# data[].attributes.headline
As soon as each one of my three beating hearts—my children—left my body and entered the world, I knew I would love them the same, but treat them differently. You see, our oldest daughter, Emma, was born with a rare chromosomal abnormality that would leave her developmentally delayed, physically and intellectually disabled, and forever dependent on others for her care and wellbeing. She was a medical enigma from the very beginning. With each surgery to correct one faulty organ or another, each new medication to mitigate her seizures, the various therapies to teach her to speak, eat by mouth, walk—these interventions often felt like probing efforts at finding her wholeness, akin to the repeated opening of the Matryosha doll I used to play with in my grandmother’s home in Ukraine, until I reached the center, where the doll was intact. I was overwhelmed by love for her, but also fear. Fear of what the future portended for her. Fear of what the commitment to her care would do to my life. Truth was, I didn’t know if I could love my daughter enough. 

# data[].attributes.subject
As soon as each one of my three beating hearts—my children—left my body and entered the world, I knew I would love them the same, but treat them differently. You see, our oldest daughter, Emma, was born with a rare chromosomal abnormality that would leave her developmentally delayed, physically and intellectually disabled, and forever dependent on others for her care and wellbeing. She was a medical enigma from the very beginning. With each surgery to correct one faulty organ or another, each new medication to mitigate her seizures, the various therapies to teach her to speak, eat by mouth, walk—these interventions often felt like probing efforts at finding her wholeness, akin to the repeated opening of the Matryosha doll I used to play with in my grandmother’s home in Ukraine, until I reached the center, where the doll was intact. I was overwhelmed by love for her, but also fear. Fear of what the future portended for her. Fear of what the commitment to her care would do to my life. Truth was, I didn’t know if I could love my daughter enough. 

# data[].attributes.body
https://linktr.ee/dkupershmit

# data[].attributes.body
My Photography