A young teen boy with special needs writes about the trials of being a teenager in today's world.
My name is Richard Merle Patrick Sandusky, and I will be 15 in a few months.
I live in Nashville, Tennessee, with my adoptive family, and I have many problems. I have a trache because my birth mother poured bleach or something down my throat when I was a baby, and it ruined my esophagus and stomach lining; and it burned my lungs. Ever since, I have breathing problems, and I can't breathe without this tube in my throat. It is a real drag at times because I have to be suctioned every so often, and it hurts and is rather uncomfortable; but if I don't get my trache tube cleaned, I can get sick with pneumonia or worse. So it's a part of my daily life that I have to learn to put up with, like it or not.
I also have emotional problems. I was abused as a baby, and also as a child before I was adopted by the Sanduskys; and I remember people screaming at me or hitting me. They called me no good, and they said I would never amount to anything. So it is a wonder I don't have a good opinion of myself. It didn't help that they made references to my being American Indian, and ever since then, I have somewhat felt ashamed of being totally American Indian. (I am of the Blackfeet and Cherokee tribes.) I have bad memories of being abused, and it is because of this that I have emotional problems and have to go to the shrink at the mental health clinic every week. I sometimes wonder if I really AM crazy...
I am about 5'2 1/2" tall (I am fairly short) and weigh maybe 110 pounds soaking wet. I have long, greasy-looking black hair that tends to fall in my eyes, dark skin, and black, black eyes. I have a trache tube in my throat, and I can talk, just not that loudly. I am rather shy and quiet in nature; but being abused tends to do that to a person. I don't trust many people other than my family or my friends.
Being a teen is hard enough; now add special needs to the mix. NOT good. I am often teased about my height and my having to go to the Special-Needs classroom for therapy; and I am also teased because of my having a trache tube that prevents me from playing sports. It is embarrassing when people say I sound like E.T. when I talk, and it is embarrassing when I have to leave to go to the nurse's station to have another suctioning treatment because I am coughing and hawking and spitting all over the place. At times I sound like an old man, and I HATE it!
I also have to put up with girls pretending they like me; they act like they have designs on me, but I don't want to have anything to do with girls right now. They embarrass me, and they act like they like me, but I see in their eyes that they are only laughing at me. So I just walk away, and feel sorry for myself. Here's the short, special-needs kid who sounds like E.T. with no friends to speak of....
Oh, I HAVE friends; just not many.
At times, I prefer it that way. But at times, I wish I were one of the popular crowd; I wonder how it would feel to always be talked to or paid attention to....
Teens today have it too good. They don't have to earn their parents' trust; everything seems to be given to them on a silver platter, and too many teens are way out of control. It's like their parents don't give a rat's ass about what's good or important, and they act so stupid at times. If I did any of the things that some teens do nowadays, I would be grounded for the REST OF MY LIFE! And possibly even LONGER! There's no work ethic or discipline in many homes now, and it really upsets me. I sometimes used to think that my parents were way off base, always yelling at me or grounding me for some stupid thing, but now I realize just how lucky I DO have it because at least MY parents CARE! Many parents don't, and this is why so many of my teenaged peers have so many problems today.
Yes, being a teen IS a drag, but compared to many teens my age, I have it GREAT! At least I am not lying dead on the street doped up on drugs or boozed out on alcohol, and I don't have parental responsibilities to worry about! I am a good kid, and I intend to stay that way as long as I have the Lord on my side!
Call me Mr. Lucky....
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Reviewed by Precious Lindsay
8/10/2003
Hey Karen
I really like your story.. Its really thoughtful and so true
Fantastic write Karen, you really make your characters live, in fact I am becoming convinced that they are real people! I too am glad I am not a youngster in this day and age. I am also glad that my children and grandchildren came through their teen years unscathed. I hope and pray that by the time my great grand-daughter is a teenager that things will have changed for the better. Am I living in a dream world? Things do go in repetitive cycles.
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