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INSPIRATION
A dIFFErENT rOAd TO THEIr drEAMS
Patrick John and Patrick Henry Hughes
“Pregnant” and “expecting” are synonymous terms for a reason. Expectations are a natural part of childbirth. Like
all expectant parents, Patrick John and Patricia Hughes wanted their first-born child to have all the opportunities for
success and happiness that any child would have.
When their son was born without eyes and a tightening of the limbs that made straightening his arms impossible—and
would make him reliant on a wheelchair for mobility—it was devastating. Suddenly they found themselves having to
redefine their expectations and dreams for their little son. In the weeks and months after his birth, Patrick John said he
and Patricia buried dream after dream as they cried themselves to sleep each night wondering, “what next?”
“As scary as the things we knew about our son were, even scarier were the things we didn’t know,” Patrick John said.
“How would he develop cognitively and what else would go wrong in the coming weeks and months?
The Hughes weren’t even sure how long their son would live.
“My wife and I started to develop a new set of goals and dreams for Patrick, sometimes just
small ones like getting him to smile and take his food,” Patrick John said. “We readjusted
our lives, our goals, and what our expectations were. We still held out hope for the greatest
things that could happen for our son.”
In the years since, that hope was fulfilled in ways they could barely conceive of. Patrick
Henry showed a natural affinity for music and could pluck out tunes on the piano by ear
by the time he was two.
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