2025: Parish Webber
Written by Kelli Webber, Parish’s Mom
Looking back now, it feels like our son was born to inspire. Reminding people how to find joy in everyday things. How to be brave, keep a positive attitude, and appreciate the small things.
He was born six weeks early, weighing only 4 lbs. 1 oz., with blocked bile ducts in his liver and cataracts in both of his eyes, like old man. He was our own tiny Benjamin Button.
At 3 weeks old, he had his first surgery to remove the cataract in his left eye, then another surgery to remove the cataract in his right eye. Immediately afterwards, he had to have a liver biopsy to rule out liver disease that could require a liver transplant. In 4 months, he underwent 5 major medical procedures.
Thankfully, no liver transplant was needed, but after the removal of his cataracts, they discovered scarring leading to vision loss in his left eye, and he had developed glaucoma. He was about 6 months old when we finally processed what had become our new normal…and another realization hit us. Oh yeah…he also has Down syndrome!
Then came the therapies - Speech therapy. Occupational therapy. Physical therapy. Vision therapy. All the therapies. And those therapists became our family. Always reassuring us that our son would hit milestones on his own timeline; teaching us how to celebrate every moment and how to appreciate my son for exactly who he was.
When he was 4 years old, his battle with glaucoma heightened. We found ourselves on a red eye flight to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL so he could have tubes placed inside his left eye to relieve the pressure from glaucoma. Since then, he has had at least 10 more eye surgeries, but I’m thankful for the medical professionals who poured their hearts into the care they gave him.
During this time, as he was bravely facing challenges most adults never face, his big personality began to form. We could already feel there was something innately different about our son, his ability to bring out the absolute best in others.
Throughout the years, in every interaction people seemed touched by his smile that eased their bad day. His hug that washed away the weight they had been carrying. His presence brought calm to chaos, his sense of humor and zest for life returned a sparkle to the eyes of those lost. I was in awe of the impact he had on others. His immense love and pride in everything he does is contagious.
Impressed by his huge imagination, his story telling, singing, jamming out at max volume, calling his shots in baseball like Babe Ruth, high fiving the crowd, holding his 10-point Kentucky buck, or catching his big ole 20 lb. redfish in Caminada Pass, I noticed a positive change in the public’s perspective towards kids with disabilities.
Ever since my son was born, I have heard the phrase, “God only gives special children to special parents.” Well, I am here to tell you that is absolutely not true. There is nothing special about me. In fact, I firmly believe that I was not meant to be his mother. Rather, he was meant to be my son. I was not meant for him; he was meant for me. This young man teaches me more every single day about life and how to live, than I could ever teach him, and if you have ever had the opportunity to cross paths with this kid, I hope he’s touched your heart and inspired you in the same way. He is my favorite person in the whole wide world. My son, our Great Bambino, Parish Race Webber.
