I didn't think about that either. I do think that for both parents and kids of the, that are not part of your family, it can kind of seem kind of scary. And then we may not know what to do so then we don't do anything because we don't want to do the wrong thing. You know, so being able to give them that information ahead of time is just that is a true gift. I mean, to those other families that I'm sure want to.


do whatever they can, right? But then sometimes we have that, what's it called, where we freeze. We don't know what to do, so we just freeze or pull back. So I think that that's super smart. And again, I think that can be used for a variety of things, not just a cancer diagnosis, but really just kind of bringing people in and having those conversations about like, is not scary. It doesn't have to be scary. Yes, there's boundaries. And there's things that we have to be aware of in order to keep everybody safe.


It doesn't have to be a scary thing. That is amazing. So you mentioned your husband a couple of times. Can you just tell me, I cannot imagine the strain that having a child with a cancer diagnosis would put on a marriage. How have you been able to find the time to stay connected and just continue building that bond together within your marriage during all of this challenge that you've been experiencing?


Amy Sloan (23:19.328)

It's actually really sad when you start looking at some of the statistics for marriages after serious diagnoses of children. And they're not really positive statistics of having marriages that survive healthfully following a child's diagnosis. And so that was something we saw in all the information that was poured out at us in those first couple of weeks.


And we were like, okay, well, one of the things we've always done in our marriage is pray about these things before things become problems. We don't want to be like the apostle Peter who was like, even if everybody has that problem, we won't have that problem, right? So actually right from the very beginning, after Isaac's diagnosis, my husband and I started praying that God would protect and preserve our marriage and our relationship and that we would be patient with each other.


Elyse Scheeler (24:00.196)

Mm-hmm.


Amy Sloan (24:15.606)

Obviously, it's a lot of emotions. It's very difficult. And so you're personally feeling trauma. You're experiencing personal trauma. You're also, as parents, seeking to support the emotions of your child or your children, both the one who is experiencing the diagnosis and your other children who I would like to also speak to the siblings. They are experiencing a great deal of trauma as well. It's very hard.


on the siblings and they can sometimes be overlooked. you're like pouring out all these emotions, helping other people support their emotions. It's overwhelming and it's easy to take that out on your spouse, of course, right? So we tried to be aware of that being a temptation and have consistently prayed about it. So I would say the first thing is don't be afraid to pray very specifically


and directly for your marriage. The second thing that has been helpful, and this actually, my husband has been really helpful with this, during long hospitalizations, I think the longest was about a month for Isaac, we would take turns being the one to spend the night at the hospital. And it's very easy to then just become ships passing in the night, right? Because you're never,


in the same room, in the same bed ever, because you're always just switching off duties and locations. And so my husband really emphasized it was important for us to accept help overnight. And so a couple of times we had my dad, who was willing to stay with Isaac overnight, just so we could be home at the same time in the same


space together. And that was really valuable. So it was very hard for me, though. I will just say as a mom, that was very hard, but I'm so glad we did it. It was good for our family. It was good for the other children to be able to be with both parents at the same time. So even when it's hard and feels a little painful, I guess I would say,


Amy Sloan (26:39.562)

is try to find those moments where you can be together. And then, yeah, just persevering. know, just like, I mean, the rest of it's just like normal marriage stuff, right? The same things that you know, look for ways to bless the other person, to encourage them, to think the best of them, to forgive them and not be easily irritated, right? It goes both ways and yeah. Yeah. Yeah.


Elyse Scheeler (26:51.639)

Yeah.


Elyse Scheeler (27:03.034)

And just prioritizing is what I'm hearing you saying. And I think that I've done another episode with a lovely woman who does marriage coaching and that's one of the things too, is just really like prioritizing that time. I know for myself personally, I don't have any of the, or to the level of challenges that you're experiencing with Isaac's diagnosis, but that's even difficult for me. So I think that it just goes to show like,


your faith and clearly the strong foundation that you had in your marriage is, you know, helping with all of that. And I think that that's something that we can all, you know, be reminded of, of just, you know, some of those things about prioritizing and then listening. Right. I mean, that, like you said, that sounds really hard. How can I leave my child who is ill for a night? You know, we as moms, tend to like, they become those number ones when really that's not what God says. Right. Like we need to keep that.


that spouse and that marriage in the big picture too. So that's just amazing and very inspiring that you have been able to like work through all of that. If there is a mom who is experiencing a recent diagnosis, what advice would you give to that mom? And then the second part of the question would be, what advice would you give to maybe the best friend?


of that mom. What can we do as supporters? And maybe if there's things like, don't do this, that would be great too. And then also just like just a few tidbits for that mom who might be experiencing what you experienced last year right now.


Amy Sloan (28:38.486)

I think, well, I mean, it's hard to say first. that is your experience right now, I would just say I am so sorry. It's really, really hard. But God is the same. He is the same God he was before you got the diagnosis. And so he will be with you and he will never leave you or forsake you. Practically speaking, I would say it is okay if you feel like you are just getting the bare minimum done.


That's okay. Make yourself a spreadsheet of the things that have to get done, the medications. Try to make streamline things as much as you can to eliminate all these extra decisions and things you're having to be processing all the time. mean, spreadsheets, phone alarms, these are all your friends because you think you'll try to remember it all, but you just can't. Your brain will shut down. So don't try to remember everything. Write things down. Be okay.


with it just not looking the way you thought this year was going to go. And continue to prioritize relationships, relationships with your other children. If you have other children, relationships with your spouse, relationships with your friends, be willing to say, I'm not okay. You don't have to pretend like it's all okay. Go to a friend that you can trust and cry and just be...


real and tell them how you're just really falling apart and then listen to them when they tell you that they're going to pray for you and they love you, you know, hear that as well. I don't know, it's difficult to think of like what would I say, what advice would I say. You can always reach out to me, that would be fine. And then as far as if you are the friend, I would say just be patient and don't give up. The very first few weeks, of course everyone is


Elyse Scheeler (30:23.32)

Yeah


Amy Sloan (30:35.042)

pitching in and wanting to help and bringing meals and helping with cleaning and all these things. And that is great. Please. That outpouring of support was so incredibly encouraging to our entire family. But a long-term diagnosis like this is more like a marathon. And so be that friend who's going to provide the meal a year down the road. We still had friends who were just like, will occasionally randomly still bring us meals.


Elyse Scheeler (30:55.695)

Mm-hmm.


Amy Sloan (31:05.218)

People who will still send us cards. There's one couple at our church who has sent Isaac and our family a handwritten letter every week since diagnosis. You know, be that person and this is, you know what, a year and a few months in, but we still have over a year to go and we need to know we're not forgotten. So be the friend who, you know, drops off bagels a year and a half in. Be the friend who still texts, who calls, who offers to help.


or who just sends a funny meme maybe, you that's my love language. But yeah, just, would say just persevere and don't forget about the family that maybe isn't able to do all the things that they used to do. And if they're no longer kind of in that social circle, it can be easy to kind of forget about us. So I would just say, don't forget and still be that friend to the person who's going through a hard time through the long haul.


Elyse Scheeler (31:37.347)

haha


Elyse Scheeler (32:01.794)

Absolutely. That is amazing advice. And something that just to plug your podcast to is I know that you changed up what homeschool looked like when you had Isaac. There might be families though that aren't homeschooling. And as someone who is looking to homeschool, I would encourage you to really think about what your options are and knowing that there are people like Amy who have experienced things like this.


who can provide support and there's so many resources out there. So you don't have to feel constrained by what things look like when your child is going to a traditional school. think that that's something that not, at least in my mind, I would not have thought about that prior to now starting to think about homeschooling. just, again, just providing yourself with that flexibility and knowing that there are options in which you can.


deal with and work through these challenges and still have success and still feel like you're making progress and your child is making progress and maybe their siblings are making progress. There's lots and lots of options out there. So Amy, I just want to thank you so much for coming on today. I have goosebumps. I've had goosebumps the whole time. This has just been, I truly appreciate, I know that it can be really hard when you're sharing your own story, but I think that this is going to benefit, there are some.


people out there right now that are gonna hear this and just feel like they are not alone. Their child is not alone. God is watching over them. There's other people that they can look to for support and advice and I hope that they seek you out for that. I will also make sure that I include in the show notes. I know you said that that that poem that you were talking about will make sure that we include that in there as well. Thank you so much for your time.


Amy Sloan (33:46.401)

Yeah, thank you.