Louisiana writes of her now five-year-old daughter, Enriquesa, who is just about to start kindergarten in a few weeks.
Enriquesa is the youngest of the girls of the family. She is also one who has especially significant needs.
Enriquesa.
Just the name conjures the image of a little imp whose big, bright eyes can light up her tanned, round face, and a child who has two fat, black pigtails adorned with brightly colored ribbons.
Enriquesa Maria Elena is our youngest daughter; she will be in kindergarten in a few weeks. She had been attending preschool, but in the fall, she will officially start "big kids' school" and will officially enter the exciting world known as "kindergarten".
Enriquesa came to us at the age of one-and-a-half years from Guatemala, and she came with severe physical handicaps that still affect her daily life. She was born without arms or hands, and tragically, she was also born without legs. She does have feet, but they come out where her legs should have been; so she is extremely tiny. She was also born a little person, and so she will never be tall, even when she gets to be an adult. Doctors don't think she will be 3' tall when she gets to be an adult.
To help her do things, Enri (as we call her) wears prosthetic "hooks" that serve as her hands, and with these "hooks" she can dress herself, button her clothes, eat, brush her teeth or her hair, or play with her toys. She can also write her name and color and draw and build jigsaw puzzles. Her prosthetic legs, meanwhile, fit onto her lower half, and once she has her legs are strapped on, she will then take her purple walker (or her matching purple crutches if she feels like using her crutches) and then take off. She moves incredibly fast on her walker or her crutches, and nothing stops her, not even falls. (She has a tendency to fall a lot; and she has more scars and bruises from smashing her face on the carpet or floor.)
When her teachers ask about her bruises, Enriquesa will proudly tell her that she fell again, and it isn't anything to worry about. She is very proud of her bruises and scars, and she carries them like trophies.
Enriquesa was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and right away, she was abandoned by her mother at birth. She was then placed in an orphanage for handicapped children, where she stayed until she was about a year old, when she was then flown to America. Less than a year later, she was adopted by us, and she has been our youngest daughter ever since.
Many people are taken aback when they first see Enriquesa because she is so tiny (she isn't much bigger than a two-year-old), and she has obvious physical handicaps, but it isn't long before the child's high-pitched giggles or her engaging personality soon take over, and the person is at once charmed by this little girl who doesn't let severe physical handicaps deter her way of life. It is a normal reaction when people first see her, but she doesn't let it bother her, and she manages to win them over.
Enriquesa is NOT shy, not in the least bit. She will go on up to complete strangers and introduce herself, and she will then give them a hug. We tell her not to do this, but she never listens. She is a hugger, and has a gigantic personality that makes up for her small size. There is NOTHING "small" about her personality!!
Besides playing with her toys, coloring, drawing, or building puzzles, Enri loves to read (she is very smart and knows all her letters and numbers), write stories, watch tv (she is a fan of "Miffy and Friends" on Noggin, which is like Nickolodeon for preschoolers; "Miffy" is this cute little white bunny in a blue dress), and do somersaults. She also loves it when one of her older sisters takes off her prosthetic limbs, places her into a bag, and her sister will then announce, "Hey, Ma! Look what I got on special today at Safeway!" Her sister will then carry the bag, with Enriquesa's head sticking up out of it, throughout the house, and Enriquesa's laughter will peal throughout the house.
If Enriquesa sounds like a handful, you are right. She IS a handful; she is very mischevious, and she is bound to get into trouble somehow in a matter of moments. Because she is so small, she can quickly get into tight spaces that nobody else can get into, and pretty soon, we are off on a wild goosechase, hunting for this little wide-eyed girl with two fat pigtails for hair, and we won't have any clue to where she is at until we hear her giggles, which always gives her away; and then we are always relieved, as we have found her again. We don't know how she gets into these tight places, but she does. She also loves to help me with the housework, and it is so comical to watch her wrestling with the broom, which is so much bigger than she is, or watch her straining as she tries to push the vacuum cleaner.
Enriquesa has told us that she wants to be an actress when she grows up. Somehow that isn't surprising because she has such an engaging, outgoing personality.
If anything, Enriquesa has taught us the meaning of perseverence despite overwhelming physical handicaps, courage, determination, and loving the severely handicapped. She is a true inspiration, and she will always be. We have never met a child quite like her, and we are so blessed to be her mommy and daddy! She is a true Miracle, and we are so thankful that God brought her our way!
OH Karen this is so heartfelt...I feel so sorry for people with a handicap!!
I always buy those christmas cards painted by thoes people that do it with there mouth or feet...it is just incredible how they can do it...and done to perfection!!
A gift from God I must say!!
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