Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado, click
here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.
Just Take Her Home And Learn To Love Her...(Part Two--Conclusion) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Rated "G" by the Author.
Ronee' struggles through her early life, but she grows into a smart, talkative child who continues to battle the odds continually placed upon her.
I look at the young girl standing before me, and tears fill my eyes as the memories come rushing back to me.
Ronee' is now 11, but she has grown from a scared, sickly, fearful infant into a intelligent, inquisitive, talented, and compassionate young preteen (small for her age, she is, but then, her parents were short; I have seen pictures of them, and neither her biological mother or father were very tall!) who is on the verge of becoming a teenager. She still has her problems with her health, but she is living to the best of her ability, and she refuses to take life sitting down or feeling sorry for herself.
She has realized now just how blessed she truly is. She came into our hearts (and home) as a tiny, helpless baby with serious breathing problems, but as she gets older, her breathing has improved markedly, and she doesn't have nearly as many allergies as she once did. Things that used to make her so sick now no longer bother her, and she now can finally have a cat (a Maine Coon; Ronee' loves Maine Coons!) after years of not being able to tolerate cat (or dog) dander; and now she and her kitten (now growing into a young cat) have since become the best of pals. Her cat and Ronee' are always together, and chances are, if you see Ronee', you will see her kitten following close behind, meowing or purring her head off! She also isn't on oxygen as much as she used to be (she now uses it only at night, but only as a precaution), and from the way she is doing at the present time, her doctor says if she continues to improve, she may be off the oxygen COMPLETELY by the time she is a teenager!
She also has battled physical problems in addition to her breathing troubles. She has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (diagnosed when she was five years old, but she started showing symptoms before that, at the age of four years), and she walks with the aid of leg braces and Lofstrand crutches; or she uses a wheelchair on her "bad pain days" or if she is flaring; but she gets around better than most people who have arthritis, and she has proven time and time again to be a courageous young lady who refuses to let pain or physical limitations bring her down. Sure, she has her bad days where she mopes or feels horrid, but she is, for the most part, a very happy go lucky little girl who loves life and cherishes all that it has to offer. She is very busy doing many different things: singing or playing her music, reading anything she can get her hands on, witnessing to others about the love of Jesus Christ, attending church every week (when she isn't sick, that is, or in the hospital due to a flare up of her arthritis), attending school where she is in the Gifted/Talented program (she gets straight A's in all of her classes; and she is passionate about school!), playing with her many brothers and sisters or her friends, and so much more. She is a very mercurial child, full of love, hope, and joy, and whenever people see her or meet her in person, they are always amazed!
People don't realize just what Ronee' has had to endure to come to the point where she is at today. She has nearly died more than once due to unexpected complications from past allergy attacks or her asthma, and she has had her heart stop more than once (but thankfully, she was revived; and she is still very much alive today!). She has had a stroke at the age of eight years (she had it on her birthday!), but from the way she moves or scoots around on her crutches or leg braces, you wouldn't even know it. She has very little outward effects from the stroke, and she looks...well, NORMAL. But she DOES have some residual weakness on her one side, and her hand and arm still feel "funny" to her, like they are "half asleep," as she puts it. She did have some outward physical symptoms from her stroke, but both speech and physical therapy took care of the worst of the problems, and she has really come a long way since having her stroke!
I wish those doctors who first met Ronee' when she was a baby could see her now; they would really be surprised! I still remember them telling me to expect little chance of her ever having a normal life or them telling me to "Take her home and learn to love her; she'll never accomplish much; and she would probably never make it to her first birthday anyway". Well, WHO has the last laugh now, I ask? Those cold, unsympathetic, uncaring doctors, or my daughter, who is nearly a teenager now? Well, the answer is very obvious: it is certainly NOT those pompous doctors, that is for DANG sure!! I guess you can say that Ronee' has had the last laugh on them, more than once!!
The future looks very bright indeed for Ronee'. She is on the brink of becoming a new young star in country and Cajun music, and she is also currently working on a book about her life, and also to help disabled kids like herself through whatever problems they may be facing. She continues to excel in almost everything she does, and now, whenever I look at this young lady with the huge, black eyes, wavy black hair that goes below her shoulders in a sleek curtain of curls and ringlets, beautiful naturally-bronze/tan skin tone, and her charming ways, I can't help but feel blessed in knowing that God brought her into my life to be my daughter! She is truly a Living Miracle, and I can't help but to thank God and praise Him for His goodness to her (or to ME!).
I look at the young girl standing before me, and tears fill my eyes as the memories come rushing back to me.
