LPA National Conference 2008 Report (part 1)

For Owen's 1st Birthday, his family and friends contributed to a fund that allowed him lifetime membership to the LPA. In my thank you cards, I expressed my gratitude for providing Owen with a means to life long support and friendship. At the time, my word were only theoretical. This week truly allowed me to see what a blessing the Little People of America organization is to our family.

Every year, the LPA hosts a national conference in a different major city. It is a week long opportunity for little people and their families to catch up with friends, attend workshops, see medical specialists and compete in sports. This year the conference was in Detroit which means we were lucky enough to attend. If it wouldn't have been in our own backyard, I doubt we would have gone. Our thoughts were that Owen was really too young to understand what was going on anyway. Obviously we didn't even occur to us that the conference would benefit us as well.

Conferences seem to be a family affair. The average height people (or AP's which is apparently what all the kids are calling us these days), seemed just as integrated into the LPA life as the little people. It makes sense when you think about it. Statistically 80% of dwarfs have average size parents. But it wasn't just parents. Siblings, friends and grandparents were all in on the fun. It was a huge relief to see. It was a relief to know that Owen's dwarfism won't keep me from relating to this aspect of his life.

There were a lot of 1st time parents with kids under 2, the youngest I met being 11 months old. There were also parents who waited a bit to bring their LP children. I talked to a woman who attended conference for the first time with her 6 year old and an older LP (I wasn't rude enough to ask his age) who had just recently started attending. Either way, from a social aspect it didn't appear to make a difference if you had been attending your whole life or if you were a newbie at 40. Everyone seems to find their place.

It was very refreshing to find myself in the company of parents who really, truly know what it's like to be a parent in our situation. Conversation flowed without having to go through the "dwarfism rhetoric" that I'm becoming an expert at. Mine goes something like this - "Owen is a little person. He has a condition called achondroplasia which is the most common form of dwarfism. We are not sure how tall he will be but the average height of a dwarf with his condition is about 4 feet. There are some things that medically, we will have to keep an eye on, but otherwise he will just be short." - Pretty good huh?! Anyway, with other parents of little people you can skip this whole thing and just give "the stats". Age, type of dwarfism, where you were from, how many conferences you've been to and how you found out your child had dwarfism. I talked to different parents about so many things. How do the other kids react? How to their siblings handle all the attention an LP gets? How did dating go? How's school? It was so nice to not only share my experiences, but to hear other people stories.

It was really nice to talk to other little people. I've never known anyone with dwarfism and it was exciting (yes, exciting) to be able to spend days in the company of so many great people. At first it is a little jarring to be surrounded by people who are physically different from yourself. After a bit however, you realize that the difference is of no more importance than hair color. For me to go through that was important because I know that other people will do the same around Owen.

I can't even begin to discribe how much we got out of this conference. I am whole-heartedly looking forward to them in the future. If I wasn't the parent of a little person, I would for sure try to weasle my way into conference every year. Most importantly I think that this week has facilitated an existential shift in my thinking. Instead of living the best life possible despite Owen's condition, we are living the best life possible because of it.

Owen's used a stool for the first time at conference!
Dan and Owen at the Newcomer's Reception
Networking...
The Mallinson's from California with their beautiful daughter Caitlin(achondroplaisa, 11 months)
Family shot!
Owen's new friend Patrick
Uhh...Hey bro, I thought we were in this dwarfism thing together!
Julie from Arkansas reads my blog! Poor girl...
New District 5 Mascot
Double fisting muffins after the medical workshop in which Dr. Pauli told us that Owen should be eating 2/3rds of what average height babies eat. Hmmm...Is he thinking that an AH baby would eat 3 muffins?
Taking a dip before the festivities
Bundled up with Grandma and Grandpa who came down to see me! They went to the Grandparents meeting too!
Playing in the water at the Riverwalk
The Roloffs spoke and did an question and answer. Owen asked Zach about what it was like to date.
This is at the DAAA games (Dwarf Athletic Association of America). They were taping for "Little People, Big World".
More DAAA games
Just watching these guys makes me tired!
Blowing kisses to dad
Mommy and me
Finally! Mom, Dad - you can leave now, I found the boys.
Owen and his buddy Knoah
Gabe from New Mexico and Sandy from California introduced themselves. They read my blog too! I introduced them to Julie so they could form a support group.
Me, Owen, Sue and Aiden (from Perrysburg, OH) Grandma's giving me snacks at the talent show.
Mind if I take a load off?