Meghan King is having a tough time as she navigates her son Hart’s complex health issues.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star got extremely candid about what it’s been like to care for her 3-year-old, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in 2020. He also has Periventricular Leukomalacia, a condition that often goes hand in hand with CP.
And now, on Thursday, Meghan opened up about the entire situation. Sharing a teary-eyed photo of herself in her car with Hart in the background, she mused:
“I don’t like being defined as a mother of a child with cerebral palsy. In fact, I actively work against it. I seldom share with you the challenges Hart faces and instead focus on how great he’s doing while trying to give equal focus to my other two children and myself.”
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As much as she tries to focus on the positive aspects of her life, Hart’s condition is proving increasingly difficult for her to manage these days, she revealed:
“But the reality is that Hart’s brain injury affects all of our lives daily.”
Of course, King is also mom to Hart’s twin Hayes, as well as 5-year-old daughter Aspen.
Having so many little ones requires a lot of time and energy — something that is hard to balance when one child has a significant challenge that requires extra attention. Discussing her son’s symptoms, she expressed:
“Although CP is defined as a motor disability, its symptoms rear their heads in a plethora of other ways. Today is the second day in a row that Hart has had to leave school for poor behavior. This not only renders me unable to work during that short school window but it leaves me feeling frustrated and helpless for both of us.”
Without a doubt, that must be so difficult.
And as a single momma — she split from her ex-husband and the father of her children, former baseball star Jim Edmonds, in October 2019 — we can’t imagine how stressful it is to lose that precious few hours to herself.
This pattern has led the reality star to spiral a bit, wondering:
“Is his environment too inconsistent? Is he not getting enough attention? How do I balance his needs with the other needs in the household? Is there such a thing as balance? Is there a solution? Is happiness achievable or are we bound to a lifetime of rollercoaster behaviors, merry-go-round therapies, and erratic emotions that eat into everyone’s time and energy?”
Oof.
The 37-year-old continued:
“The unknown is daunting. How do I keep him integrated in normal schooling when he acts violently or disruptive? How? Thank you for attending my depressing TED talk.”
Very real, for sure.
King has received an outpouring of love from celebs and fans. Check it out (below).
As we noted (above), Cuffe Owens’ ex-wife has been dealing with these health challenges for a few years now.
She opened up about learning about her child’s diagnosis in a revealing blog post two years ago, reflecting:
“Even though he’s the same kid, I expected it to hit me hard. But it didn’t. It didn’t hit me hard at all. In fact, I felt relieved. … This is the once dreadful diagnosis I knew was coming since that fateful day I googled the right thing and it hit me like a truck: CP. I knew it was CP since Hart was a few months old. I just knew.”
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She also said of Hart:
“Hart’s brain isn’t paralyzed, but there are some areas of damage. CP quite simply manifests as a motor disorder. That’s it. Yep. It has nothing to do with cognitive function, hearing, etc. (although these are deficits often found in people who have CP they are referred to as ‘comorbidities’ and not CP by definition).”
He has continued to receive therapy over the years. There’s no question he’s receiving a lot of love and care at home, too.
And we continue to hope Meg gets the help she needs to figure out this tricky school situation and these ongoing behavior issues.
We’re sending her so much love!! She’s clearly doing a great job in this sensitive situation, even if it doesn’t feel like that to her all the time.
[Image via Meghan King/Instagram]
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