10 More Seconds

I keep seeing posts from caregivers of children with disabilities saying they hope they outlive their child by 10 seconds.

Just long enough to know their child won’t have to exist in this world without them.

And if that sounds heartbreaking to you… imagine carrying the kind of fear that makes that feel comforting.

Because these caregivers are not just parents.

They are the case managers, nurses, advocates, teachers, therapists, interpreters, protectors, and safe places all wrapped into one exhausted human being.

They know how to keep their child safe in a world that often doesn’t understand them, accommodate them, or protect them.

And many are carrying all of this completely alone.

So when a caregiver says they hope they go second… it’s not because the pain of losing a child feels small.

It’s because the thought of leaving their child behind in a world that has not shown them kindness, safety, or dignity feels unbearable.