March 2, 2010  (12:45 PM)
"I have two boys in wheelchairs"
I first met Jackie Tot last fall at a caregiver recognition event organized by the South West Community Care Access Centre. She had come to Heroes in the Home with her husband Martin and her two sons, Mark and James, both teenagers and both in wheelchairs. While trying to organize the boys for a photo to be taken by the London Free Press, I was taken by her warmth, sense of humor and her patient disposition. A couple of weeks later, I  invited Jackie to take part in a focus group for the caregiverexchange.ca. She was eager to participate.  It was during that focus group session that I knew other caregivers would benefit from hearing her story. She tells it with honesty and grace. And despite her calm demeanor, every so often the discussion is pierced by a sense of urgency, a desire to share the information she has gleaned over the years with other parents and caregivers facing similar challenges.   So today we begin sharing her story in our first special series - A Portrait of Care: ‘Mom’ to Two Teen Boys with Special Needs and we take you to the day that Jackie realized something was wrong with her babies.

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