Caleb and Cassie McLelland
Glenn McLelland
updated 10/16/2014 AT 03:30 PM EDT
•originally published 10/16/2014 AT 03:00 PM EDT
McLelland was 18 weeks pregnant when she learned Caleb would be born with spina bifida. But, as she told the Huffington Post, "If I had just known how amazing Caleb would be, I wouldn't have been so scared. That's the message I would want to share with anyone facing this same situation."
Caleb McLelland
Cassie McLelland
McLelland started dressing up Caleb's wheelchair for Halloween when he was 3, and as he's gotten older, they've started collaborating on costumes.
Caleb McLelland
Cassie McLelland
"I know they look elaborate but, honestly, my only tools are a hot glue gun and some cardboard," McLelland said. "Anyone can do it and many do. I see more and more wheelchair costumes every single year."
Caleb McLelland
Cassie McLelland
Spina bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the U.S. It occurs when a baby's spinal column doesn't close up properly while in the womb. Although about eight babies are born in the U.S. each day with SB, it remains a relatively unknown disease.
Caleb McLelland
Cassie McLelland
"I think people assume that our lives are somehow abnormal compared to everyone else," McLelland said. "I think people assume that our lives revolve around Caleb and spina bifida, that SB consumes our lives. It doesn't. Spina bifida is part of our life, but it isn't our life."
"I want people to see Caleb, not just the wheelchair or the leg braces, but Caleb … He is active, smart, funny and terribly handsome," she continues. "I want people to know that Caleb is so much more than his diagnosis. I want people to see that a wheelchair is not something that he is 'bound' to or 'confined' to, it's his freedom. Mobility is a beautiful thing. That boy is living life and I'm just along for the ride. And it's been a pretty good ride so far."
You can make a donation to the Spina Bifida Association here.
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