Sunday, February 07, 2010

FINALLY I THINK WE ARE HAVING A BREAKTHROUGH

If I had the money, the ways, and means of supporting this cause I would be in the #1 spot and screaming as loudly as possible. What is it you ask? Well its the word I hate the most.

In our St Paul Pioneer Press paper today was an article saying:

'RETARDED' VANISHING FROM LAWS , MEDICAL BOOKS.

well its about damn time. Ive hated that word for many many years. I would not let my kids or grandkids use that word around me. That was one of the reasons my grandkids came up with re-re.
That word has been thrown at our family many many times, not just because of my middle sister but me as well and sometimes my youngest sister. (well if one is retarded you all must be)
And like I said I HATE THAT WORD! BIG TIME!!!!!!

the paper said it was about time to change......Yes it is should have been done many years ago. But I guess I gotta be happy that it is being done.

So a little back ground if you are a new reader or if you have forgotten.

I'm the oldest of dad's second marriage. I was 5 when my sister D was born. There were some little things to let us know right away she was "different". Then came the day mom and dad took her to the doctors because she choked every time she tried to drink her bottle and was loosing weight. After all was said and done they had an answer. My sister D was Mentally retarded and had Cerebrel Palsey. I watched my mom and dad crumble. Never in my whole entire 5 yrs had I ever witness my mom and dad in so much pain. From that min on my sister D's life became a whirl wind of treatments. Mom and dad had to turn her head for her to loosen her neck (she later had surgery to cut the cord in her neck) They had to take her legs and push them to make it like she was riding a bike. They had to bend her hands, back and forth to keep muscles loose. Her one eye lid was longer than it should be, she used her finger to open it up so she could see so they took her in and had part of it cut away. Now it doesn't close all the way like ours do but it opens all the way. She also had a hole in her heart which was called Rheumatic Fever. So she had to take meds for that. She still choked every time she ate so we kept a bucket by the table when we ate. My sister D was 4 when my sister C was born. Both came home from the hospital the same day. Mom was holding baby C when D came home mom showed her the baby and D hauled off and hit her. lol. She didn't mean to I know but it sure scared baby C. Then Mom said to me G you are gonna have to help me. I said Ok. She then handed me baby C and said your gonna have to take care of her for me. So at 9 years of age I became an instant mom. It wasn't too bad cause mom was there if I really needed her but I can only think of one time I had to ask for help. I had put in the first diaper pin and was attempting to put in pin 2 but she was crying so much and wiggling. SO mom came to check and found I had pinned the diaper to the baby's skin. Ooooh I cryed so much cause I didn't mean to hurt my baby sister. My mom tried to console me and to reassure me that it sometimes happens and she has done it too. But it took me almost 2 hours to really calm down.
I also made sure that I played with my sister D alot. She loves to play Catch with a beach ball. And she really enjoys playing with a deck of cards. She doesnt have a real game just one she made up. Only she knows the rules and only she knows how to play. But the two of us could still play cards together. I would aske her to find me a King and she would find it. Not always on the first time but after awhile she got good at finding the right card first time asked.
There were many times though that I no longer wanted to play with either one of them and thats why my dad really got down on me and yelled at least you have legs to walk , run and play your sister has to sit here and wait for someone to play with her.
talk about guilt trip.
Sister D had to wear leg braces. Full leg braces. And she needed a wheelchair to get around in.
I think she was almost 5 before she really learned to crawl. it wasnt like a babys crawl though cause when she would it was almost a leap when she was moving, arms first then legs she didnt move one leg then the other they both went at the same time. some times she looked so funny doing it and like I said it was more like a frog leap than a crawl.
She also took awhile to learn how to use a fork. But to this day she still uses her hands and fingers the most.
So now you know some of my sister D's life but most of all you now know WHAT I HATE THE MOST That word!

1 comment:

Ed & Jeanne said...

You, of all people, have the right to hate that word. Words can evoke strong emotions and hurt...even when it may not necessarily be the intention of the person that said/wrote it. Obvously that word is quite offensive but other things have degrees of impact depending entirely on the sender and receiver. Thanks for sharing the story...

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