Gone For A Day, But For A Good Cause
[February 22nd] -- I'll be off the bloggers highway until sometime Thursday evening. My wife and I have a young foster son who has recently gone through four very painful surgeries to repair his cleft palette. We'll be in Salt Lake City having him checked by his surgeon. They tell me that by the time he has his last surgery, all that will be left of that gaping hole will be a small "s" shaped scar just below his nose that will be hardly noticeable by the time he's a teenager.
Since I was a kid, I've always had an infinity for the "imperfect" of the world. Two of my children, Kendi, who died two years ago at the age of 20, and Katie, now 16, were born with severe physical and mental deficiencies. It's a great responsibility to try to help those who can't tell you their needs, but it's a blessing at the same time. Had I not raised two handicapped children, I probably would to this day be "afraid" of those with special needs. These days, in my family at least, they are the normal ones.
My, how times have changed. J.E.B. Stuart High School [this was in the early 1970's] had a room where "they" went to class. They never came out; they never interacted with the traditional school population. As a result, we had to "fill in the blanks" about them. And, as most kids are want to do, the blanks were filled in in a very unflattering way. Today, ten to fifteen of the "regular kids" volunteer part of their day in the resource room at my daughter's high school. They interact with my daughter and her classmates. The student's learn that there is nothing to be afraid of, that but for the grace of God go they. Many times, I have walked down a hallway only to find a student "racing" with my daughter in her wheelchair. Both were giggling uncontrollably, and my baby always was allowed to win. My daughter doesn't even realize that she's different, thanks to those peer tutors who care.
I'll post again Thursday afternoon. Best wishes to all of you.
: 1:20 PM 
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