The Milwaukee Post

14 • Milwaukee County Post • April 13, 2018 We are doing a Feature Section on 101 Things to do This Summer. • Purchase a retail display ad and receive a FREE listing in this special feature. • We offer affordable pricing. • Your ad will be seen by 23,700+ Milwaukee County Post readers. • Long shelf life – Our readers reference this featured section all summer. Display Ad Deadline: Friday, May 11 Publishes: Friday, May 18 Call Now to Reserve Your Space: Julia – (414) 744-6370x17 jlegath@conleynet.com Barry – (262) 513-2637 brichards@conleynet.com Would you like to promote your community's 2018 Milwaukee Bay View St. Francis Cudahy South Milwaukee Oak Creek Franklin Greendale Hales Corners Greenfi eld West Allis West Milwaukee Summer Fun Activities? We are doing a Feature Section on 101 Things to do This Summer. • Purchase a retail display ad and receive a FREE listing in this special feature. • We offer affordable pricing. • Your ad will be seen by 23,700+ Milwaukee County Post readers. • Long shelf life – Our readers reference this featured section all summer. Display Ad Deadline: Friday, May 11 Publishes: Friday, May 18 Call Now to Reserve Your Space: Julia – (414) 744-6370x17 jlegath@conleynet.com Barry – (262) 513-2637 brichards@conleynet.com Would you like to promote your community's 2018 Milwaukee Bay View St. Francis Cudahy South Milwaukee Oak Creek Franklin Greendale Hales Corners Greenfi eld West Allis West Milwaukee Saturday April 21, 2018 Milwaukee Moose Lodge 49 5476 S. 13th St., Milwaukee, WI 53221 414-281-4444 9am – 2pm Open to the Public – Admission $1.00 Fun for All! Free Parking! Church of the Immaculate Conception Co-Sponsored by W152 1023 E. Russell Avenue Pasta, Meatballs/Sauce Dinner Saturday, April 14th - 4:30-7:00pm Ryan Hall (School Hall) Adults....$10.00 Child's (under 12)....$7.00 3 & Under...FREE Includes Tossed Salad, Italian Bread ALL YOU CARE TO EAT! Divine Desserts Available! Beverage Center, Take-Outs Pull Tabs &Raffles 259968052 Please Call if you M O V E D ! at 414-744-6370 Leave a Message Name • Phone # Old Address & New Address & Apt. # or Lot # We Love Our Readers Thank You Milwaukee Co. Post By TOM JOZWIK Special to the Post "The Maggies of the world have much to teach us, if we are willing to listen." — John T. McCarthy, "Maggie's Angels" Wauwatosan John T. McCarthy's 2016 book "Maggie's Angels" is subti- tled "Loving, Living with, and Learning from a Special Needs Daughter." McCarthy said in a tele- phone interview that, when he spoke to the Milwaukee Center for Independence Caregiver Support Group in Milwaukee recently, "the emphasis was on (the) lessons learned" segment of the sub- title. "I contend that the special needs (individuals') moms are the heroic ones," McCarthy said over the phone, citing one of "eight life lessons learned as a spe- cial needs (child's) father"— lessons he shared with the support group. "But the fathers have a big role to play: the role of protector," he added. "Now (in retirement from financial planning and investment advising) I'm try- ing to take a little more of the caretaking responsibility. I have to exercise all kinds of patience." Which brings us to the sec- ond lesson learned. "Patience is a necessary virtue." Maggie, at 32 the eldest of John and one-time nurse Cathy McCarthy's three chil- dren, "has two speeds, slow and deliberate," the author/public speaker pro- ceeded to explain. "If you foolishly try to stop her, she comes to a complete stop." The remaining six lessons? ■ "Take good care of your- self as a caregiver." ■ "Don't go it alone, seek out lots of help." ■ "Discover what makes life special for your loved one." ■ "Let the angels into your lives." ■ "Learn to love your loved ones all the more." ■ "Life planning — be proactive and plan ahead." McCarthy pointed out that "good care" of oneself incor- porates mental and emotion- al, as well as physical, care. "In my case, I have to watch my blood pressure," said the 66-year-old. "My wife does yoga and meditates." "Don't go it alone," he con- tinued. "Seek out lots of help. Support groups. Doctors." For McCarthy's loved one, Special Olympics (she com- petes as a race walker) and art classes at a Donna Lexa Art Center make life special. "Maggie likes being the cen- ter of attention, likes being involved," her father said. Letting angels in does not mean welcoming winged ser- aphs. Maggie's angels have included a teacher, a case- worker, a tour guide in Ireland, a Nigerian priest, neighbors and medical per- sonnel. McCarthy has writ- ten, "Maggie's angels play a large role in her life, seeming- ly on an as-needed basis." Some of these "flesh-and- blood angels … serve as indi- vidual companions to Maggie and offer Cathy — and me to a lesser extent — a welcome break and needed respite." According to "Maggie's Angels," 20 percent of Americans have relatives liv- ing with a disability, half of them "with a severe disabili- ty such as Maggie's." McCarthy readily conceded that "there are many chal- lenges" to parenting an intel- lectually, or cognitively, dis- abled child. "But (those chal- lenges are) balanced with rewards." Maggie, for exam- ple, "is very loving — unconditional in her love — (and) genuine in her feel- ings," completely devoid of prejudice, "totally uncon- cerned with status, material possessions or appearances." "Maggie's made her broth- er and sister (Jack and Martha, both adults and on their own) better people," McCarthy observed. "They love their sister," he added, and she has given them "grat- itude (for) how good they have it." In "Maggie's Angels" he writes, "We have without a doubt been enriched as a family by hav- ing Maggie play a major role in our lives." Not that it's been an easy row to hoe. Maggie walks, talks, feeds herself, takes care of her bathroom needs … but her neurological condition affects her balance, as well as her cognition, and her behavior can — occasionally, if rather rarely — be loud and inappro- priate. "She can make us cry and she can make us laugh a lot," McCarthy said over the phone. According to his book, "Life with Maggie does have heartaches, but life is never dull." Area author McCarthy discusses raising special daughter Maggie McCarthy is the subject of the book "Maggie's Angels" by her father, John T. McCarthy. Submitted photo ENTERTAINMENT

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