Today I met a two year old and her mother. The little girl is just a tiny little thing. Couldn't be more than 20 lbs and just a little more than 2 foot, sparsely blonde hair. You can see her scars. One that runs from the left side of her head to the bottom of her toe. One long continuous scar. The scar of her shunt in her brain is visible. The scars of 9 surgeries in just over 2 years. One of her eyes are clouded and swirly white and black. You can't tell what color they are. Her other eye rolls under and you only see the whites. I have to admit it was hard to not look and study it and then to feel shocked by how it looked. Of course she is visually impaired, but that is only part of the story. I will explain more later. Little "Hannah" can crawl and is learning how to walk. She will lean on you and work her way up to standing. She placed her face very, very, uncomfortably close to mine, but knowing she was "seeing" me I let her. She used her nose to explore my face. A shy little girl no more when she climbed into my arms. She said the few words she is able to say that melted my heart and tears sprang to my eyes. "Sing to me" So, I did. Old McDonald which I found out was her favorite. She smiled a giant smile that radiated from her heart to mine.
It is important that I tell you about her. The thing is she is the reason why I went into teaching. I get tired of doctors, teachers, and experts telling parents and the child that they can't do something because of disabilities. Doctors insisted she was blind. I assumed it also on first judgment. After mom insisted that she could see the doctors have begun to notice she can. It is figured she can see about a foot away. She will push the lid up on one eye to be able to see when it rolls back. Talk about coping skills! She wasn't supposed to walk, but out of sheer will she is beginning to. She isn't supposed to talk because of how doctors felt her brain developed, but she is! And being as severely impaired as she is, she shouldn't be able to climb, crawl, or even understand what is happening around her, but she does. She has outsmarted all of the doctors and broken all of the rules. Her light shines so brightly that she will be adored by everyone. She has already tugged at my heart strings. Her young mom and dad (couldn't be more than 23) work with her constantly and love her dearly. She is definitely something special and certainly will teach me and those she comes across how wonderful life is and how happy everyone should be despite any difficulties. I can't wait for her to start my room in the fall. I have a feeling she will bring the sun rays with her when it gets pretty dark.
It is important that I tell you about her. The thing is she is the reason why I went into teaching. I get tired of doctors, teachers, and experts telling parents and the child that they can't do something because of disabilities. Doctors insisted she was blind. I assumed it also on first judgment. After mom insisted that she could see the doctors have begun to notice she can. It is figured she can see about a foot away. She will push the lid up on one eye to be able to see when it rolls back. Talk about coping skills! She wasn't supposed to walk, but out of sheer will she is beginning to. She isn't supposed to talk because of how doctors felt her brain developed, but she is! And being as severely impaired as she is, she shouldn't be able to climb, crawl, or even understand what is happening around her, but she does. She has outsmarted all of the doctors and broken all of the rules. Her light shines so brightly that she will be adored by everyone. She has already tugged at my heart strings. Her young mom and dad (couldn't be more than 23) work with her constantly and love her dearly. She is definitely something special and certainly will teach me and those she comes across how wonderful life is and how happy everyone should be despite any difficulties. I can't wait for her to start my room in the fall. I have a feeling she will bring the sun rays with her when it gets pretty dark.
May 28, 2010
Beautifully written as always. And you're right, some people are boxed in by others' perceptions of what they can and cannot do. Others, even at a young age, strive to prove the naysayers wrong. It's the latter that are truly the inspirations in the world.