A young teen boy with special needs writes about the trials of being a teenager in today's world.
My name is Richard Merle Patrick Sandusky, and I will be 15 in a few months.
I live in Nashville, Tennessee, with my adoptive family, and I have many problems. I have a trache because my birth mother poured bleach or something down my throat when I was a baby, and it ruined my esophagus and stomach lining; and it burned my lungs. Ever since, I have breathing problems, and I can't breathe without this tube in my throat. It is a real drag at times because I have to be suctioned every so often, and it hurts and is rather uncomfortable; but if I don't get my trache tube cleaned, I can get sick with pneumonia or worse. So it's a part of my daily life that I have to learn to put up with, like it or not.
I also have emotional problems. I was abused as a baby, and also as a child before I was adopted by the Sanduskys; and I remember people screaming at me or hitting me. They called me no good, and they said I would never amount to anything. So it is a wonder I don't have a good opinion of myself. It didn't help that they made references to my being American Indian, and ever since then, I have somewhat felt ashamed of being totally American Indian. (I am of the Blackfeet and Cherokee tribes.) I have bad memories of being abused, and it is because of this that I have emotional problems and have to go to the shrink at the mental health clinic every week. I sometimes wonder if I really AM crazy...
I am about 5'2 1/2" tall (I am fairly short) and weigh maybe 110 pounds soaking wet. I have long, greasy-looking black hair that tends to fall in my eyes, dark skin, and black, black eyes. I have a trache tube in my throat, and I can talk, just not that loudly. I am rather shy and quiet in nature; but being abused tends to do that to a person. I don't trust many people other than my family or my friends.
Being a teen is hard enough; now add special needs to the mix. NOT good. I am often teased about my height and my having to go to the Special-Needs classroom for therapy; and I am also teased because of my having a trache tube that prevents me from playing sports. It is embarrassing when people say I sound like E.T. when I talk, and it is embarrassing when I have to leave to go to the nurse's station to have another suctioning treatment because I am coughing and hawking and spitting all over the place. At times I sound like an old man, and I HATE it!
I also have to put up with girls pretending they like me; they act like they have designs on me, but I don't want to have anything to do with girls right now. They embarrass me, and they act like they like me, but I see in their eyes that they are only laughing at me. So I just walk away, and feel sorry for myself. Here's the short, special-needs kid who sounds like E.T. with no friends to speak of....
Oh, I HAVE friends; just not many.
At times, I prefer it that way. But at times, I wish I were one of the popular crowd; I wonder how it would feel to always be talked to or paid attention to....
Teens today have it too good. They don't have to earn their parents' trust; everything seems to be given to them on a silver platter, and too many teens are way out of control. It's like their parents don't give a rat's ass about what's good or important, and they act so stupid at times. If I did any of the things that some teens do nowadays, I would be grounded for the REST OF MY LIFE! And possibly even LONGER! There's no work ethic or discipline in many homes now, and it really upsets me. I sometimes used to think that my parents were way off base, always yelling at me or grounding me for some stupid thing, but now I realize just how lucky I DO have it because at least MY parents CARE! Many parents don't, and this is why so many of my teenaged peers have so many problems today.
Yes, being a teen IS a drag, but compared to many teens my age, I have it GREAT! At least I am not lying dead on the street doped up on drugs or boozed out on alcohol, and I don't have parental responsibilities to worry about! I am a good kid, and I intend to stay that way as long as I have the Lord on my side!
Call me Mr. Lucky....
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Reviewed by Precious Lindsay
8/10/2003
Hey Karen
I really like your story.. Its really thoughtful and so true
Fantastic write Karen, you really make your characters live, in fact I am becoming convinced that they are real people! I too am glad I am not a youngster in this day and age. I am also glad that my children and grandchildren came through their teen years unscathed. I hope and pray that by the time my great grand-daughter is a teenager that things will have changed for the better. Am I living in a dream world? Things do go in repetitive cycles.
Khenlee has reached 12 Cycles of Seasons and will find which working circle she will now belong to. She is shocked to find out what the gods have decided what her life work will be.
