A great, big thank you to...Kate at Gavin, Brian and Darcy

Kate from the CaringBridge journal Gavin, Brian and Darcy was one of my early readers. I tend to post late at night, and Kate would send e-mails telling me she was waiting up for my posts. I was so flattered. We'd trade advice, musings on life, and secrets that we didn't talk about in real life.

Kate touched me because what she was going through with her first son, Gavin—who, like Max, has cerebral palsy— reminded me of what I'd been through when Max was young. Kate is very like me: curious, feisty, gung-ho to try alternative stuff like hyperbaric oxygen treatment (she set up a special tent in her home and she'd hang there with Gavin). She is also really, really funny—her Facebook updates are killer, and titles of her posts often make me smile ("Hop on the train to crazy town. I'm driving.") She's been through a lot these past few months, and her sense of humor has bounded right back. But she's not afraid to show just how deep despair can get.

Last spring, Kate told me that Duke University was doing stem cell infusions for children with cerebral palsy. We'd looked into stem cell treatments after Max was born—we'd banked his cord blood—but at the time, nobody was doing them for kids. I'd sort of given up on that until I heard from Kate. She'd been to a conference, and had gotten a packet of information that she sent to me. Max got his stem cell infusion last August. We're not sure how and if it's helped Max, but he continues to make good progress—and that's all that matters.

If it weren't for Kate, I probably wouldn't have heard about Duke University's program until it was too late (they were focusing on kids under 6, Max just made the cut-off). If it weren't for Kate, I would feel more alone as the parent of a kid with special needs. If it weren't for Kate, my life would be less funny.

Thank you, oh wonderful Kate. Max thanks you, too.

This is the fourth post in a series sponsored by P&G's Thank You, Mom program. Check out who else is getting thanked over at The Motherhood, who put this program together.