Meghan Kingis proud of how far her son has come.
Back in October, theReal Housewives of Orange Countyalum, 36, revealed that her son Hart, who turns 3 next month, wasdiagnosed with hypotonic cerebral palsy. King — who is also mom to Hart’s twin brotherHayesand 4-year-old daughterAspen— tells PEOPLE that Hart is doing “awesome.”
“Therapy has brought him a long way,” she says while discussing her newcharitable collaboration with LULUSIMONSTUDIO, benefiting theBy Grace Foundation. “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 says, adding, “He looks great. He’s doing awesome. A miraculous child.”
She adds, “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.”
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When Kingrevealed her son’s diagnosis in October, she wrote in a blog post that she surprisingly felt “relieved” to find out. “This is the once dreadfuldiagnosis I knew was coming sincethat fateful day I googled the right thing and it hit me like a truck: CP,” she wrote at the time. “I knew it was CP since Hart was a few months old. I just knew.”
“Hart’s new diagnosis really means nothing different and changes nothing,” King, who shares her three kids with ex-husband Jim Edmonds, later explained. “It just allows him to continue receiving the therapy he’s already getting. And I will continue to adapt to his needs as they evolve and change. For instance our main concern at the moment is balance and marking areas of danger so he can train his brain to react to hazards in ways that don’t apply to you and me.”
The reality star added, “Hart will live a full, independent life. He will face challenges his siblings won’t and alternatively they will face challenges he won’t but we just don’t know what those are yet. … My hope is that Hart can inspire others with a ‘diagnosis’ not to hide it for fear of judgement but to wear it as a badge of honor, a source of pride for all the hard work he’s accomplished that most of us will never understand.”
LA Exposures
King is currently dedicating her time to another cause, trying her hand at clothing design in the process. With her new capsule collection withLULUSIMONSTUDIO, the mom created three unique graphic T-shirts — with 100 percent of proceeds going to theBy Grace Foundation, a nonprofit that empowers women through education and service in Ghana, India, the U.S., and elsewhere.
And King, as sheoutlined on Instagram recently, committed herself to “personally raising the funds to build a sewing center in South Africa that will train and employ women, thus empowering them and infusing the local economy while also protecting the wildlife at the largest game preserve in the world.”
“It’s amazing how far a dollar can go in South Africa,” she tells PEOPLE. “Literally every individual person who purchases a T-shirt is making a huge impact on the sewing center.”
The cause is doubly important to her, setting an example for her own daughter.
“I just want her to know that she can do anything she wants,” says King of Aspen, “and that she doesn’t have to fit into any sort of box. You can be all the things: You can be the outdoors woman, and you can be the mother, and you can be the great friend. You can do them all well and balance them in a way that makes you happy.”
source: people.com
