Faith and Friends

-
Image
If I were to ask people who know Faith what one of her favorite activities is, I am pretty sure they would all say the same thing: socializing. Faith absolutely loves people. She has been a social butterfly ever since she was little.  She has always enjoyed going to therapy because she loves meeting new people, even those in the waiting room. Doctor appointments are also great because she gets to meet new nurses. She pretty much makes friends wherever she goes!  Faith and friends blowing out birthday candles when she turned 7  During her first years in school, she easily made friends with her classmates. Sadly, though, as the kids got older and since she was limited in her mobility, these friendships faded. When we pulled her out of school altogether in order to homeschool her, the hardest part was not having any friends.  Thankfully, we lived in a building that had a community room. Faith and I would often hang out there for a change of scenery. She would sit and wa...
Post a Comment

Full of Life

-
Not too long ago, someone at church commented to me, "Your daughter is so full of life." I have heard lots of positive comments about Faith throughout the years, but this one brought tears to my eyes. To think that my daughter - a nine-year-old girl bound to a wheelchair was full of life - meant the world to me.

Faith's disability causes her to be different from her peers and others around her. She understands this, and although she gets frustrated at times, she doesn't let her disability get her down. She has a very positive attitude about life. I give a lot of the credit to those who pray without ceasing for her and to Jesus who helps her on her journey each and every day. I truly praise God that someone who sees my daughter sees that she has a joyful life despite her special needs.

Full of joy
I know too well this isn't always the case. Usually, when someone pictures in their mind a nine-year-old who needs to use a wheelchair for mobility, gets her nutrition from a feeding tube, doesn't know how to read and still wears diapers, they would most likely classify that as having a "poor quality of life."

Unfortunately, this is exactly how our culture describes those who do not seem to contribute anything to society. This is where eugenicists have a hay day. And this is precisely why babies in the womb with known abnormalities are aborted.

I'm thankful there are those who see Faith in a different light. It seems wherever we go, we find someone with whom to interact. Last weekend it was the mom of a little 14-month-old boy who seemed very interested in Faith while waiting in the check-out line. 

Today at Target as Faith and I walked down an aisle, a lady asked me how old she was. Faith was the one who responded, "Nine!" She then told Faith she was just beautiful. Friends of mine who know Faith well tell me they don't see Faith as someone with a disability, instead they see someone with lots of ability.

Faith with some super friends!

I'm curious. How do you view a child when you see him or her in a wheelchair? Do you wonder what happened to cause them to be that way? Do you feel sorry for the child. If so, I know those feelings are automatic. I was the same way before I had Faith. I was even uncomfortable around people with disabilities.

I know it may be normal to automatically think the child must have a poor quality of life. But please, I'm asking you to try not to make those assumptions. Instead, maybe try to engage with the parent of the child with obvious special needs. There is fear in the unknown, but once you know more and gain understanding, I bet you will no longer have such assumptions. And I can assure you, that the parent of the child you just interacted with will be glad you did.  
 
Faith scooting through the tunnel

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Class Field Trip to Papa's Pumpkin Patch

-
Image
It was a little cool this morning, with the temp barely above the 50 degree mark and the sky was threatening rain, but that did not deter these Centennial first-graders from having fun at the Pumpkin Patch! Mrs. Reim's first grade class  Sittin' on some big square bales  The horses were so beautiful and gentle  Who is that peekin' through the window? Going on a bear hunt... Hay Girls!
Read more

My Tetanus Shot Ordeal: A Real Pain in the Arm

-
Image
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm.  The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
Read more

Faith and Friends

-
Image
If I were to ask people who know Faith what one of her favorite activities is, I am pretty sure they would all say the same thing: socializing. Faith absolutely loves people. She has been a social butterfly ever since she was little.  She has always enjoyed going to therapy because she loves meeting new people, even those in the waiting room. Doctor appointments are also great because she gets to meet new nurses. She pretty much makes friends wherever she goes!  Faith and friends blowing out birthday candles when she turned 7  During her first years in school, she easily made friends with her classmates. Sadly, though, as the kids got older and since she was limited in her mobility, these friendships faded. When we pulled her out of school altogether in order to homeschool her, the hardest part was not having any friends.  Thankfully, we lived in a building that had a community room. Faith and I would often hang out there for a change of scenery. She would sit and wa...
Read more

Feeling Worn and Weary?

-
Image
Have you ever felt this way?  I know I need to lift my eyes up But I'm too weak Life just won't let up And I know that You can give me rest So I cry out with all that I have left My prayers are wearing thin And I'm worn  Even before the day begins I'm worn I've lost my will to fight I bet there are a lot of special needs parents or parents with very young children who can relate to these words. I know I can. Whenever I hear the song, Worn which contains the above lyrics, I am transported back in time when Faith was a little baby.  I was working full time during the day and trying to look after her at night. She did not sleep well, which meant neither Rob nor I sleep well either. To make things even harder, Rob worked overnights on the weekends. I was in a major state of sleep deprivation. I started drinking caffeine and eating sugar every day at work to help me stay awake. It didn't help that my thyroid was out of whack. Eventually I...
Read more