A story about a little boy named Zak. He has significant disabilities which has hampered every aspect of his young life. He is seven years old and functiions at the level of an infant.
Zak is a very cute little boy, with his curly blonde head of hair that frames his face like a halo, huge, green-grey eyes that sparkle with life, and freckles adorning his nose and cheeks. He cannot talk, but he CAN smile; and he does so, willlingly and often.
Zacharias (Zak) Peter Goertge is only seven years old, but he is small for his age; and he is in a wheelchair because he was born severely brain damaged. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was about a year old, and his cerebral palsy is total, meaning his entire body is affected. He can't sit up without help, and he is in a wheelchair suited for his needs. He wears blue-and-white leg braces on his legs, and his body seems detached somehow. When he tries to move even the slightest little bit, his muscles jerk, causing his arms and legs to flail uncontrollably. He cannot talk, and he cannot swallow. He is fed by a tube that has been surgically implanted into his stomach.
Zak is the surviving child of Tobias and Isabella Goertge (his twin, Zane William, died two hours after birth; he weighed less than a pound while Zak weighed just 1 1/2 pounds), and he doesn't remember his brother--let alone, much anything else. He is significantly mentally handicapped with an I.Q. of below 30; and he will always be at the level of an infant, even if he survives into adulthood. He needs special round-the-clock care for his needs; and he will probably never walk, feed himself, or even go to the bathroom on his own. He is not toilet-trained, and he wears diapers, just like an infant.
Besides his spasticity, Zak is prone to seizures, and often has one or two a day if he doesn't have his medication. He also has problems swallowing, and he is prone to frightening respiratory infections that have put him into the hospital, gasping for every breath. He often ends up in the hospital every winter with a terrible cold, pneumonia, or any other respiratory illness. He is medically fragile, and one must take precaution to protect him from germs since his immune system doesn't work well.
Zak attends Morningside Acadamy, which is a school for the seriously handicapped; and he is in Jodie Sandusky's class. Although he is younger than Jodie, both Zak and Jodie have pretty much the same needs, and they both require extra help. He will be in the third grade come September while Jodie will be going into sixth.
Zak also has two older sisters, Micayla Nichole (11) and Fredericka (Freddie) Morgan (13), and they dote on their little brother; and they don't mind helping their parents care for him. Zak is a very happy little boy with an exhuberant personality, and with killer-good looks to match. People are always smitten with his handsome features, and they say he looks like an angel, he is so cute.
At times people are often taken aback at the severity of Zak's physical and mental handicaps, but he has taught them much about living with severe disability, and he has shown them that he is just a little boy who happens to be severely physically and mentally handicapped; and he shouldn't be shunned or feared.
Grab your inner child, and jump into Edie's latest 'puddle', as she takes us for a delightful trip through the magical landscape of a child's imagination. Her wonder-filled poems take the ordinary situations and places around us and stretches them t
This is a wonderfully performed 7 CD Children's audio book, made up of three books from the "Run, Rasputin. Run!" series of books. Expertly narrated by Pat Fraley. Your entire family will enjoy these exceptional tales!
