A little girl who is part of a large family shares her story. She is a twin, and both she and her twin are in wheelchairs because of severe cerebral palsy.
Sarah is learning to talk, but she types this on a typewriter. She types by hitting the keys with a special pointer she wears on her head.
Hi! My name is Sarah, and I am 10 years old. My whole name is Sarah Joy Williams, and I am a twin. My twin sister's name is Sally Anne Williams, and we both have cerebral palsy and are in wheelchairs.
Unfortunately, for us, we both need a lot of help with a lot of our daily needs. We can't walk, and we probably never WILL walk because we have cerebral palsy so bad. We can't write or feed or dress ourselves, and we can't even go to the bathroom without help. We both wear diapers because we aren't toilet trained, and that is embarrassing, but to us, it is a fact of our life, so we have to learn to get used to it and accept it. We are learning to talk, but it is still difficult; but we ARE learning.
We were both born premature, Sally and I, and we were both very small when we were born. I weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces, and Sally, my twin, weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces. She was the smaller of us two. But unfortunately, we were born brain damaged and physically damaged, and when we were both one year old, our real mom was told that we both had cerebral palsy, or, as THEY call it in the medical world, C.P.
Our mom couldn't handle our needs as we got older, so she put us in foster care, and we were then adopted by a lady in California, a lady who lived in Soulbysville, which is near Jamestown. It's east of San Francisco, and it is 50 miles from Sacramento. Soulsbysville is a very little town, but it is okay, and it is a rather quiet and quaint little town. There's a lot of antique shops here, and football is very big here. On any given Friday night during football season, practically the whole town turns up for the weekly Friday night football games. (We were both born in Carson City, Nevada, but came to California when we were about two, and we were in foster care until only a few years ago, when Kendra Williams, a disabled person herself, came into our lives and adopted us; and as a result, she became our mother, and we became her adopted daughters.)
Anyway, as I was saying, because of our C.P., we both can't walk and are in wheelchairs. We also can't talk, but we are now learning, and we can say a few words. Every week we go to speech therapy, and it seems to be helping, and now we both can say about a dozen or so words; but talking is difficult at best, and so I often have to type what I want to say on a Bliss board or on a regular typewriter; and I can make my thoughts/wants/desires known that way. I am better at communicating than my sister, Sally, and mommy says that I am very smart, even with all my serious physical disabilities. Now, I WISH I could walk or run or do more for myself than I can, but I AM glad that I am smart, and I CAN make my thoughts known, thanks to my few words or my typing!
I am a very good girl, and I like to do many things. I love to sing (I think I sing good, but mom says I don't!), spend time with my family, go to school, read (I am a regular bookworm; I am ALWAYS reading whenever I can get the chance....labels, the newspaper, books...you name it, and I can read it!), watch TV (I LOVE "Touched By An Angel", "It's A Miracle", "Sue Thomas, Private Eye", and "Doc"; PAX is my favorite channel!), and go to church. We go to Living Waters in Jamestown; it's a spirit-filled, Bible-believing church, and at our church, it isn't uncommon to see people start talking in other languages other than the ones they speak when the Lord touches them (this is called "speaking in tongues") or see people fall out under the Spirit when the Glory comes down. It's really a cool church, and I have lots of friends there; and I am glad that mom taught us about Jesus and that I became a Christian! I also love our pastor, she's a lady, and she is very good at what she does!
I have to tell you something, though...I was reading Kim's story the other day that she wrote, and she goofed...she said that she and Kelly are twins. Well, I am here to tell you that they AREN'T. They may have similar health problems and may look somewhat alike, but they are NOT twins. (They could be cousins; I don't know, but they are NOT twins!) Thought I would clear that up for you! She's so silly, Kim is...LOL
We are getting another sister in May...a little girl from Africa. Her name is going to be Anna, but what her problems are and how old she is, that I don't know; all I know that she is coming in May, and that she is from Africa, which is where our little sister, Mia Rochelle, is from. Mia is from Uganda, and she was hurt when she stepped on a landmine when she was five, and she lost her legs. She is now walking again, but she is using crutches until she gets used to her new fake legs, and she will probably then ditch the crutches and just walk on her own two "legs". She is very bright, and she is a very fast learner.
Well, I gotta' go...think I may need to be changed, I am starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, and my diaper feels ucky. Think I went poop-poop in my diapers. UGH!! I will write again soon, so until later, take care! See ya!
Karen, you give life to the everyday reality of living with a disability. Thank you for that and educating others and the readers. Thanks to you people are becoming informed! I write but not near what you do!
Becca
Karen,
All I can say to borrow an old cliche is " I gave them breath, and you gave them wings. " These characters are really starting to come a live because of you, keep it up...
God Bless
~Michelle~
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