Annette Hines is a best-selling author, lawyer, and the founder of Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts, PC. Her world as she knew it exploded when her infant daughter Elizabeth was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease—a degenerative, life-limiting illness. Annette’s joy quickly turned to apprehension and she knew nothing would ever be the same again.

In this week’s new episode, Annette shares her journey with her daughter Elizabeth, and learning to become an advocate in the face of adversity, but also in joy. In her book, Butterflies and Second Chances, Annette was able to share her family’s story and provide hope and inspiration to so many. It’s the inspiring true story of a mother’s special needs journey, and her struggle to secure the best possible life for her child in the face of bureaucratic resistance and marital crisis.

When Annette first started writing, she wrote the book for herself. She hadn’t connected yet with other parents who had lost children to illness, and that was an amazing turning point for her. She realized that she was creating an incredible tool that could help other families who are experiencing the same hardships - and watching the impact that her journey and book are having on others, has been incredible. Annette’s story is one of sacrifice, dedication, and the life-altering adjustments a special needs parent has to make when confronted with the unthinkable. But most of all, it’s about love and an extraordinary mother-daughter relationship that flourished without words in the darkest shadows of adversity. Annette and Elizabeth’s powerful story provides hope, solace, and a path forward for parents of special needs children, and I know that it will resonate with you, too.

“Through sharing my story I’ve learned that there are a lot more people out there that feel like I do, that feel lonely or disconnected and scared. For me, the answer was always connecting with other moms, parents, and community members who are going through similar things that I was going through. I want to create an army of advocates, well-informed family and community members that are going to advance the disability community.”

— Annette Hines

Tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM

Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632

To learn more about Annette, you can connect with her on her website here on Facebook @specialneedslawgroup Twitter @annettehines15 and you can find Butterflies and Second Chances: A Mom’s Memoir of Love and Loss on Amazon here, and their podcast, Parenting Impossible: The Special Needs Survival Podcast can be found here

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.