A young pre-teenaged girl with significant disabilities refuses to let her problems overwhelm her.
My name is Deborah Bapsi Suzanne Joy Sandusky, and I will be 13 years old this year. I have had a very good life since being adopted into the family I have now; and life for me suddenly has so much purpose and meaning.
I was born in Iran, in Tehran, but when I was eight, I came to America to be adopted. Nobody at first wanted me because I was born without arms or hands, and I also was born paralyzed from my waist on down. I was born with an incomplete spine (known in medical language as "spina bifida"), and this was why I am paralyzed and use a wheelchair to get around. Now, my wheelchair is electric; I use a lever I push with my chin to get around. With this lever, I can go forward or backwards, or change direction of my chair, like if I want to go left or right. But then the Sandusky family in Tennessee opened their hearts and home to me, and this was how I became their adopted daughter.
I've been with them ever since, and when I was ten, two years later, I was granted my American citizenship. That was quite an honor for me!
I go to church with my family every week, and I have a very close and loving Relationship with my Saviour, Jesus Christ. I used to be a Muslim, but since my family is Christian, I gradually learned of Jesus Christ, and I accepted Him into my life a couple of years ago when my family started going to another church. I used to go to a Catholic church (my mom was Catholic, and her husband, my daddy, is Christian/Pentecostal; he went to a different church), but then mom and us kids started going to daddy's church, and this was how we came to know Jesus. At church, I sing in the children's choir, and sometimes I have sung solos at church, which is always fun! I get so much out of church, and I now can't imagine my life without it! (The name of my church is Christ Community Assembly of God, and our senior pastor is Reverend Bruce Bilkey.)
I think since I started going to CCA of G I have had a greater sense of purpose in my life; and I think I know what I want to do when I get older. I may be handicapped to most people, but I am a kid with dreams, and I am a kid who wants to have some purpose and a good sense of what she wants to do in her life. When I get older, I want to become a teacher to little children who are disabled like myself, and I want to be able to make a difference in their lives. Or I would like to go into the missionary field and go to places like Africa or even the Middle East (my neck of the woods) and teach other people of different faiths about Jesus and tell them why He has made such a huge difference in my life and why they need Someone like Jesus Christ in their lives. I think that would be AWESOME!
Besides missionary work or being a teacher to children with disabilities, I also think I would like to write a inspirational type book. I think people (especially kids) would be interested in reading about me and my struggles and how I managed to overcome them. I think I have been able to do so because of God. God has been really good to me these past few years, and it seems that the years only get better and better for me. I am getting around better than I ever have been able to before, and I have had very few problems with complications associated with my spina bifida; and my breathing has behaved itself too (for the MOST part; there HAVE been a few times where I have had to go to the E.R. for a treatment). I am trying to talk to Dr. Emmons to get me off this oxygen, but he feels I still need it for some time yet; he is still concerned about my breathing, and he says my lung function isn't that strong yet; and until it is, I can't get off the oxygen just yet. But I AM hoping that this will happen; and I KNOW, with God's Help, this WILL happen! I just have to learn to be patient is all.
I now can do so much with my artificial hands: I can write, type (on a typewriter or a computer, even; only problem, it just takes me so DARNED LONG to type; this will probably take me up to two hours to get this story in as I am typing this! But I AM determined to get this done!), hold things and manipulate objects in my "hands", button my shirts or tie my shoes and get dressed/undressed by myself, brush my hair and teeth, and take a bath. (When I take a bath, I do take my hands off, but I CAN hold a rag or a towel in my stumps, and I can manipulate the towel or rag that way.) I also can cook, play the marimba or zylophone, or play games. I am no longer the helpless orphan I once was, and now people are no longer telling me that I can't do anything for myself because I am proving to them that I CAN! I also can transfer myself from my chair to my bed, or vice versa; but I DO need help with my braces or my personal affairs (bathroom habits; I very well can't go on my own without help, thanks to my being paralyzed!).
Sure, I could very easily feel sorry for myself ("Why me?", "Why was I born paralyzed and without hands?" "Why do I have to struggle so much every day?", etc.), but I am NOT that way, and I am NOT going to let my problems, big as they may be, get me down! As long as I have people who love me and are willing to go the extra mile to help me with life itself and also have my friends and especially JESUS in my life, how can I POSSIBLY go wrong?? I think I have it pretty darned good, if you want my honest opinion; and I have God to thank for THAT! He's the One who has helped me through, and I am NOT about to turn my back on Him NOW!
Karen, this a very positive story for a little girl with so many handicaps. Apparently, she lives in a very good home and church environment. Stories like this one ought to help handicapped children feel better and even give them hope.
There was little girl in one of my classes that had spina bifida. She had to wear an urnal bag. Sometimes she didn't get it changed quickly enough and there would be an odor. The other children didn't treat her well. So we all sat down one day and talked about each of our own handicaps or something we couldn't do well. After a few children had talked about theirs, she stood up and told them about her handicap. After that, the children were very kind to her. They would offer to help her whenever something was especally hard for her. She walked with crutches, and they started to carry her tray for her in the cafeteria, and other things too. All the meanness had disappeared when they understood what was wrong.
