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More Than A Child With Special Needs: Jacinthe Mickayla..An Update by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Rated "G" by the Author.
To look at her, one would think that she possibly could never be happy. She is four years old; however, when people first see her, the first thing they notice is the teal-colored wheelchair. Ensconced within, braced with straps and supports, is a tiny, barely 30-pound child. The child is unable to read, talk, feed, or dress herself, or do anything a normal little girl is supposed to do. You see, life has already dealt little Jacinthe Mickayla Lewis a challenge when she was born with spina bifida. Last year, a bout of spinal meningitis left her a shadow of her former self, hopelessly brain-damaged, on top of all the physical problems she already faced.
The child's name is Jacinthe. Jacinthe Mickayla Lewis. She lives with her family in the sprawling metropolis that is Nashville, Tennessee. She was, until last year, a happy preschooler who delighted in discovering the world about her, and she adored her family, which consisted of her father, mother, and three older sisters, plus her cat. She was on the verge of learning how to walk; but tragedy struck, and now Jacinthe's life was markedly different.
Jacinthe is a pretty child with long, dark-brown hair, huge, sparkly green eyes, and a thin little face, but people never noticed these things when they saw her. All they saw was the wheelchair, the thin, wasted, braced legs, the breathing tube attached to the hole in her throat so she could breathe, and the seemingly empty face, devoid of any expression. Her eyes were the only clue that there was "anybody home", and whenever people came up to her or said something to her, her eyes would light up with joy, and the little girl would then attempt to grin.
Her parents were struggling with many issues in their life, mainly with their youngest child's ever-mounting medical bills, working two jobs each in order to meet the payments of the bills, and try to care for their three other daughters, six-year-old Jordan Michelle, eight-year-old Julie Renee', and nine-year-old Jolene Marie. They hardly went anywhere other than taking Julie, Jolene, and Jordan to school--and running Jacinthe to her therapies and medical appointments or visiting her in the hospital whenever she was sick or had yet another surgery scheduled.
Yet, even with all the obstacles they faced because of their youngest child's health needs, the Lewises were a very close-knit family who made it a point to include Jacinthe in all family-related activities. They wanted her to experience the joys that life had to offer, even though she was severely disabled, and they wanted to show people that even though little Jacinthe was in a wheelchair and was unable to do a lot of things for herself, she was still a child, and that she had a right to enjoy life just like any other person.
A heartwrenching story to think of anyone having to suffer like this. Yet you show the hope in a mothers heart and the right for every child to live until God says otherwise. Splendid writing Karen!
To look at her, one would think that she possibly could never be happy. She is four years old; however, when people first see her, the first thing they notice is the teal-colored wheelchair. Ensconced within, braced with straps and supports, is a tiny, barely 30-pound child. The child is unable to read, talk, feed, or dress herself, or do anything a normal little girl is supposed to do. You see, life has already dealt little Jacinthe Mickayla Lewis a challenge when she was born with spina bifida. Last year, a bout of spinal meningitis left her a shadow of her former self, hopelessly brain-damaged, on top of all the physical problems she already faced.
