Louisiana Sandusky writes about one of her many children, Ronee', who has been nothing but a blessing to her and her family.
Whoever thought that a small, sickly, scrawny infant with an uncertain future would blossom into a beautiful, sweet-tempered, intelligent young person with a compassionate heart and a gift for music? Yet this is exactly what my now-nearly-teenaged daughter has become, and whenever I look at her, I can't help but to be overcome with love and emotion towards her.
Ronee' is a girl of great potential, and she has had to endure more than her share of heartbreak than most people do during their entire lifetime. Yet through all the challenges and uncertainties, she has emerged whole, and people can't help BUT to be drawn to her.
Ronee' has survived some of the worst possible health crises that you can imagine: everything from being born premature to being in a lengthy coma (and possible) brain damage due to a vehicular accident, suffering a life-threatening stroke on her eighth birthday to stoppage of her heart and breathing on numerous occasions, severe food (and air-borne) allergies to several major surgeries and living with ongoing pain and physical disability. Yet through every health scare, hospitalization, or recovery time, she has never lost hope, and whenever she is well, she rewards people with a dazzling smile and a courageous spirit that absolutely refuses to be broken.
Now Ronee' is teetering on becoming an adolescent (she will be thirteen years old in just a little over four months from now, on Christmas Day, December 25th), and she is now quickly abandoning her carefree childhood days to a life filled with difficult choices, responsibility, life lessons and becoming attuned to a world that is not the nice, safe haven she had envisioned prior to her becoming an older child. She is developing the physical signs that means that she is transforming from a child into a young lady, and she is a complex of emotions: one minute, she is giggling with childish abandon, and the next, she is grappling with events that shake our world (September 11, 2001, the ongoing war/violence in Iraq and other places, the heartbreaking images of starving children of Niger, etc.), and also the ever-changing face of friendship. She is also dealing with the transition from elementary school into junior high school, and she is dealing with her short stature (at nearly 13 years old, she is the size of a ten-year-old), and she is also dealing with ever-changing, often-confusing emotional issues.
She is very well aware that she is "different" than a lof of her classmates: she is gifted, and she is in the Gifted/Talented program; and she is also carrying the burden of living with physical disabilities involving her joints and her ability to get around; yet she tries to keep up with her classmates and friends, and there isn't really all that much that she can do to control her situation. She has learned to accept her disabilities, and she knows that she will probably always need help with her walking or her getting around, so she just goes along and tries to live despite having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. She also takes step to try to relieve some of her pain, and she knows not to overdo it when she IS hurting.
Most people tend to look at Ronee' 's obvious disabilities: the leg braces, the crutches and/or wheelchair, or her funny, limping gait, etc., whenever they first see her, but whenever I look at her, I don't see her problems: instead, all I see is a happy, free-spirited child with an insatiable will to live, and a girl/young lady who has brightened the lives of our family--and those who have come into direct contact with her. I see a child/young woman who has great potential to succeed in whatever she chooses to do in life, and I see a child/young woman who refuses to let her problems rule her life. She is a survivor in the true st sense, and the future for her looks very bright, indeed. Whenever I look at my daugter, I see nothing short of a medical miracle, and it is during times such as these when I feel especially blessed that God has given her to me.
Beautiful and transcendent, Karen... just like the jewel of a person you describe here. This is really tear-jerking and yet makes a heart swell with pride and hope at the same time. All your passion and skill in this writing form shine here: Ronee is a true inspiration in more ways than she can possibly imagine and the effects of her precious life widespread beyond that of her own family and circle of friends and contacts. So true... the MOST special peeps are those who are often overlooked in other ways. A most wonderful personal tribute - and to those who share her life and care for her. Lovely, Karen, thank you. Kate xx
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Whoever thought that a small, sickly, scrawny infant with an uncertain future would blossom into a beautiful, sweet-tempered, intelligent young person with a compassionate heart and a gift for music? Yet this is exactly what my now-nearly-teenaged daughter has become, and whenever I look at her, I can't help but to be overcome with love and emotion towards her.
