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Miracles Come In Small Packages! (A Little Sister Writes of Her Special-Needs Big Sister) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
An adopted child writes of her older sister, Jodie, who has a lot of physical problems.
My older sister, Jodie, is a living Miracle. She has overcome incredible odds.
For starters, she was born severely brain-damaged, and she was also born with problems with the muscles in her body. At the age of one year, she was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy that has affected her entire body.
Jodie is now 11, and she is still severely handicapped. Unfortunately, she will never get any better, but she will not get worse either. But she still requires a lot in the way of medical and personal care.
For starters, she is not toilet-trained, and she wears diapers, just like a little baby. She is also unable to eat on her own, and she is fed by a tube that has surgically been placed into her tummy. She can't dress or undress herself, and she can't speak, read, write, or do anything for herself. She is totally afflicted by her cerebral palsy, and she needs help with just about everything. She also sometimes has seizures or breathing problems, and when this happens, she must go into the hospital, just to make sure things are okay with her because her health is so precarious.
But despite her problems, Jodie is a very happy kid. She laughs and smiles often, and she may not be able to talk (MUCH), but she definitely can let you know just how she is feeling, just by the noises she makes. Her noises are happy or sad, depending on how she is feeling. Her noises are a great indicator of her moods.
Jodie is very tiny for her age. She may be 11 years old, but she is the size of a four-to-five-year-old. She is very skinny, and she has always been so, ever since I have known her, that is! She is very pretty, too, with long, black hair that is stick-straight and shiny, uptilted brown eyes, and a round little face the color of golden-tan. She was born in Korea, and she was adopted by my parents when she was three years old. She was one of the first to be adopted, after Johnny and Ronee', who are two more of my siblings.
I often wish Jodie could walk or talk, but I guess God made her this way for a Reason. I guess He made her this way because Jodie is such a people person, and whenever she is around, people are usually drawn to her. She is very popular at our church, Christ Community Assembly of God, and the church members just love her! She also has a lot of friends at her school, and we think she is a terrific asset to our International Family! If anything, Jodie teaches others of accepting people who are severely handicapped, and makes them realize, that despite their severe handicaps, they are people, too, just like the rest of us! She also teaches tolerance and love, and she teaches others about the daily struggles of the severely handicapped. That is a very good thing to do, on her part!
I really do love Jodie! She is one in a million! And she is indeed a Special Angel of God's! :)
(((karen))) precious! each child is a gift from God, no matter what their nationality, religion, ability OR disability...this family is blessed with an overabundance of gifts! LOL beautiful, uplifting write...well done! :) ((((HUGS)))) and love, karla. :) very descriptive...i could see this child from your depiction of her. pretty little thing...:)
Dazzeland is a place where the Citrons live and the sky shimmers with endless hues and the air is filled with the scent of Citrus and fruity scents.These small lively fruity beings depend on the Life Source of a mysterious combination of water an
