The Importance of Family

Conversations that I have had the pleasure to have over the past few days have gotten me thinking about the importance of family, regardless of whether you are disabled or not.


My family is a little unusual, in that the age range is quite significant. I am the youngest of five children. My mother was 43, and my father was 46 when I was born. My oldest brother is 23 years older than me, another is 20 years older, another is 10 years older and my sister is 5 years older than me. My two older brothers were in seminary and college when I came along. I jokingly tell people I was an oops!


Several years ago, I took a class where we were asked to write an autobiography. I decided that since my situation was kind of unique, I would interview my parents and siblings to get their take on my birth. Initially, my father was mad at himself because he didn't think my mother needed to be pregnant at her age ( at that time, her age was cause for concern), my mother was concerned for her health as well as mine. My oldest brother wondered how my parents were going to handle the added stress and how it would effect them physically, emotionally and spiritually. My other brother had heard that things were bad, but they could have been a lot work. My younger brother and sister didn't understand why I wasn't able to come home right away. Everyone, including my mother was afraid to hold me because I appeared to be very fragile.


 I had the initial closure for the SB right away, and soon after had a shunt placed to relieve my hydrocephalus issues. The initial shunt had to be replaced soon after it was placed. Many year of therapy and surgeries for different things followed. My entire family, and even members of my small community, took part in making sure I got proper range of motion exercises to help me get stronger.  I can honestly say that I don't know if I would be here if it wasn't for the care that I received from the good Lord, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), my mother and father,  my siblings and community.  As I grew, I did just that, became more and more functional and independent. I will continue the story of my life in my next post.