I don't know what we would do if we didn't rely on God, especially now, when we are faced with so much uncertainty .... we'd be a lot worse off, is all I can say.

My name is Wanda Babcock.  I live in Staton Island, New York, with my husband,  Ray, and our two kids, Emmaline Rachelle (5) and Kirk Kilpatrick (2), who was born with significant special needs.  Our son was born with brain damage that left him with severe cerebral palsy, blindness, and spasticity.  Doctors are saying that Kirk will probably never walk or talk; he has too much in the way of damage to his brain.

As I write this, Kirk is in the hospital.  Pneumonia; he choked on some of his saliva and now he's very ill.  He is currently in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and doctors and nurses are monitoring his condition around the clock.  He's doing a little better than he was yesterday, but Kirk is still a very sick little boy. 

I am sitting by his bedside, praying, as I write in here.  Hubby is home with Emmaline; he will then take her to kindergarten this afternoon and will then join me for an hour before he goes back to pick her up from school later today.  At least I will get to see him, but I wish he could spend more time with me.  I hate being here at the hospital all by myself!

It isn't easy having a child like Kirk, but so far we've managed to do quite well.  I just thank God we have good caring doctors and therapists who are doing all they can to ensure that our son has a good, happy life.  It still hurts, though, whenever I see other mommies and daddies playing with their kids and knowing that my son will probably not be able to do many things for himself.  That's probably the hardest thing of all in dealing with a child like ours.

Right now, our goals for Kirk are for him to be able to sit up by himself, hold his head up, and hopefully walk, but right now, even that looks doubtful.  It doesn't help that our son is blind; he will need a lot of extra help to help him get around.  It's really hard sometimes.  I get so overwhelmed by his problems I can't help but to cry.

I just thank God that Emmaline is good with her brother.  She enjoys holding him or cuddling him, reading to him, or helping him with his feedings and diaper changes; Emmaline is a great big sister!  We are both very proud of her!

We don't know what the future holds for Kirk, but we will do all we can to help him in any way possible.  He certainly deserves all the best that life has to offer!

~To be continued!~