We recently connected with Leilani Melendez and have shared our conversation below.
Leilani, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
In the early morning of September 28th I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. But at first look, I knew something was not quite right. As the morning progressed, doctors and nurses rushed in and out, noticing certain characteristics that need more attention than other newborns. Eventually, they took her to the NICU, which is where I spent the next week learning more and more about my daughter.
Every test was performed on her that you could imagine. And after endless nights of no rest, we found out that my daughter had a heart condition that would require her to have surgery within the first year of life and that she also had Down Syndrome.
As the reality hit that I was to spend the rest of my life caring or Special Needs child I was not sure if I was ready. However, it would be deceptive of me if I do not mention that God Himself intervened and comforted me through this time. I couldn’t have done it without Him.
As I brought my girl home, I realized that it was more than just feeding and rocking her to sleep that needed to be done. There was a huge amount of doctors appointments, therapies, and much more that was involved. I felt like I had neglected my other children, that as a homeschool – I wasn’t doing enough, but once again, God intervened like He always does. He provided the necessary means to help us during this time.
We had families bring dinner to our house, my mother-in-law helped take care of my other three children. My husband was able to be home. 4 days during the week and little things came up that encouraged me that God was taking care of us.
After months and months of going through all of this, Naomi finally had her open heart surgery. Family and friends came out to donate blood and platelets in order for her, God’ kept the surgeons hands protected as they operated on her and did a fabulous job. The surgery was success. But this was only the start of our journey.
It’s been almost 8 years since the surgery and my daughter has grown to be a beautiful young girl. She does have down syndrome,and therapies are a part of her everyday life. The best news is that we are able to homeschool her, with her siblings, and be in charge of her education. Everyone in the family is involved and it is so encouraging And as a result, not only has her family Phone closer together, but I have been able to encourage other moms to homeschool their children with unique abilities and disabilities.
To say that my purpose in my life has been found in helping my daughter learn her way through this world, is only partially true. I have learned so much from this experience. I have learned the importance of family, love, patience, generosity, compassion, and much more. I also have learned that people can be extremely cruel, without even realizing it. I’ve also learned to have compassion on those people because most of the time it’s because they don’t understand or they are afraid of what they are not used to. Part of my passion is to show other people that even though a child has a disability, they are worthy. They have a purpose and that can share and teach us things that no one else can.
Of course, I mentioned that I found part of my purpose through my experience with my daughter. My family and friends are a part of this too. But truly all of really goes to God. He is the orchestrator of everything and everything that has been good in my life has come from Him.. Even my purpose is really His.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Not only am I a stay at home homeschool mom to four of my beautiful children, but I have a YouTube channel called living with Eve. On this channel, which has over 600 videos, I share inside tips and encouragement along with our day-to-day life on how we do things. Because of my experience as a classroom teacher, I have also been able to do homeschool evaluations for the state of Florida. I have it expanded this and started consultations worldwide. I am also written a book entitled freedom to learn and on my website I sell preschool – 3rd grade packets that help young children learn academic skills while focusing on their relationship with God. These packets are not only for for elementary students, but they are specifically geared for children that have intellectual disabilities. I also do speaking engagements. All of these are on my website: www.leilanimelendez.com
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The first quality would be my faith. That is because I’ve had to rely on God for absolutely everything.
Second would be my perseverance. I tend to never want to give up.
Third, I would consider myself a lifelong learner. Education did not finish when I graduated college, but it has continued. This quality I believe has also been instilled in my children so that all of us realize that we are not perfect, and we always have something to learn.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My largest area of growth in the last 12 months is focusing more on meeting the needs of others, including my family first, friends, and then people that I connect with as either business partners or clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Leilanimelendez.com
- Instagram: Living_with_eve
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/ALAa4HPot8BajaTK/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://Youtube.com/c/livingwitheve
Image Credits
They are my personal photos.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
