I am a mother to 50 special-needs kids, and at my house, hugs and kisses are an every day occurance. Guaranteed, there will be kids who need a hug or a kiss after scraping tender knees, or after a fight with a brother or sister, or after taking nasty-tasting medication. Or after having medical procedures done, like with Rhiannon and her physiotherapy sessions, where people purposely pound on her chest, sides, and back, to loosen the mucus from her lungs and promote coughing, so as to clear them (she has cystic fibrosis), or with Ronee' and her having her hot baths to unstiffen tight joints that cause her incredible pain and then having to take nasty-tasting pills, to help with inflammation.(As you are very well aware of by now, Ronee' has systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.)
Or with Johnny and his breathing treatments and stretching exercises, so as to help strengthen weak, atrophied muscles, or helping with daily self-care skills like brushing his hair or his teeth or getting dressed, as he often has a lot of trouble with them, thanks to his muscular dystrophy getting worse. (Johnny has the severe form of the disease--Duchenne's--, which primarily strikes boys.) Or even with Richard, who has to have daily suctioning treatments; he is on a trache, and he often chokes if too much mucus gets trapped.
Sure, some of these procedures ARE painful, and because of it, the children look up at me, tears in their eyes, and pouts clearly seen on their little faces; but the older ones seem to understand that they are necessary. But how does one explain it to a 5-year-old?
We do it by saying that her lungs are sick, and in order for them to feel better, we have to pretend that she is a drum, and we "want to play on her"; so she gives in and lets us pound on her; even though it is rather uncomfortable for her after a while. Then, when the physiotherapy session is over, we then reward her with a butterfly kiss and a big bear hug and tell her that we are proud of her and that she is a good little girl. Rhiannon then goes and plays quietly until it is time for her to take her pills or until she eats.
Raising special-needs kids DOES present its challenges (we often have to lug medical equipment with us, like oxygen tanks and tubing, wheelchairs, crutches or walkers, and the like; and it takes extra time to load all of this in our vans, as does loading up the children themselves), and it DOES present many opportunities for the paramedics to regularly visit our place (ambulance calls are a rather common occurance at our place) or the police to drive by, to check on us, to make sure that all is well with the family, but it is a life we wouldn't trade for a million dollars. And raising special-needs kids IS expensive; it is NOT cheap. This is why my husband and I work, as do the older kids. Plus our one daughter in college sends us $500 (or more) each and every month, just so we can have extra money. We have to scrimp and save nearly every penny, but our bills still eat us alive at times, especially the medical bills. Those are the WORST!!
But I am NOT complaining or asking for a handout. Sure, we can use the extra money, but our kids' needs come first, and God blessed my husband and myself with these beautiful children. If it wasn't for God, we wouldn't have kids like Johnny, Ronee', Jodie, or Richard. Or even the healthier ones like Barbara, Steffi, Dwerlina, or Porter. God brought each and every one of these precious angels into our life (and home), and the rewards far outweigh the negatives. Like the first time Jodie smiled, or the first time Johnny learned how to walk after being so sick and brain damaged from meningitis. Or the first time Ronee' relearned how to talk after her stroke. Such moments are forever entrenched in my mind, and I will never, ever forget them. They were miracles, and these miracles have shown us that God is still in control, even when things appeared to be at their very worst.
Yes, Bill and I are blessed in more ways than we can possibly count. God provided us children nobody else wanted, and He took away some of the sadness of losing our three natural children. Sure, we still miss little Aron, L'Cadia, and Pierre' terribly (and we probably always will; we will NEVER forget them!), but He knew that we wanted a family, so He brought us little Johnathon, Ronee', and the others.
And He has never disappointed us; for the children themselves, are BLESSINGS.
I call them my Angels From Heaven, because that's just what they are. And..they are all true Miracles in more ways than can be counted!!
Potential meets purpose for great accomplishments in the life of a young student.
A young student is interested in learning coding programs. He applies and is rejected because of his age. He does not give up and tries again and is accepted. Eventu
