Meghan King Says It's 'Daunting' Managing Son Hart's Cerebral Palsy: 'Feeling Frustrated'

Meghan King shared her 3-year-old son Hart's diagnosis back in October 2020

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Published on March 10, 2022 05:48 PM

Meghan King's son — Photo: Meghan King/Instagram

Meghan King is opening up about the challenges that stem from her son's cerebral palsy diagnosis.

On Thursday, the Real Housewives of Orange County alum, 37, explained how her 3-year-old son Hart's brain injury "affects all of our lives daily."

King — who is also mom to Hart's twin brother Hayes and 5-year-old daughter Aspen — shared a selfie of herself in tears with Hart sitting in his car seat after picking him up early from school.

"I don't like being defined as a mother of a child with cerebral palsy. In fact, I actively work against it," King began her caption. "I seldom share with you the challenges Hart faces and instead focus on how great he's doing while trying to give equal focus to my other two children and myself. But the reality is that Hart's brain injury affects all of our lives daily. "

She continued, "Although CP is defined as a motor disability, its symptoms rear their heads in a plethora of other ways. Today is the second day in a row that Hart has had to leave school for poor behavior. This not only renders me unable to work during that short school window but it leaves me feeling frustrated and helpless for both of us."

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Hart was diagnosed with hypotonic cerebral palsy in October 2020. The reality star shared the news at the time in a blog post in honor of World Cerebral Palsy Day, giving her readers an update on Hart's health after he was diagnosed with irreversible brain damage the previous summer.

In Thursday's post, King said the "unknown" is what worries her the most about her son's diagnosis.

"Is his environment too inconsistent? Is he not getting enough attention? How do I balance his needs with the other needs in the household? Is there such a thing as balance? Is there a solution?" she added. "Is happiness achievable or are we bound to a lifetime of rollercoaster behaviors, merry-go-round therapies, and erratic emotions that eat into everyone's time and energy?

"The unknown is daunting," King concluded her post. "How do I keep him integrated in normal schooling when he acts violently or disruptive? How? Thank you for attending my depressing TED talk."

Back in September, the mom of three told her followers that it "breaks [her] heart" when her little boy is left out, detailing a story involving her three children when it was raining and she had to park her car outside.

"Aspen said, 'Okay guys, let's run as fast as we can to go inside!' Hayes said, 'Yes! Let's go!' And Hart started crying. He said he can't run as fast as them… and he can't. Not because of his genetics but because of his Cerebral Palsy," King recalled. "You might think he looks and acts 'normal' (we say 'typical') but he's not. He has a hidden disability that affects every part of his life - and mine. And now he knows this and so do his siblings."

"It breaks my heart into a million pieces," she continued. "This post isn't for sympathy - no special needs parent wants sympathy - it's for awareness. Sometimes we don't know our neighbor's full story, so let's dig deeper for an extra ounce of empathy."

Despite some difficulties, King gave PEOPLE an update on her little boy's health in May 2021, sharing that he was doing "awesome."

"Therapy has brought him a long way," she said. "Being around his siblings and trying to keep up with them does wonders for him, and physical therapy in and of itself."

"But I'm constantly looking for new treatments. This is something he'll live with for the rest of his life, but he can manage it," she told PEOPLE, adding, "He looks great. He's doing awesome. A miraculous child."

"I think a diagnosis in general is a scary thing for a parent, and removing that stigma is important to me — a diagnosis opens up opportunities for the child," she said.