A young girl lives joyfully despite a serious physical disability that affects how she gets around.
Soren Danielle Parkington is eight years old, a pretty little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is like most typical eight-year-olds: that is, she loves to talk on the phone, play with her friends, go shopping, watch "High School Musical" on television (or on the DVD player; her parents got her the DVD for Christmas), wear the latest fashions, and pretend that she is trying out for "American Idol", her favorite television program.
That is what she wants to be when she grows up: a singer, perhaps a diva.
Soren is, however, not like most kids: she has a physical disability, a disability that she was born with. She was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. She's had numerous hospital stays/surgeries to help her get around, to have a shunt put in to drain off the excess CSF (cerebralspinal fluid) from her brain; and twice she nearly died from complications that set in.
She's determined to do as her friends do, and live a (relatively) normal life despite using crutches to walk.
Soren is the oldest of four kids in her family: she has two brothers Seymour and Stephen (ages six and three) and one sister Sawyer, who is nearly two. She loves her siblings very much; they get along great, with hardly any fights between them (much to their parent's delight).
Soren is in the second grade at Harding Elementary School in Bakersfield, California. She does extremely well in school. She's mainstreamed into regular classes, has lots of friends; she is very popular with the other students. In fact she's so good with school her teacher often has her help out with the students who are struggling with reading or writing! Her parents are very proud of her school accomplishments.
If there's anything Soren wants, it's for people to treat her like any other child, to look past the braces, crutches, or her wheelchair, see her as the normal, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky little girl she really is.
Oh, there's one more thing: Soren also has decided that if her singing career doesn't work out, she'll become a writer, write children's books--just like her favorite author, Beverly Cleary, the lady who wrote the Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby books.
Soren has an uplifting profile. She has a voice whether it will come through as a singing voice or a voice of the quill is yet to be seen...Soren is motivated beyond the braces, crutches, and wheelchair...her bright mind is mobile and that is all she needs...thanks for the story today, Karen Lynn...
Thank you for sharing this story Karen, Spren is right, it doesn't matter what one's disability is, we are all human and people should look past that and see the beauty that lies beneith. We all have a disability in one way or another.
Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
I have written a chapter called I Am That, I Am in this inspirational compilation book by best-selling authors and wonderful people from all walks of life xox :-D (Its sister book is called Adventures In Manifesting - Success and Spirituality)
