Cerebral Palsy | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘Cerebral Palsy’

Born Alive

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged abortion, Alive, born, born alive, Cerebral Palsy, courageous, Disabilities, Gianna Jessen, heartbeat, Life, radio, survivor, ultrasounds on August 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It didn’t start with a picture …

This time it started years ago, while listening to a radio broadcast. What I heard did not make any sense to me … “today we will be speaking with an abortion survivor …”

That one sentence intrigued me enough to keep listening, to buy the guest speaker’s book, and to encourage my hubby (then a youth pastor) to find her.

The result of that one sentence, heard in passing, was the meeting of this courageous woman, a fantastic youth retreat, and the understanding of another view on the subject of unwanted pregnancies.

I do not pretend to know or to understand all of the details pertaining to all unwanted pregnancies. There are many reasons for a pregnancy to be unwanted. Still, I do believe that there are two individuals involved, and for this reason, I do believe that both individuals need to be considered in the decisions for the futures of both.

I remember seeing the heartbeat, just the heartbeat, of one of our unborn babies … beating so beautifully, so perfectly. Having seen ultrasounds of empty or unresponsive sacs, that heartbeat was the most beautiful image to me, to us. Unfortunately it was beating in a fallopian tube, and both the tube, and the heartbeat, had to be taken.

Abortion is a complex issue.

I know and understand the decision that I made, and I know the consequences … all of them, of that decision. I do not believe that most women make their decisions knowing all that is being decided, or all of the consequences. Two heartbeats, one is that of the mother, the other is that of her child. Both are lives of value.

Here is a link to the story of Gianna Jessen, abortion survivor …

Abortion Survivor

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The Olympic Relationship

Posted in FAMILY, life, Love, WONDER, tagged Cerebral Palsy, communication, Disabilities, father / mother, I Can Only Imagine, Marathon, Mercy Me, Olympics, Rick and Dick Hoyt, Son, Team hoyt, unconditional love, You Can on July 27, 2012| 2 Comments »

Today marks the beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, in London, England.

There will be the lighting of the flame, the entrance of the athletes into the stadium, the speeches, the music, the spectacle that is the opening event.

Of course the Olympic Games are about the games themselves, about the competition among athletes and countries, about about winning medals, but, what are the values of the Olympic Games?

According to the International Olympic Committee, it takes more than being an exceptional sportsman or woman to become part of the Olympics or Paralympics. “This is why both games come with a set of core values which encompass what these competitions are all about proving that sport even at this level, is not just about your ability.”

The seven official values, which aim to embody the spirit of the events are :
Respect
Excellence
Friendship
Courage
Determination
Inspiration
Equality

There is a story that is behind the picture to the right. It is a story of a father son relationship that exemplifies all of the values of the Olympics. Beyond that, their relationship is one of love … unconditional, sacrificial love.

To me, they, father and son, epitomize the Olympic spirit, not just in regard to athletics, but also in regards to life … lived full and complete, not because of their circumstances, but in spite of them.

“You can!”

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Natural Inclusion

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged Cerebral Palsy, Downs, Inclusion, Part of the Community, Special Needs on October 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I love the students that I work with, and I love the job that I have. I get to work with students who live with the struggles of physical, mental, social, psychological and other difficulties. I get to assist them in finding the keys to unlocking their gifts, and finding ways of learning that may be unconventional. I love the job that I get to do!

I believe that all people in a society need to attain the benefits of being in, and being part of, a community. I believe that including all students in a school community provides the students with special needs the ability to interact with others, and it also provides non-special needs students the opportunity to get to know their ‘special’ counterparts, and thereby learning that they may share common bonds, and learning the capacity to look at life from a different life perspective.

What I struggle with is when inclusion is forced (like brussel sprouts on your plate at a Thanksgiving Dinner). There is nothing so pointless to me as a student with verbal comprehension skills at a grade four level, in a grade twelve History class (I realize this is probably a rarity … but I am trying to make an exaggerated point). To me doing that to the student with special needs is an act of torture for them, which rarely gets lived out in a manner that improves how they appear, socially, to their peers.

What I do not struggle with is when inclusion is natural. When the person with special needs and the community they live in gravitate to, and accept each other. Now I know that this does not always happen naturally, and it is imperative that we sometimes ‘create’ natural-looking opportunities for the ‘typical’ and the student with special needs to come together. And that is one of the parts of my job that I love … facilitating opportunities for my students to accept, and be accepted by their community.

I was thinking of a natural inclusion recently, while at a course about autism. I was thinking about times when my life crossed paths with people with special needs.

There was the boy with Downs who was my age, who attended my church. He sang every hymn … by memory. And he was loved by all at that church.

There was this boy in hubby’s youth who probably had autism, and was loved by the entire group. I remember when he had a big crush on a girl in the group, and he sang her name in the multiple-storied cabin we were retreating at. His peers were giggling in the background … and we still giggle together today … and that boy (now a man) laughs along with us.

And the other boy with cerebral palsy who chatted everyone’s ear off, and they listened … and they told him he talked alot, and that was okay.

And the lady at the workplace I took students to, who would sweep the floors while smiling brightly. She was thrilled to be making the staff lunchroom a cleaner place for her co-workers to have their breaks.

Those experiences are the ones that make my heart sing, with the knowledge that the key to their truly being part of the bigger community, has been found. When people with special needs are not just ‘placed’ into situations to ‘be’ included, but when they are included, with little to no recognition of them having special needs. To me, that is an inclusive society.

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