Precerpt from Raising God's Rainbow Makers: Lizzies vs the Red Cross
Doah’s tracheotomy changed everything. With that tiny tube in place, he could finally breathe more easily and more continuously. Our world narrowed to one primary concern: keeping the airway clear. Plugs were our nemesis, but I learned to manage them, and for a while, that was enough.
Then came the day he decannulated himself—far too early, far too suddenly, and entirely by accident. I’ve written about that moment before: the shock, the scramble, the impossible calm that mothers somehow summon when the stakes are highest. Because he was able to breathe on his own, the doctor made the call not to re‑trach him. Instead, he looked at me with a seriousness that settled deep into my bones and said, “Keep your CPR skills sharp. You’re going to need them until he grows and the subglottic stenosis takes up less of his airway.”
He was right. I used those skills more often than any mother should ever have to.
The hardest part wasn’t the CPR itself. It was the fact that when Donnie was at work—and he was at work a lot—I was the only one who knew how to do it. Doah was always with me: at home, at my job, in the car, everywhere. I was his safety net, his respiratory system’s backup plan, his emergency response team.
And little, always‑logical Lizzie noticed.
She watched me revive her brother more times than any child should witness. She watched me carry the weight of being the only trained adult in the house. And one day, she asked the question that had clearly been simmering in her mind:
“What happens if Doah stops breathing while you’re in the shower?”
She didn’t like the answer she imagined. So she came up with her own solution.
“I need to learn CPR,” she announced.
So, off we went to the Red Cross.
"How old are you?" they asked, pretty aware that she was quite young.
"Nine," she pronounced with pride.
“You have to be thirteen,” they told her.
“Why?” she asked, in that calm, pointed way she had even as a child.
“That’s the age requirement for certification.”
Lizzie didn’t blink. “I don’t need to be certified. I just need to know how to save my brother if my mother is in the shower and he stops breathing.”
There are moments when a child’s clarity cuts through bureaucracy like a laser. This was one of them.
Her persistence won. They let her into the class with the understanding that she wouldn’t receive a certificate—but she could learn everything.
And learn she did.
At the end of the course, the instructor told me, “Lizzie was the best student in this class—better than all the adults.”
Of course, she was. She had something no one else in that room had: real‑life motivation. She wasn’t learning for a card in her wallet. She was learning because her brother’s life might one day depend on her.
That early fire never left her. Over the years, Lizzie has continued to advocate fiercely—for herself, for Doah, and for her siblings. She learned young how to stand her ground, how to speak truth to authority, and how to insist on what is necessary rather than what is merely allowed.
And it all started with a little girl who refused to accept that a rulebook mattered more than her brother’s life.
Book Description:
Raising God's Rainbow Makers
A Family Memoir of Grace, Grit, and Growing Up Different
What happens when a military family welcomes four children—each with wildly different needs—into a world not always built to support them?
In Raising God’s Rainbow Makers, one mother shares the remarkable journey of raising two children with complex disabilities—one with spina bifida, one with CHARGE Syndrome—and two intellectually gifted children, all born in different states during years of military life. Through medical crises, educational challenges, and societal roadblocks (both intentional and unintentional), this honest and inspiring memoir tells the story of how one family built a life of strength, compassion, and resilience.
With warmth and unflinching honesty, the author reflects on emergency surgeries, IEP battles, unexpected victories, and the fierce sibling bonds that formed in the face of it all. The children—now grown—bear witness to the power of support, faith, and never giving up.
This is not just a story of survival. It is a celebration of difference, a chronicle of hope, and a powerful testament to what love and determination can build when the world says "impossible."
Keywords:
Parenting memoir; Special needs parenting; Raising children with disabilities; Military family life; Family resilience; Inspirational family story; Faith-based memoir; Coping with medical challenges; Sibling support stories; Gifted children; Spina bifida; CHARGE Syndrome; Hydrocephalus; Congenital disabilities; Complex medical needs; Pediatric neurosurgery; IEP and special education; Gifted education; Educational advocacy; Inclusive education; Hope and healing; Courage and strength; Love and perseverance; Raising different children; Disability acceptance; Parenting through adversity; Overcoming barriers; Finding joy in hardship; Special needs journey; Family unity and support; For parents of disabled children; For parents of gifted children; For educators and therapists; Christian parenting memoir; For families facing rare diagnoses; Real-life parenting stories; Memoirs about raising children; Stories of medical miracles
For more posts about Elizabeth and her books, click HERE.
Read more stories -- and photos -- about the Mahlou family in the blog (no longer maintained), Clan of Mahlou.
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