Lisa Rossignol

It occurred to me the other day that most of the blogs and stories I have heard or written are about what it is like to be the mother of a child with special needs or special healthcare needs. It also occurred to me that no one ever asks my husband, Paul, what the experience of Lily's illness and subsequent rehab have been for him. I can't answer for him and perhaps I can get him to do a guest blog about it but I want to take a moment to tell you what my new definition of a real man looks like. My husband is a black belt in a form of Japanese martial arts called Aikido which means that he is strong and disciplined and if need be he could break an arm. Most people don't experience my husband that way. One of my brothers who is a bit of a jock and an ex boxer tried to get Paul in a choke hold one time and learned the hard way about Paul's understated strength and ability. Most people see him as a tall, thin academic (geek) who loves playing the banjo and fiddle, love...

I felt the need to talk a little bit about my dad, as he approaches the amputation of his lower leg on Monday.  I guess I feel like, if you know a little about him, you will love him as I do and you will hold him in your heart and prayers as he loses his battle to keep that leg and begins his new life of rehabilitation. I'm going to tell you, to the best of my knowledge, what I know about him. I'm sorry, Dad, if I get the facts wrong. My dad was born in a small town called New Ulm, Minnesota. The few times I have visited in my life I was struck by how small everything was, including the people. The only way I can describe it is that the yard gnomes all grew up and built a town in the middle of nowhere. He became an accomplished gymnast in his youth and went on to win a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Minnesota. He got injured during a training and had to leave behind the world of competitive gymnastics. Somehow he found his way to Portales, New Mexico to...