"I just can't imagine"

One thing Jerry and I hear a lot from other people regarding having a kid with a life-threatening illness is, "I just can't imagine!" It's okay, it's not offensive. Perhaps it's a bit distancing, but I get why people say it. I probably would have said it too, six months ago. 

Except I think it's a lie. I think people tell us they "just can't imagine" because they actually CAN imagine just a tiny bit and it is utterly horrifying and terror-inducing. Yes, it is those things as well when it is real life and not just an imagining. But what can we do? We wake up every day to fight the good fight. It is exhausting, but it's what any parent would do. Which is why so many people just can't imagine. They know they'd go to the ends of themselves and the ends of the earth for their kid. But they maybe don't know what those places look and feel like. I've been there. I kinda live there right now. It's survivable. You could do it, too, if you had to. I hope you don't.