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Louisiana's Thoughts And Musings (Part One) *For Michelle Kidwell* by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Monday, February 26, 2007
Rated "G" by the Author.
Louisiana Sandusky writes down her thoughts and feelings about being the adoptive parent to many children, most, of which, have special needs, and the blessings that God has bestowed upon her and her family.
This story was inspired by Michelle Kidwell's latest. Thanks, girl! :D
Monday, February 26, 2007~
Dear Journal~
My name is Louisiana Sandusky. I will be thirty eight years old on June 10th of this year. I will also have been married for fifteen years on the 26th of June. My husband's name is William ("Bill"); he is everything to me.
I was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, on June 10, 1969. I am a Louisiana-born Cajun.
My husband, meanwhile, was born in Hendersonville, North Carolina. He is three years older than me. His birthday is November 25th. He'll be forty-one this fall. He was born in the year 1966.
We had three children of our own; all, unfortunately, perished. Two died when they were still tiny babies (Pierre Armand--he lived six days; he died of SIDS--, and L'Acadia Marie-Antoinette--she was just two days over two weeks old; she died of meningitis and complications from her premature birth); the third child (Aron Jakob, who was our firstborn) died on what would have been his fourth birthday; he died of cerebralspinal meningitis.
Had they still lived today, they would all be in their teens. There isn't a day where we don't think of them or miss them. While the grief has lessened considerably, we still get sad on days like Christmas or the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving, or on their birthdates. We reflect our time with the children and remember.
Yet God was faithful to us, even in those dark days when we were openly weeping over the deaths of our kids. He knew we wanted a family; when Bill suggested adoption, we agreed; yet, we had no inkling of what was to happen down the road. Had we known we were to be the parents to over four dozen children, we would have nixed the idea, fast.
The first two children we adopted were from Germany and Louisiana. Johnny (then known as Johannes) came to us first, a tiny scrap of a child, with white blonde fuzz for hair, amazingly blue eyes that were so large they looked startled, and beautiful, pink skin. He was absolutely gorgeous! Just after Johnny came Ronessa Le-Anne (we called her Ronee'; it was easier), a little Cajun beauty with a headful of black hair, huge, startled eyes, and skin the color of sun-kissed honey. She was tiny, too, and she was as different from Johnny as night and day: while Johnny was happy, Ronee' was whiny: she cried often, and she was prone to frightening breathing attacks that left her gasping for air.
It was a challenge parenting these two children (especially on Ronee' 's part, what with her health), but we were determined to give these special children what they needed the most: a home, a family, and most importantly, love.
It seemed our lives were complete when God came knocking once again. It was a few years later; Johnny and Ronee' were now toddlers, and they were struggling to regain lost skills that they encurred after illness (Johnny) or accident (Ronee'). It was a hard time; yet God put it upon Bill's heart about adopting more children to the family. We soon heard about seven more children ranging from toddlerhood to adolescence who were all in a desperate need of family or home. It was then when we added Richard, Stefanie (Steffi), Barbara, Jodie, Gemini, Michael, and Starlight Melody to the family, instantly swelling our small family of four to a big family of nine seemingly overnight. We accepted the newcomers joyfully.
The new children were from Louisiana (Barbara), Utah (Richard), Canada (Steffi and her younger brother Michael), Korea (Jodie), Vietnam (Starlight Melody), and Japan (Gemini, then known by her Japanese name). They were all beautiful, but Richard came with emotional problems stemming from abuse he'd suffered from as a baby, Michael came with uncontrolled seizures, and Jodie came with severe physical disabilities that required the use of a wheelchair and severe mental disabilities that rendered her with the mindset of an infant. At three years old, she was not toilet trained, and she had difficulty eating. Feeding her took well over an hour, and by the time I was done, we were both drenched in sweat. It was that much of an ordeal.
It seemed we were happy with our lot in life, but God wasn't through. More children arrived; our family got bigger and bigger. We tried to say no, but God made it so darn difficult: once we saw the faces of the newer children that arrived, we could not say no! It wasn't long afterwards when we began to think that we couldn't imagine the family without the children!
The adoptions still continue nowadays: we have adopted a grand total of fifty-nine children. Like the ones before, most of the children have special needs: they are older than the age of two (excepting for Emir, but that is okay), they are of another race, they are part of a brother/sister group that couldn't be separated, and most have disabiltities that are noticeable (the majority of the children) or "hidden" (i.e., deafness, autism, learning disabilities, epilepsy, etc.). Yet they are all beautiful to Bill and myself; they are our children first: their disabilities don't matter.
Our children now range in age from a year and a half to 25: they come from places like Africa, France, Iraq, Iran, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Italy, Germany, the continental United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Bosnia Hergezovina as well as China, Russia, and Romania. They are all growing up so fast: even our once-tiny babies Johnny and Ronee' have matured into intelligent, well-behaved, sweet fourteen year old teenagers with good heads upon their shoulders and an insatiable will to enjoy life to the full.
Add to the mix six lively grandchildren, thanks to our eldest, Lightning, and her husband. They live in Colorado; and when they come home, we enjoy in spoiling the grandbabies, as only a proud grandma and grampa can do! :) Like her mamma, Lightning has adopted one child, in addition to birthing five others: the tradition continues! :)
Besides being a full-time mamma and grandmamma, I am busy at work as a nurse (I am the charge nurse of the dayshift at a large hospital here in Nashville; it is challenging, rewarding work!), and I am also an author of five books (three about the family, two others about nursing). More books are in the future, the way things are looking now.
As for my husband, he has worked at Wal*Mart as a people greeter for a little over two years. He loves it. He did work at an elevator factory, but he was injured before we were married, and he now has a partially paralyzed arm and shoulder. He also has other health concerns: asthma and allergies, worsening back problems (he has had three surgeries; they didn't help much), and has bi-polar depression. One minute he's happy; the next, he's wallerin' in self-pity. Still, despite his problems, he is a very good man: very compassionate, very caring in nature, a true angel who makes sure I or the kids have all that we can possibly need! :)
It is because of my hubby that I and the kids have come to Christ. We are now a total Christian family; we attend church whenever we can, and God has been very instrumental in our lives in more ways than we can ever realize. I see the kids, and I am in awe of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us; I mean, I see how good life is for us, and all I can do is openly praise Him.
What more can I possibly want or need? I have a secure job, I have a husband (and kids) who love me, and I have the love of a Loving Father in Heaven, which is the best love of all! :) Yes, I am indeed blessed beyond measure! :)
~Louisiana Sandusky (mama to 59 Miracles and happily married to Bill Sandusky). :D
Thank you for all this background to a story that never ceases to have me reeling... Your characters live and breathe, Karen, and you feel and understand everything through each of their (many!!) skins! I feel such a lesser mortal... I have one husband (!!), one girl and one boy... and each is frequently called by the dog's name (... if I can remember THAT!!) :)) You are OBVIOUSLY a great people-person and must make everyone you have contact with feel as special as if they were the only person alive. You are a gifted communicator and carer. Bless you and thank you. Kate xx
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