Many of you know my story and the incredible fight it was to get Samuel diagnosed with Celiac Disease. For months I had watched my little toddler fade away in front of me with no answer, no one really listening, and yet, I knew as his mother something was wrong.
The defining moment in my fight? The moment when I wouldn’t back down? I was in the hospital. They were going to discharge Samuel and were telling me he was only sick because he was in a large family and was exposed to more germs.
Yet, I knew he was sick. The room was empty, and I was crying while I stared at my toddler sleeping on a bed besides me. I felt helpless. At that moment a nurse walked into the room, looked at me, and heard me exclaim, “Please, please…he needs help.”
She grabbed my hands, looked me squarely in the eyes, and told me, “You sit yourself down. Your boy is really sick. You must fight for him. Do not leave. But fight.” Something shifted.
I fought. I fought and fought and fought. And we got a diagnosis. And I still fight – for all the other mothers who are sitting in hospital rooms or in bedrooms or in clinics wondering what is wrong with their child and are begging for a simple Celiac lab draw that should be standard screening for all children.
That? That is where I’m not backing down.
I will not stop talking about Celiac Disease. I will not stop pushing for screening of Celiac Disease. I will not stop writing about gluten-free living and Celiac Disease. This? This is part of my responsibility as his mother. I won’t back down.
The new Fox movie, Won’t Back Down {release date September 28, 2012}, starring Oscar Nominees Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Rosie Perez and Academy Award Winner Holly Hunter, tells the story of two determined mothers {Gyllenhaal and Davis} whose minds are set on changing the system – the schools that their children attend.
They faced overwhelming obstacles and a system of bureaucracy for their children. It is a story of mothers taking a stand. Not backing down. There’s a line in the movie – about having one life to live – that resonated deeply with me.
We’ve got today. Today, and we can make a difference. We can’t live in regret, worry, and remorse – instead we need to live empowered and not backing down for those in our lives and taking a stand for what we believe in and know is right. We can make a difference.
I can make a difference in the Celiac Disease Community. I can push for Celiac Screening as needed screening for children.
You? You can make a difference as well. Maybe you talk to the mom alone at the park. Maybe you organize a school supply drive for a needy school. Maybe your city needs a safer park. Maybe you want better health options. Maybe. Make maybe a reality.
Consider going to see Won’t Back Down with a group of friends on September 28. You can purchase group tickets on their Facebook page . And make sure to stay up to date with trailers and information on the Won’t Back Down Facebook Page. Do me a favor – like their page – and let’s stand together supporting moms who believe in an issue and won’t back down.
Watch the powerful Won’t Back Down trailer – I get a bit teary watching these mothers fight for what they believe in. And then when you’re done, enter below for a chance to win one of two $40 Fandango gift cards. That’s right, I’m blessed to be able to give away two gift cards to one of you!
Moms, we can make a difference in this world. We can be courageous, fight, share, and not back down. Truly we can.
How can you be an agent for change in your community?
What gives you courage?
55 comments
I want to get involved with single moms and help support them. My courage comes from god and my family I suppose, I don’t think of myself as very courageous just do what is needed to get the job done.
POWERFUL. SO POWERFUL. I cannot WAIT to watch this movie. Thank you for the information and as always, thank you for your testimony to the strength within all of us mothers!!
This moving is going to be amazing! Thank you so much for your daily dose of encouragement. You give me the kick I need to be the best me I can be each day!
Thanks for the preview, looks inspiring! I hope to be an agent for change in my community by spreading the word of natural/alternative health, especially for children. My courage comes from the fact that both of my children have benefited from avoiding the mainstream medical/pharmaceutical approach, and I love to share this with others.
I’m working to fund school supplies and hospital memory boxes in my son’s name. He passed away almost 3 years ago. He loved school – hence why I NEED to fund supplies for our schools and we left the hospital the day he died with a box that was lacking majorly in the sentimental department.
I’m liking the FB page now and marking my calendar for September 28!
I have 2.
1. I want to get PE back in schools. Even if I can only start with one, or maybe even the preschool my kids attended. Some kind of physical education to help stop this obesity epidemic. When I was young we had PE everyday, and we had Presidential Fitness Awards, and we could do a pull up, or a sit up! We need this back! All the way to 12, senior year!
2. I want to create a community for other moms like me, whose husband is gone 80%+ of the time a social network to lean on, help and encorage at our darkest hours.
My strength, from my kids. I am fighting UC,(possibly Crohns, or Celiac, MS, Fibromyalgia, Lupus or RA). I have had to fight to get myself tested, as I have been sick(and doctors just want to pass me off to someone else). I look at my kids who depend on only me, who need me to be healthy and happy and here. Who I pray never have to have the health issues I have, as my oldest already shows signs of IBS/IBD.
I want to make a change.
I will pray for your son, and that getting kids tested for celiac can be a ‘norm’ in blood draws.
Thank you for your blog, it has inspired me to get back into mine, and inspired me to be a better mom each day!
Do you celebrate National Celiac Awareness Day? My daughter has been recently diagnosed, and I was wondering if Sept 13th really is the right day.
I work with our youth group, discipling teenaged girls. I love it and I’m honored to have a place in their lives.
i’d like to become more active in my church groups again instead of going through the motions. i want people to see the drive and get involved too!
God bless you for your fight – and for fighting for every other mother out there! Through your encouragement, inspiration, and real-world authenticism, we all feel a little stronger, even on those extra ‘tough’ days! I hadn’t heard of the movie and am so inspired. A good reminder for all of us fighting for our beliefs and building awareness, be it be it education, nutrition, vaccines, or mainstream medical care, we must fight!!
So true! A huge part of our roles as mothers and women is to fight for what is right in our lives. Love your post and your little guy is so lucky to have a momma who is a fighter!
I don’t know how yet … but I want to be a voice for other women who have shared the same struggle I have. Without going into detail, it just deals with a very emotional topic that I’ve dealt with personally and am still coming out of. My courage comes from my God, my family, but also, my little boy.
I get my courage and strength from my faith. My passion that I want to share with my community is healthy whole foods. Things that help make children, and adults, more healthy 🙂
I love your blog and this entry is inspirational. Looking forward to seeing the movie. I get courage from the unbelievable love I feel for my family, support I get from friends and my faith.
Even though I homeschool I also run a mentorship program for at risk kids in a local elementary school. I KNOW that there are moms who hope, pray and wish they could stay home like I do and so I want to offer some help to their kids by providing mentors. I hope this movie helps to get people talking about our american school system.
I think we can be agents of change in our communities simply by making sure we are aware of the needs of others and trying our best to meet those needs.
I find my strength from God and am bolstered by those around me who are faithful to Him.
I don’t know you but I am so proud of you!! I am also thankful for moms like you. Keep fighting and we’ll be here supporting you, gaining strength to fight our own battles, big and small.
Wow, this post is so inspiring (as is your entire blog, for that matter)! I am excited to see this movie! I want to be a positive influence of change in my community by encouraging women around me to read in a thoughtful way for education and edification, not just for entertainment. There is so much out there to learn and discover, and reading with purpose really starts opening those doors. I participate in a monthly book discussion group with a group of very wonderful and intelligent women, and we are working on ways to read and discuss in a way that opens our minds. It’s so much fun! When my kids are old enough, I also want to organize and teach a few classes in our homeschooling community, particularly on subjects that homeschoolers are known to be weak in (grammar, handwriting, writing skills, math, etc.). I am so excited for these opportunities!
As for courage–honestly, one big source of courage that help me want to make these changes is blogs like yours. I feel so inspired when I read the writings of strong, courageous women who aren’t afraid to really stand for what they believe in and what is important to them. Thank you for your inspiration!
if you see something you’d ilke changed, start with your county council
I fight for cystic fibrosis awareness. My oldest son was diagnosed at one week old through newborn screening, and I am so thankful for the moms who fought to make it a standard test for all newborns in our state! My courage comes from God and from this strong three year old son o f mine!
My strength comes from Jesus and Jesus alone. I was a teacher prior to having my son. I know things work in the schools that I’ve taught in. One of the things I try to do is help parents see that THEY have to be the voice for their child. If they see that something isn’t working or something isn’t right in the school, they have a voice that really counts for something. As our son grows and as we have more children, I plan to either be a homeschool mom or if we feel that they need to be a witness in the schools, we will send them but I plan to be actively involved in their education.
Thank you Rachel, for writing the things you do and for being a voice for mom’s. I came across your blog two or three weeks ago – when I was in a rut and reading it really made me rethink how I’ve been looking at staying at home verses teaching. I’m finally enjoying motherhood and embracing the gift God has given me. Thank you!
Wow. Truly inspiring. My mother has taught me through my struggles as a single mom that I am my son’s one and only advocate and I’ll gladly step up to the challenge to make sure he’s safe and protected and provided for. Thanks for sharing this!
For me, it is the foster care system.
We have adopted our two babies from foster care and experienced first hand how broken the system is. The children are ALL wonderful, loving, sweet, smart children but dealing with the ridiculous laws that hinder people from adopting them is crazy. SO many people want to adopt but we hide our orphans in group homes and send these families overseas. (I am pro ALL adoption, but know some families can’t afford to go overseas so they simply don’t adopt instead of adopting for FREE here in the US)
The system is so very broken and after seeing my babies lives forever changed the day they became ours, I WILL NOT BACK DOWN from helping all the other orphans find home.
I don’t know where to begin but all I can say is I pray often for God to use me to do something big and make a change. When that time comes, I will be ready to stand up and do what needs to be done. Thanks for posting!
Start with the appropriate elected official… and I find courage if I don’t have to stand alone.
thanks
kmassman gmail
I read this a few days ago and it’s still on my mind. Nearly 4 years ago I gave birth to a beautiful blessing born with a Congenitive Heart Defect. They told us she would be very sick. That she wouldn’t grow well, that she would need repair, her life would be hard. She grew, she overcame and she healed ON HER OWN, she has will, she has a stubborn streak, she has an amazing laugh. Often I hear that we are so lucky, why dwell? Why tell her tale? Why not forget the sorrow and fear and just move forward? Because there may be a family out there living our nightmare. Fairytail endings don’t just happen in books. Because I was THAT mom, the one who couldn’t cope, couldn’t put one foot in front of the next, just couldn’t do anything but wonder what “I” did wrong that my poor baby had to pay the price. I tell her story because I can, because it happened, because we overcame and maybe someone will relay our story to someone who NEEDS to hear it in their own dark moments. Because “I” needed a champion and there wasn’t one to lean on. This post of yours really radiated into my soul, it reminded me why I don’t let it go: because I am blessed and I never want to forget just how much. Because this changed my life in such a way that I am better, life is brighter and I move forward. I don’t want to forget, I want to remeber and I want to share.
Keep sharing, you touch my soul.
If something isn’t being done right then speak up about it. Nothing will change if no one says anything.
gina.m.maddox (at) gmail (dot) com
tweet–http://twitter.com/CrazyItalian0/status/245180473360400384
gina.m.maddox (at) gmail (dot) com
Volunteer, be informed, participate. Get to know my neighbors!
For the online community, I’d like to continue to support women to talk about their postpartum depression.
I am motivated by making sure my kids grow up in a crime free neighborhood by being a part of the neighborhood watch
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet
http://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/247923169992777729
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
I can be kind to those around me, even when I’m not treated well
tweeted
http://twitter.com/MelindaJoy926/status/248131936369905664
I work in an urban setting so Im always trying to change the way people think about underprivledged populations
seanm1999 at hotmail dot com
i find courage in standing up for what’s right
karinaroselee at gmail dot com
http://twitter.com/karinaroselee/status/249262975146401792
karinaroselee at gmail dot com
Volunteer work can make you an agent for change in your community.
rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/rhoneygee/status/249429597983211520
rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com
I can volunteer more and inspire others to do the same! That will promote good for the world. Seeing others take action and stand up for what is right gives me courage to do the same.
i tweeted here:
http://twitter.com/bellows22/status/249929680197652480
debbiebellows (at) gmail (dot) com
What give me courage is blogging, and the whole blogging community. We feed each other. We change each other. We inspire each other.
chambanachik@gmail.com
I volunteer, and my family gives me the courage to do what I think is right.
MCantu1019 at aol dot com
I want to walk with a group to lose or maintain weight and get others healthy and inspired along with myself. The head of Physical Therapy Department where I worked for 25 years had a simple suggestion to go on a 30 minute walk after dinner every day at a pace whereby you can carry on a conversation. You would be in better shape and fit without any machines, just your own feet and gumption.
Looks like a powerful movie!
Donate some clothes you don’t wear anymore to become an agent of your community… I do! Or pick up the trash you see directly in front of you on your way into the store. Other people will follow once they see you do it first.
Honestly, I think I was a warrior in a previous life… courage… I got a lot of it.
kytah00@yahoo.com
2nd entry tweet! http://twitter.com/kytah00/status/250859493062213632
I can help the community by acting instead of ignoring the negative things that are going on in my neighborhood. My children give me courage.
willitara [at] gmail [dot] com
I would become more involved with the youth, my family gives me courage. sweepmorey at gmail dot com
tweeted http://twitter.com/mommysdizzy/status/252187840425889793
I sing with the Raging Grannies and we try to change hearts and minds through humorous songs.
Thanks for the contest.
slehan at juno dot com
blogged:
http://slehan.blogspot.com/2012/09/win-40-fandango-gc-from-blogher.html
Tweet – http://twitter.com/willitara/status/252490822807871488
willitara [at] gmail [dot] com
Keep informed, stay engaged and pursue the most important issue to my family.
eugeniewu at gmail dot com
I care about my family and community so I try to pursue issues that matter the most to both.
hlee99 at gmail dot com
my son gives me courage, cause i want things better for him…i just started volunterring at his school and joined the pto
nannypanpan@gmail.com