Women Who Shine: Vote for Warrior Mama Sally B.

When I heard about the Yahoo Women Who Shine event, the first person who popped into my head is someone I’ve known since she was (very) pregnant with her now nearly 4 year old.  We met though a new mom’s support group when we were stumbling through the first bleary-eyed months of motherhood together.   Looking back, things were simple then. Truly: Eat. Sleep. Poop. Those were our concerns.

Fast Forward to New Years Eve, 2009. While I’m looking forward to my son’s second birthday party, Sally has just learned that her son will never walk. Sally’s son Oscar was diagnosed with SMA type II, a rare genetic degenerative neuromuscular disorder. In one day, Sally and her husband David, had their lived completely turned inside out and wrung out to dry.

Fast Forward again to today. In the nearly 3 years since Oscar’s diagnosis, Sally has become a warrior mama. Not only does she complete the myriad tasks, support, therapy appointments, and daily minutia that come with having a child with special needs, but she teaches writing and creative expression, makes time for her friends, advocates and is active in the SMA community, and makes it her business to help other families by presenting at the annual FSMA Conference.

Sally isn’t just a “Woman who shines” — she is a beacon of light and inspiration to her community.

Why should you vote for Sally? If she wins, she gets $10,000. You know what that means? She is one step further to a Wheelchair Accesible Van — the one thing that will help Oscar actively engage in his community. So VOTE, and vote daily.

Disclaimer: I was compensated for this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here. Even if I wasn’t friends with her I would tell you to Vote for Sally because she’s that awesome. You can also learn more about Sally, David, and Oscar at their awesome site, Oscar-Go!