All That Is Mine Is Yours

I am sharing this project with all of you because I want to show the beauty of parenting with a disability and the beauty of being a child with a disability. I want to show the joy that my unique family shares. This project will probably continue as my son grows. I hope to share with him the same kind of amazing experiences I was given. I also hope to give him some that are all his own.

We adopted our son three years ago from the other side of the world. I found my son when searching the Internet. I read about a little boy who was so sweet and kind and had the cutest smile. As I read further, I found out that he had the same disability as me, spinal muscular atrophy. It felt like the stars were aligning. I had found our child.I am sharing this project with all of you because I want to show the beauty of parenting with a disability and the beauty of being a child with a disability.

We brought him home after a year-long process. When my husband brought him home from a 12-hour flight and I got him in my arms at the airport, I never let him go. I still watch with wonder as he grows into an amazing young man. I try to shield him from the hurts of life as best I can and at least let him know that I’ve been there before.

I started this project when I was going through photographs from my childhood. I noticed that there were a lot of photos of me growing up that matched photos we now have of my son. I wanted to show the journey we are both taking side-by-side. I wanted to show him that the love in our family is full-circle, and circles never stop.

Please tap/click on the pictures to’enlarge and view them.

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Katrina Gossett Kelly wears several hats. She is an attorney at Faegre Baker Daniels in Indianapolis, specializing in the complexities of e-discovery and trade secret litigation. She also performs improv at ComedySportz Indianapolis and serves as a disability advocate throughout Indiana. Her favorite job of all, however, is being mom to her nine-year-old son who is also growing into a disability advocate in his own right. Katrina lives in downtown Indy with her son, two dogs, and a cat.