#321 - KA

This post is about a set of parents (both with the same initials now that I think about it) that I hold in high regard.  Let me tell you why.  Without getting into too much of their business, I will say that she and her husband decided to adopt when they were unable to have children of their own.  They adopted a son, and when he was around 8 or so, they decided to adopt again.  They were on a list, and one day the call came that a mother had given birth and abandoned her baby at a local hospital.  The hospital had attempted to contact the birth mother, but they could not find anyone to take care of this child, so he was to become a ward of the state.  #322 and her husband were overjoyed and welcomed their new baby home as if she had just given birth.  Everything went well for a couple of weeks, and then they started to notice something did not appear quite right.  Long story short, after rounds of testing and many trips to Children's Hospital, this child was diagnosed with seizure disorder.  For those of you not in the medical field, this diagnosis is sometimes used as a "catch all" diagnosis when they cannot really tell what is causing the seizures and they really cannot determine the long term affect or prognosis.

This is when the story gets interesting.  I have heard #322's version and I have heard her husband's version, and they are both exactly the same.  When the child was a few months old and all of this testing and diagnosing was going on, the doctor in charge of his case came to the parents to tell them the news.  His advice to them was to just leave the child at the hospital and to let the state take care of him.  The doctor went on to say that since the paperwork for the adoption had not gone through anyway, #322 and her husband were under no obligation to keep the child.  The way they tell it, #322 had to hold her husband back he was so angry with the doctor.  You see, from the moment that they held that child in their arms, he was theirs.  Faults and all, in sickness or in health...he was theirs.

The road from there has been a long one.  Their son did not walk until he was around five years old and still today at the age of fourteen still needs to hold on to someones hand to walk at all times.  We have tried to teach him to walk with a walker, but his mental deficits make this more dangerous than helpful.  Their child does not speak, but makes his likes and dislikes known to those who pay attention.  His balance has been compromised by all of the seizures that he has had, and his mental ability for learning is limited.  Nonetheless, he loves and is loved and all you have to do is watch him respond to his mother and father to know that somehow, someway, this child knows it.  #322 and her husband will take care of this child for his entire life.  They feed him through a tube in his stomach.  They change his diapers.  They talk to him, play with him, and find things that he likes to do, even if it is not the norm.  They have him attend school and celebrate any and all accomplishments the same way we all celebrate our kids getting a hit at the baseball game.

In short, in opinion, they have a very special place in heaven.  This child was abandoned by his own mother probably because of her drug habit.  (The doctors feel like this is what caused his problems).  #322 and her husband took him in and have given him all the love in the world and more.  But to hear them tell it, it has been #322 and her husband who feel blessed.  They feel God sent this child to them for a reason and they feel honored to spend their lives making this child's life better.

In my line of work, I have had the opportunity to meet many different kinds of parents.  Some do the best they can... some don't give a you know what.  I have been forturnate to meet many parents who give of themselves unselfishly and put their own needs on hold for the needs of their children.  I know I try to do this, and I hope that I would be up for the challenge if God asked me to.  But, seeing these parents makes me thankful to God for my healthy children and makes me more dedicated to my job to make this family's life easier in any way that I can.