Tim Michael Westridge is my name. I live in Vero Beach, Florida, with my wife, Heather, and our three children, Easton William (14), Arrington Matthias (7), and Joaquin Martin (4 and 3/4.) His birthday is in a few weeks.
My wife is a school teacher; she teaches second grade. While she's at work, I stay home with Arrington and Joaquin (we call him "Quin" for short). I take care of them. They are my pride and joy.
I did work at GM, but I got laid off after the plant I worked at closed due to the faltering economy. I am waiting for my unemployment to kick in. It's hard to try to get ahead, especially in our case, with three growing boys, one who happens to be disabled.
Arrington was born with cerebral palsy. He can walk, but not that well. He mainly uses a wheeled walker and wears braces on both legs. He can't talk yet, but we feel that day is coming soon; he is taking an interest in everything around him. He makes noises or points to make his wants and needs known. He does this very well.
Believe me!
For being a child who has a disability, Arrie is very smart! We are very proud at how far he's come in life!
Arrie is very active; he's always on the go. If he isn't walking or rolling around, he lets us know in no uncertain terms that he hates to stay still.
He is Quin's big brother and bestest buddy; seems the two of them are always together.
Arrie has speech, occupational, and physical therapy three times a week. He has it at the hospital. He's had several surgeries, all of which he has sailed through beautifully. Answers to prayer!
He hasn't quite mastered toilet training yet; we are still working with that. Hopefully, that day will come soon: diapers for older children are expensive, putting a strain on our already tight budget. They are a necessity, so we manage.
Happily, Arrie has learned to feed himself. He sometimes gets more on him than in him (such as when he eats mac-n-cheese, spaghetti, or rigatoni), but he is a good eater: he'll eat just about anything you place in front of him (just as long as it's not green - he hates anything green).
No peas, no brussel sprouts, no spinach, no lettuce, no cabbage, nothing green. EVer. LOL
He was fed via a G-tube, but that was removed six months ago. Now he's an eating machine, excepting for the hated green veggies. If it's orange or yellow or red, slurp, into the hatch, down it goes.
In fact, if you're not careful, he'll try to snatch the food off your plate after he's eaten his!! LOL I've lost more hamburgers and french fries that way ... minus the pickles and lettuce, of course.
Can't stay mad at him. He just grins his grin and squints his eyes at me, and I melt, every time. At least he's eating.
We don't know what the future holds for our second youngest child, but we are hopeful that he will be able to reach his full potential. It's exciting to think what the future holds for Arrie and for other children like him!
He is a miracle, and we thank God every day for Arrington, and for Quin. They've been nothing but blessings in our lives!
