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An Essay: My Sister Has Special Needs. (By Michelle Sandusky) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Rated "G" by the Author.
A young girl writes about her little sister who has disabilities following a devastating head injury she suffered in her native Sri Lanka over one year ago, and the challenges she faces in her daily life.
I have a little sister who has special needs. She came to us almost one year ago from Sri Lanka. She was one of the survivors of the deadly tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004, in the Asian nations. Rani Kalpana lost her entire fmaily; there was nobody to take care of her, so special arrangements were made to fly her to America, where she could continue her recovery and therapies, and hopefully, find a family willing to adopt her.
Let me backtrack a little. Rani survived the tsunami, but not without great price: she suffered a head injury that left her comatose for a while, fighting for her life. Thank GOD she awakened, but she now has some problems that can last for years. She has problems with her short term memory, that is, she can remember life before she came to America (pre-tsunami, if you will), but if you tell her something in a few minutes, she forgets it; you have to keep repeating until hopefully she gets it. She has difficulty with her balance; she wears braces on her feet to support weakened ankles and walks with two canes. She has ongoing nightmares and wakes up screaming; one only wonders what horrors she saw when that tsunami struck. She doesn't talk about it.
Rani is still a cute little kid with the longest, waviest black hair, huge black eyes that fill her face, and dimples that deepen when she smiles. When in a good mood, she laughs heartily. We, her brothers and sisters, do everythiing we can to make her laugh because we love the sound of tinkling bells. She lover so color and draw, play with her many brothers and sisters, and swing (with supervision, of course, so she doesn't fall off), and her English lessons. It is hoped that she will go to kindergarten soon, where she will improve on her English and learn to read and write.
It is rather frustrating to try to talk to Rani because of her memory, and sometimes I feel like I am talking to a brick wall because English is still difficult for her. She often talks in her native tongue, and about the only one who (halfway) understands her is my younger sister, Jameela, who is originally from India. Jameela has to act as tranlator, so she can tell us what Rani is saying.
Although Rani's equilibrium and memory is off, this is a very balanced write. Also, it is something to think about when adopting a foreign child in that there may be a language barrier. It is good to know the language the child speaks. There has to be understandable communication between child and parent. Thanks for the letter today, Karen Lynn.
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