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Today's News & Views
Once again, thank you for a great article.
Our second born is handicapped. A pediatric neurologist diagnosed her as
being Cerebral Palsied but that doesn't really answer how, when, or why
she is as she is.
I remember realizing, when she was well over a year old and I was
several months into my third pregnancy, that she was mentally disabled.
I was crushed. It was clear to me that she would have a harder time in
life, probably not have many close friends, get married, etc. I had a
hard time dealing with the heartache. Every time she was left out or
noticed as different I'd feel that sharp pain again.
But, God is near to the broken hearted and I believe he reached down to me and Katy and the rest of our family. We now have five children. All of us have become more sensitive and aware of those around us who are handicapped or don't fit in.
Katy, herself, is a joy. She is giggly, sweet, funny, sensitive to
others, and never without a stuffed animal or baby doll tucked under her
arm. She has a little hamster that is amusingly tame from her holding
and stroking it so often. She is loved by her siblings, and God has
blessed her at school with the best teachers and a kind principal.
She still gets looks when we are out in public, as her speech is
severely delayed, but it bothers me less than it used to. So, all that
to say, she has been very good for us.
God has matured me (somewhat, anyway) through our experience. I still
wish Katy could be healed tomorrow, and I can identify with the
multitude who brought their sick and crippled to Jesus. But I love and
enjoy her the way that she is.
Katy loves life. She is the first to point out sunsets and has a
sensitive spirit toward God. She loves music, food, and good joke (it
may be the same joke but, hey).
It is creepy and sad that imperfect children are being quietly disposed
of. What happened to Terri Schindler-Schiavo was almost unbearable to me
and the reason why I said yes to being a discussion group leader at a
Bible study I attend and why I read your column nearly every day.
I've always been pro-life, but, If Katy wasn't alive, I don't know that
I would have been as touched by Terri's tragedy. I might have believed
some of the lies written in papers. Through Katy, I've met people with
damaged brains or [something else] who just want to live and be loved.
The ethics professor mentioned in the article has it all backwards.
[Patricia Bauer was at a party where this Ivy League ethics professor
said "he believes that prospective parents have a moral obligation to
undergo prenatal testing and to terminate their pregnancy to avoid
bringing forth a child with a disability, because it was immoral to
subject a child to the kind of suffering he or she would have to
endure.]
It's our moral duty to especially care for, and show extra love to,
those who are less fortunate due to disability. It should be our
challenge to welcome them into life and ease their way through it, to
the best of our abilities. It's cowardly and immoral to wipe them off
the face of the earth.
That's common sense to a little homemaker like me.
Thanks, Dave, for all your columns. I look forward to them.
God bless you and your family as you dedicate your lives to standing up
for the defenseless.
Kerry
*********************** Please send your comments to me at dandrusko@nrlc.org, and I shall pass them along to Kerry. |
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