Things are still dicey at the best, but finally, after months of despair and heartbreak, the situation starts to improve for the Sandusky children; soon, more children will join the family, instantly swelling the family of four to a family of 11 overnight.
*PART ONE: HOW THE FAMILY GOT STARTED* (Continued)~
Chapter Three~
I. A Light At The End of A Long, Dark Tunnel:
It seemed that the darkness that currently shrouded our world like a dark, claustrophobic veil would never lift; months went by with no improvement for either Johnny or Ronee'. They continued to languish in seemingly irreversable comas, with only machines and medications keeping them alive.
We would take turns visiting one, then the other, hoping, praying desperately for that miracle that now seemed out of reach.
Then came that happy day when positive signs finally started emerging. Ronee' showed signs of waking up from her coma: she moved when spoken to, showed reflexes when doctors tested her pain reflexes, her neurological signs. Best of all, she'd even briefly open her eyes; yet she showed no sign of recognition as she looked stonily at us.
Johnny, meanwhile, lay there, still as death, his color white as the sheets he lay on, not showing any signs of purposeful activity. Doctors became concerned that his hearing/vision may have been affected by the meningitis; there was even the talk of brain damage.
Just how much damage there was wouldn't be determined until Johnny emerged from the coma.
We knew both children would need months of rehabilitative therapy before they could even be released from the hospital. The road ahead for both children seemed long and curvy; there was no guarantees that either child would ever regain a normal life after their comas.
It was a hard, sad, frustrating time for us.
II. Unexpected (Happy) News!:
It was during this long, dark time in our lives when a miracle occurred. No, not with Johnny or Ronee' per se, but with the prospect of adding to the family. We had applied to adopt more children, children from places like Korea, Vietnam, the United States--anywhere there was a child in need of a family and a home to call their very own.
We heard about a brother and sister from Canada (the girl, older than the boy, was healthy; the boy had epilepsy), a little girl from Korea who had severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy (in addition, she was profoundly mentally handicapped), a girl from Louisiana who was healthy, but nobody wanted her because she was "too old" (she was nine), a girl from China who had epilepsy and was also considered "too old", a boy from Utah who'd been the victim of horrible abuse (he now had a permanent tracheostomy and severe emotional trauma), and a boy who was suffering from cancer (he was from Vietnam; he was 11 years old; he'd had his one leg amputated; he was now walking on crutches for mobility).
The adoption caseworker asked us if we were interested. Joyfully we accepted.
Our family was to grow from four to eleven people. In just a few months we would be adding to our family in a big way.
Yes, it's beautifully written. The world is so sad when you think of all the people who are dependent completely on others, but, less sad when you see the 'strong' reaching out to help them.
GLIMPSE OF AN ANGEL IS NOW AVAILABLE. A PORTION OF ALL SALES WILL GO TO HOSPICE TO THUS ENABLE THEM TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE SOON TO PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
