I don't know what our granddaughter would do if we didn't step in. Heather would have probably ended up being placed into a facility for severely handicapped children.
Our granddaughter, Heather Michelle, is ten years old, but has the mind of a six- to eight- month-old infant. She was born five months premature. She was born with severe brain damage and accompanying physical problems, including spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy (diagnosed when she was about a year old), gastric reflux disease (GRD), seizures (epilepsy), blindness, and severe asthma/respiratory problems.
Heather requires much in the way of hands-on care: someone has to be with her at all times, in case something should happen to her.
Heather came to live with us three years ago, when she was only seven. Our daughter, Mindy, couldn't handle the demands of caring for such a severely disabled child, so she relinquished her parental rights. We ended up adopting her. This occurred last year.
We couldn't be happier.
We just adore our little daughter so much! We would do anything possible to ensure that she is happy, comfortable, and well cared for.
Heather loves people. Even though she cannot see or do much for herself, she senses when people are paying attention to her: she breaks out in a wide, ear-splitting grin, arches her back, and emits a very loud, excited squeal of joy or coo like a dove. When she is angry or upset, Heather will bite or grunt.
She is extremely adept at expressing her innemost feelings effectively.
We were, at first, very angry with Mindy, for giving up her child, but as we came to understand why she did it, it just made us more determined than ever to love and raise Heather ourselves. Caring for a child like Heather is difficult at best, especially to us, since we are both senior citizens in our middle to late 60s. I'm 65, Jeb, my husband, is 69.
We are Heather's eyes, voice, hands and feet, her window to the outside world. We feed her. We bathe her and change her diapers. We dress/undress her. We make sure her oxygen system is in working order. We brush her hair and her teeth. We read to her and listen to music together. We take her for walks, so Heather can enjoy the sounds of nature and the feel of fresh air on her sweet little face. We take Heather to church every Sunday, so she can learn about Jesus in her own special way.
Because of Heather being with us, she has a rich life that is chock-full of adventure. She is the darling of everyone at the senior citizen's center and at church. Everyone who meets her can't help but to fall in love with her. People stop to chat with her (or with us) whenever we take her out. She is very much loved.
When she's happy, then everybody else is, too. When she is sad or sick in the hospital, then everyone will cry and/or pray for her until she feels better.
It is comforting to know that so many people love (or care for) her!
If anything, Heather has taught us to appreciate the beauty in life, or to see past her handicaps. To us, Heather is much more than a small, brain-damaged little waif sitting in her wheelchair, a child who cannot walk, see, talk, or feed herself: she is a child first and foremost. She is a little angel who has brought us nothing but sheer joy!
