tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44522055800037265952024-02-18T17:47:38.936-08:00Insights from a Father of 1210 daughters, 2 sons (all but 2 grown). Retired small business owner/disabled veteran (100% service-connected) having the most blessed time of his life raising 2 special needs daughters with brain injuries.Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-12873175065084755142012-01-22T16:48:00.000-08:002012-01-22T20:51:30.264-08:002011 Photo Highlights of my 9 Daughters<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzJsD2_DvHMoVg9YSr1USN1_lDKL6qraOoHcM5Lvu9L_y4_CJx7to_1Ew0stX62sB92nOwiHIw7u38i1tItLjNtz9cTQVkCuZt_UrE4ajJVqsYtk-ENCrTHZFKHHJdz2SeIUtUw-WofCn/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner52mail-tribune-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzJsD2_DvHMoVg9YSr1USN1_lDKL6qraOoHcM5Lvu9L_y4_CJx7to_1Ew0stX62sB92nOwiHIw7u38i1tItLjNtz9cTQVkCuZt_UrE4ajJVqsYtk-ENCrTHZFKHHJdz2SeIUtUw-WofCn/s320/110218daddy-daughter-dinner52mail-tribune-photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Newspaper photo of Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Emma wins the dance competition<br />Dad collapses on the floor afterwards (but it was worth it)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICl4m4UOFDJLYhD-s4I04JfZH8IENtXQ99lWPZGvGUEIopjPd1xSTjE4j0IFifRkFPHucSXYQd7cs3EMTTgTctxlFDO0UXZX9Mmx845Q3945j9G97uuEjT-NGNSyW6mGEg3icJ6qvllcA/s1600/110316gtube-mr-potato-head11emma-hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICl4m4UOFDJLYhD-s4I04JfZH8IENtXQ99lWPZGvGUEIopjPd1xSTjE4j0IFifRkFPHucSXYQd7cs3EMTTgTctxlFDO0UXZX9Mmx845Q3945j9G97uuEjT-NGNSyW6mGEg3icJ6qvllcA/s320/110316gtube-mr-potato-head11emma-hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What, your Mr. Potato Head doesn't have a feeding tube?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0Y00pZ6m9nRESuSRSpNWcjK9qu6SDc0Jo_i0N5lHEdYFOSpcW0hDvJdsQ493JewbPFkYnxA5WSQnOX16XvYjU0jtYSXUba9iY7_SYGRjA-jfzl85h3I3lIj6N-snXiR2mRivOC657JkL/s1600/110410new-pantry11hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0Y00pZ6m9nRESuSRSpNWcjK9qu6SDc0Jo_i0N5lHEdYFOSpcW0hDvJdsQ493JewbPFkYnxA5WSQnOX16XvYjU0jtYSXUba9iY7_SYGRjA-jfzl85h3I3lIj6N-snXiR2mRivOC657JkL/s320/110410new-pantry11hope.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not bad for a girl who was supposed to be quadriplegic<br />If you're wondering how she got up there, I was wondering the same thing</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hPIg4xh6Z5nZHd4L9PPPdtBUO5CJnAFh-Z5JCuvb750RQTDwrPLQ5bK9Sg92JLycNfFqx0i_Wc0S7hYMqFJddrSaLHexv01x9rKhkbb0k52vRnfPrUIySI-kv-p66qxulqDYpGPtzLDw/s1600/110416sometimes-miracles-hide17hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hPIg4xh6Z5nZHd4L9PPPdtBUO5CJnAFh-Z5JCuvb750RQTDwrPLQ5bK9Sg92JLycNfFqx0i_Wc0S7hYMqFJddrSaLHexv01x9rKhkbb0k52vRnfPrUIySI-kv-p66qxulqDYpGPtzLDw/s320/110416sometimes-miracles-hide17hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes Miracles Hide luncheon for moms with special needs children</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Somebody had their hands full</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYwOXEnJc1zLNA2-85gRuoNXWZw9h-JQ-tPFCv2Q2esTuGqM3NYlQsjybzLQxp-y_dPxRIrw6Qz5SBL_TL84SP9G5Hmi4zWEiLlu-d-Tgh4LtN4kYdmG8OF9R61JBae0bnSkVSD7YSclE/s1600/110420floor-therapy06emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYwOXEnJc1zLNA2-85gRuoNXWZw9h-JQ-tPFCv2Q2esTuGqM3NYlQsjybzLQxp-y_dPxRIrw6Qz5SBL_TL84SP9G5Hmi4zWEiLlu-d-Tgh4LtN4kYdmG8OF9R61JBae0bnSkVSD7YSclE/s320/110420floor-therapy06emma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So thrilled at the progress one of our caregivers made with Emma using simple alphabet blocks</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDH9YuamhowQibgJf5h1AUe6a2XjtCrHLZeCifGmhhqGRwC_krmJPCbAnCqwDgbycPaR9ZfgJ2jU5HYf7FaO2duhoR7L_ROMthrCMw0KAPh3bo4zXyh1Yk5KlVM3qJ57fDJ51u66x2p59/s1600/110424easter12hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDH9YuamhowQibgJf5h1AUe6a2XjtCrHLZeCifGmhhqGRwC_krmJPCbAnCqwDgbycPaR9ZfgJ2jU5HYf7FaO2duhoR7L_ROMthrCMw0KAPh3bo4zXyh1Yk5KlVM3qJ57fDJ51u66x2p59/s320/110424easter12hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope on Easter BEFORE she ate a bunch of candy</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwxTQvKq-TvSbKLmvW266mXi8BwfBiV3SZGqwN0yyVuXVgC8vVur9YvuQ_nEjBV30E1uhCWcaJVGqm5ZhNU6TAJiUHdBw9R2DUSMxdprzFMK3N2Mvq5UDvMb8dcR42G9FDPCrZ6n3VlI5/s1600/110508mothers-day05laura-hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwxTQvKq-TvSbKLmvW266mXi8BwfBiV3SZGqwN0yyVuXVgC8vVur9YvuQ_nEjBV30E1uhCWcaJVGqm5ZhNU6TAJiUHdBw9R2DUSMxdprzFMK3N2Mvq5UDvMb8dcR42G9FDPCrZ6n3VlI5/s320/110508mothers-day05laura-hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mother's Day</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjsmLxA22lXx1VUj05FrjBuJ9VL08BQTxxnQtymKN6PJDQwuMwn1YlOr24vzK_31Dz-SMBJ6GhkUImdqm5rgdPbUhI7mKx5hqsiu1wNs19UrJf9BhjFH0-bxlFpuuYRZKg22F6DtF8d8W/s1600/110525kid-time08emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjsmLxA22lXx1VUj05FrjBuJ9VL08BQTxxnQtymKN6PJDQwuMwn1YlOr24vzK_31Dz-SMBJ6GhkUImdqm5rgdPbUhI7mKx5hqsiu1wNs19UrJf9BhjFH0-bxlFpuuYRZKg22F6DtF8d8W/s320/110525kid-time08emma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People look at this and think, at least she can always dream.<br />I look at it and think, why stop at dreaming. That girl won a dance contest.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQQtQ4UpYpeEja0S95_Gn5ewZPWqWRPOjRJpCYnKBxgo83cWdVXN3ALXp4Xovb4-LSl-5aBVkDKn7hHvkbY1XOVmucHEdNHZRL7DkqwNMgwv3Lf7u0U07Xe7C1Reah0aBQbYqLthWqmyI/s1600/110531hope-in-box05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQQtQ4UpYpeEja0S95_Gn5ewZPWqWRPOjRJpCYnKBxgo83cWdVXN3ALXp4Xovb4-LSl-5aBVkDKn7hHvkbY1XOVmucHEdNHZRL7DkqwNMgwv3Lf7u0U07Xe7C1Reah0aBQbYqLthWqmyI/s320/110531hope-in-box05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope in a Box</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgkewaXIp1F0GeD3V1RJw0CRJw_kk4Ky2aCbYHRXqlQPJwQ8HlrOw0oCewsTNUcDT3HKfVO8m074neakyUJAzpfjxQ0qtLDCtq_FO6f1RojfxjGle0MXcl29PuK6iDchyphenhypheneTDCTijtGv2v/s1600/110608courtyard-pool14emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgkewaXIp1F0GeD3V1RJw0CRJw_kk4Ky2aCbYHRXqlQPJwQ8HlrOw0oCewsTNUcDT3HKfVO8m074neakyUJAzpfjxQ0qtLDCtq_FO6f1RojfxjGle0MXcl29PuK6iDchyphenhypheneTDCTijtGv2v/s320/110608courtyard-pool14emma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma is a quad and can't sit upright so the caregiver improvised and used her special needs swing</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggn-YPxCmVS8tyq0PirYte5y1gkmBgicH0yhKpviVG_yLABjM-As-I725cznJxUEuo1aXwSqq8ZuYNVhpLN1Bpu2jjy0I3Jr_KiMPVvJrtTM-awWNefdF7Si692j1KCaNjqHg7VWPTLFPk/s1600/110611yard-sales-cozy-coupe19hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggn-YPxCmVS8tyq0PirYte5y1gkmBgicH0yhKpviVG_yLABjM-As-I725cznJxUEuo1aXwSqq8ZuYNVhpLN1Bpu2jjy0I3Jr_KiMPVvJrtTM-awWNefdF7Si692j1KCaNjqHg7VWPTLFPk/s320/110611yard-sales-cozy-coupe19hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yard sale treasure</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4klrK0eY1r4ItmiYttj9vaPG7UlhP28Ym8GCjdwwYTOtzh7jM0jU32XM1Vf91pbcxZdEQn2rm9nqZKjEWYIwHsEiQ1uqdTUTfyGlQRxKwSkHCBLeKOxgn57PfJuJXXOoVzWmBiCJ3McjU/s1600/110616ceiling-track-lift-system50laura-hope-jessie-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4klrK0eY1r4ItmiYttj9vaPG7UlhP28Ym8GCjdwwYTOtzh7jM0jU32XM1Vf91pbcxZdEQn2rm9nqZKjEWYIwHsEiQ1uqdTUTfyGlQRxKwSkHCBLeKOxgn57PfJuJXXOoVzWmBiCJ3McjU/s320/110616ceiling-track-lift-system50laura-hope-jessie-cropped.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The state provided us with a ceiling track lift system but</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure this is what they had in mind</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhBfEPLCpbG0y6RULH5KAnGjWMwVDsAGBbJ4xB4sdlw6dGB8E76ZjLrJf-64cyFsgh-U4qp-apjBS89XEX_oz1-LbT3QTdNyJ1QAtnDSMAfffqf9SW7DQyMJ1eQR6xCPt9XUho1DhwUl_/s1600/110617dance-recital05stevie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhBfEPLCpbG0y6RULH5KAnGjWMwVDsAGBbJ4xB4sdlw6dGB8E76ZjLrJf-64cyFsgh-U4qp-apjBS89XEX_oz1-LbT3QTdNyJ1QAtnDSMAfffqf9SW7DQyMJ1eQR6xCPt9XUho1DhwUl_/s320/110617dance-recital05stevie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the caregivers babysat so Laura and I could have a night out.<br />We went to Stevie's dance performance. It was awesome!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu2P9xfra6qLFoyLGAb5e2OcL3MDL4dk0AADmtLUfBjo6A8Yg5kW2Xqyc1DuhHK22NG5Wmc8S2F49zlyPA2poRshl8g4ylJ9LdMdp9UkLtYy3THs44c_qGJy3M-mzADwNc9DbJCFi2HIz/s1600/110730church-camp-howard-prairie28wheels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu2P9xfra6qLFoyLGAb5e2OcL3MDL4dk0AADmtLUfBjo6A8Yg5kW2Xqyc1DuhHK22NG5Wmc8S2F49zlyPA2poRshl8g4ylJ9LdMdp9UkLtYy3THs44c_qGJy3M-mzADwNc9DbJCFi2HIz/s320/110730church-camp-howard-prairie28wheels.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Camping with 2 daughters, both with same brain injury<br />One quadriplegic and blind</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the other does everything other children her age do</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP5Eyt_DcCUVTMlDD771x5ZxrD5jAuP9AFZcFt6xhJbUF7lTKRkV_hSVTmTh_zCT_WEE7aQWZMW7SBE4GUWLYyBIZo1hAR9SNE3etKFP88KjbDn1AGAdMWdaNxHotEhWuZduHFEP1rXXM/s1600/110731church-camp-howard-prairie23pastor-emma-roy-baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP5Eyt_DcCUVTMlDD771x5ZxrD5jAuP9AFZcFt6xhJbUF7lTKRkV_hSVTmTh_zCT_WEE7aQWZMW7SBE4GUWLYyBIZo1hAR9SNE3etKFP88KjbDn1AGAdMWdaNxHotEhWuZduHFEP1rXXM/s320/110731church-camp-howard-prairie23pastor-emma-roy-baptism.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma is baptized<br />Shoulda seen the look on the pastor's face when I answered his question,<br />"You don't want to dunk her do you?"</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtcA6X3D6OL9cqfgOIzWFLbxzrD6Wz0LF3L8uzO7wgLcHCccQA4ruDaPHW27Y1XI3ohUJ5uD9s3Vd4bHLB0taT7tdiD3QQgehTVmNpKx43ZU_loWLvhgXb0iFkcdgs6XqsSlcaHwFn1YM/s1600/110812valley-of-the-rogue35hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtcA6X3D6OL9cqfgOIzWFLbxzrD6Wz0LF3L8uzO7wgLcHCccQA4ruDaPHW27Y1XI3ohUJ5uD9s3Vd4bHLB0taT7tdiD3QQgehTVmNpKx43ZU_loWLvhgXb0iFkcdgs6XqsSlcaHwFn1YM/s320/110812valley-of-the-rogue35hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Decisions, decisions, decisions</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2yV2IHEtsUYeBZicZcM5WrC6NRxxHe4luQSYhtN1KjT7iu82F_lPDXbMSYmNfAagOjOj7dWkGZUCY2VDsBFMJS9XwCCsDH5jNcriwtOsMWFbxmfKdDNtmGVPUkUXmdbhJVbTWHIXpMDu/s1600/110812valley-of-the-rogue77katrina-hope-roy-emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2yV2IHEtsUYeBZicZcM5WrC6NRxxHe4luQSYhtN1KjT7iu82F_lPDXbMSYmNfAagOjOj7dWkGZUCY2VDsBFMJS9XwCCsDH5jNcriwtOsMWFbxmfKdDNtmGVPUkUXmdbhJVbTWHIXpMDu/s320/110812valley-of-the-rogue77katrina-hope-roy-emma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did a lot of camping this year</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and met another girl in a wheelchair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had wheelchair races every night</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to the delight of all the other campers.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4s4CpTNmGHMldgj8PVM24W5YXhUWr_8tILoVQ7N8jd__2hNUfmhg1DmoiFKmm1l8N6gNx9dJeZSYekMkHWxoKxd0_uzkzpyd2qzi_TlBAqIf8oACo6aSBsrlgGxP9hd162CYPX33Ydzc/s1600/110816joni-friends-twin-rocks80natalie-emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4s4CpTNmGHMldgj8PVM24W5YXhUWr_8tILoVQ7N8jd__2hNUfmhg1DmoiFKmm1l8N6gNx9dJeZSYekMkHWxoKxd0_uzkzpyd2qzi_TlBAqIf8oACo6aSBsrlgGxP9hd162CYPX33Ydzc/s320/110816joni-friends-twin-rocks80natalie-emma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joni & Friends disability family camp<br />For the first time we were the insiders instead of the outsiders looking in</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwbjwRnx2DVHE_erhlfEd-gzXmTo64soqllK4iuMrXpXesnn05VU6pyHpohiz7U_anWQxXqM0AJ9SSabHxkfqDxTtTWA4iSEuCNH3ypsdGXD_HW5qZXjqYZ69-WVpyWjzoDRBmuEJXqlGU/s1600/110817joni-friends-twin-rocks39hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwbjwRnx2DVHE_erhlfEd-gzXmTo64soqllK4iuMrXpXesnn05VU6pyHpohiz7U_anWQxXqM0AJ9SSabHxkfqDxTtTWA4iSEuCNH3ypsdGXD_HW5qZXjqYZ69-WVpyWjzoDRBmuEJXqlGU/s320/110817joni-friends-twin-rocks39hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joni & Friends disability family camp<br />World's greatest weight loss program. Be a caregiver for Hope for a week.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpQTcIGl-2r6rEVIcw9dCbtJ51pmj9H0IJfenDWFLBCNmSaQEz63eyxsGAdp6Qs5zunz9Oq5cpKSK3qI1nZafUezGQwh_Iw70rHpWN_-4ogIrxFuCrxBLVEZfgIAU7Fi2hQfaFAO03NHE/s1600/110818joni-friends-twin-rocks29hope-roy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpQTcIGl-2r6rEVIcw9dCbtJ51pmj9H0IJfenDWFLBCNmSaQEz63eyxsGAdp6Qs5zunz9Oq5cpKSK3qI1nZafUezGQwh_Iw70rHpWN_-4ogIrxFuCrxBLVEZfgIAU7Fi2hQfaFAO03NHE/s320/110818joni-friends-twin-rocks29hope-roy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joni & Friends disability family camp<br />Special time with dad</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6adwI8Snyi7abo9Ywz9sjT9qD0MHctfyoE20BuKz7hqbrhyphenhypheniNMQj9QHaHBIxFnWkL8P_nsYVxyhLDwXXdpsipTJSBnZReFkjr5914xDnfadhnh-k5dPdsaXxjJNal2BvOFImpPdZnS5J/s1600/110818joni-friends-twin-rocks88roy-emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6adwI8Snyi7abo9Ywz9sjT9qD0MHctfyoE20BuKz7hqbrhyphenhypheniNMQj9QHaHBIxFnWkL8P_nsYVxyhLDwXXdpsipTJSBnZReFkjr5914xDnfadhnh-k5dPdsaXxjJNal2BvOFImpPdZnS5J/s320/110818joni-friends-twin-rocks88roy-emma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joni & Friends disability family camp<br />Emma loves square dancing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dad loves Emma</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDQtECxLqsh3Lc4WH62wByc7meBpwJcBl89chQuj_u29_QsuQq9OG5cb8AcPR-8cozXId_bIFAZowAKQtJCyd-IkXPdy5HNS5nK6RmIHoGq9O6gFkAi8ko26rC6w66CSAKF2mtgNoDXkm/s1600/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks62emma-lifted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDQtECxLqsh3Lc4WH62wByc7meBpwJcBl89chQuj_u29_QsuQq9OG5cb8AcPR-8cozXId_bIFAZowAKQtJCyd-IkXPdy5HNS5nK6RmIHoGq9O6gFkAi8ko26rC6w66CSAKF2mtgNoDXkm/s320/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks62emma-lifted.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joni & Friends disability family camp<br />We were treated like royalty</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIhgo_KV03CGGiKloHkaKYBEimLJU3aVOlu4XiB27KjO_mXlLOhcf8ZeUQTnBRkVmIgMWI6DZDzNEL31BoxGUdumTx8ha_XGJeZwOzR1x20VAP403dhJS568lANr9RP0Nq0aPi1-XBSNB/s1600/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks88emma-laura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIhgo_KV03CGGiKloHkaKYBEimLJU3aVOlu4XiB27KjO_mXlLOhcf8ZeUQTnBRkVmIgMWI6DZDzNEL31BoxGUdumTx8ha_XGJeZwOzR1x20VAP403dhJS568lANr9RP0Nq0aPi1-XBSNB/s320/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks88emma-laura.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joni & Friends disability family camp<br />If only the rest of the world could be as happy as Emma...</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6SbDplcDWK_3Qkj1ggogrJNbZL_r47DOrO_DqTuhu08oo4avYOLXDtHjdDWfeUCccODrTPxZLWg_cUG7cJp1uFz3O38NsGavy57N9xAi1xpULQ1WvETaNOacTXtuLq9RxSoSp75wEhrV/s1600/110827hope-christian-church-campout13emma-overlooking-baptism-site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6SbDplcDWK_3Qkj1ggogrJNbZL_r47DOrO_DqTuhu08oo4avYOLXDtHjdDWfeUCccODrTPxZLWg_cUG7cJp1uFz3O38NsGavy57N9xAi1xpULQ1WvETaNOacTXtuLq9RxSoSp75wEhrV/s320/110827hope-christian-church-campout13emma-overlooking-baptism-site.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma returning to where she was baptized</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30eUODh7aYUGoPhOtjNWBgQco9MblXZR6g0JEDHzUqoQXHCnDOmXzF41mJKj-yCG9VJDCf0xxHo7nx7PksYNNBjv1Ta_Znjg4CcMzInPPQU30sNRzSzg-0W1RLBhusu3GlKNaM-Xo4eDN/s1600/110828miracle-baby-reunion05hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30eUODh7aYUGoPhOtjNWBgQco9MblXZR6g0JEDHzUqoQXHCnDOmXzF41mJKj-yCG9VJDCf0xxHo7nx7PksYNNBjv1Ta_Znjg4CcMzInPPQU30sNRzSzg-0W1RLBhusu3GlKNaM-Xo4eDN/s320/110828miracle-baby-reunion05hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miracle Baby Reunion<br />They really do save a lot of kids but I don't think even Dr. Hope can save this one</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbFePsKhLzSrM_PmnS7MubK0-thiejJ8VOngXwgTTNTPePEn00aEzCz5edsmtwuaH2-qHtRZuYy6Tp9YL2oPIjzLF1qx3QER4cYvdwSZ3DraEycutRuOAphn_9FpD2WC_MtdXsYt6HPo9/s1600/110829library05hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbFePsKhLzSrM_PmnS7MubK0-thiejJ8VOngXwgTTNTPePEn00aEzCz5edsmtwuaH2-qHtRZuYy6Tp9YL2oPIjzLF1qx3QER4cYvdwSZ3DraEycutRuOAphn_9FpD2WC_MtdXsYt6HPo9/s320/110829library05hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the library<br />What's up, chicken butt?</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYUzXJ2KEvWjiO9q_G68vZ4dHvElAdV05KruQ4e-RT8azzrGGZROX12zTObwpNAL93G-SDZ8qX_aupVxwYI2iB3fJUrZz5uoTOVWvFQsnXBmQTGp8WP3eeGvDIdWg0c4TqrYstYHif0NM/s1600/110908ceiling-track-lift-system03emma-CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYUzXJ2KEvWjiO9q_G68vZ4dHvElAdV05KruQ4e-RT8azzrGGZROX12zTObwpNAL93G-SDZ8qX_aupVxwYI2iB3fJUrZz5uoTOVWvFQsnXBmQTGp8WP3eeGvDIdWg0c4TqrYstYHif0NM/s320/110908ceiling-track-lift-system03emma-CROPPED.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hide and Seek with new ceiling track lift system</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz4_58WqtKuZ9hyphenhyphenRiZyEWLoiZ-IeJtSXUAm4SXStI4uCbcJDg2ifZyDzlzL0AuXCKamAAOYaARfi71aHGotCGmiycqWsgRuPleN426tgMzf99T1aVEVgtJu5Y1aSmFo1sbZ8TCeolhCD0/s1600/110909diaper-delivery04emma-CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz4_58WqtKuZ9hyphenhyphenRiZyEWLoiZ-IeJtSXUAm4SXStI4uCbcJDg2ifZyDzlzL0AuXCKamAAOYaARfi71aHGotCGmiycqWsgRuPleN426tgMzf99T1aVEVgtJu5Y1aSmFo1sbZ8TCeolhCD0/s320/110909diaper-delivery04emma-CROPPED.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And you think it's a big deal your 3-year-old isn't potty trained yet<br />And this is just a 90 day supply</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEyIApox7mRE3N1z704DrWGCXwco5k0mWCmy8SVbWQ70qEN5JkuKTGIpzHW8LGDe2LIrgH7sZpIwtnXcfriNJSlyxeZ5AcKUiIM2SG1oxcVOC0tg9HKx9_i0lVMMjXiCiwwWQf3hRjM5R/s1600/110909emma%2527s-first-day-kindergarten01hope-CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEyIApox7mRE3N1z704DrWGCXwco5k0mWCmy8SVbWQ70qEN5JkuKTGIpzHW8LGDe2LIrgH7sZpIwtnXcfriNJSlyxeZ5AcKUiIM2SG1oxcVOC0tg9HKx9_i0lVMMjXiCiwwWQf3hRjM5R/s320/110909emma%2527s-first-day-kindergarten01hope-CROPPED.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fun before the school bus arrives</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GPYrDIJfTWTmapsYQY4uIR7yKaggqlVhEcaYojLWvvhAD6twMkPBx0VbvgZOzSK4oSYe3bqncGTF0GTCUpvzLKAb3JgofsBEqYJd3htbmDOBVsFtQQB1aiIJ7R7lghMptHbdXugx_s5k/s1600/110911sukkot-prep27hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GPYrDIJfTWTmapsYQY4uIR7yKaggqlVhEcaYojLWvvhAD6twMkPBx0VbvgZOzSK4oSYe3bqncGTF0GTCUpvzLKAb3JgofsBEqYJd3htbmDOBVsFtQQB1aiIJ7R7lghMptHbdXugx_s5k/s320/110911sukkot-prep27hope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proof Hope isn't always the world's most hyperactive kid</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDajcZE0lsVoa8TxQ57PNxWOJbthMbVKPvTa4G7GaO-FRGIXVcfGjZyA2iYQ1elk-mX5qB3wmJfyL7n_zmVVpiTFdwHajyeTHEMycOs-XayREOEzyq8-XLH6qB8IW5o2EEJPpxtisGIsW/s1600/110919north-medford-high-bash05hope-CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDajcZE0lsVoa8TxQ57PNxWOJbthMbVKPvTa4G7GaO-FRGIXVcfGjZyA2iYQ1elk-mX5qB3wmJfyL7n_zmVVpiTFdwHajyeTHEMycOs-XayREOEzyq8-XLH6qB8IW5o2EEJPpxtisGIsW/s320/110919north-medford-high-bash05hope-CROPPED.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They said she would never walk but they never said anything about flying</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU2MHhZJvzQEdoNgoM-ZGL8qAkeETri4H4FPzhuDPDbYxTAD_pqXsWDkfwUYnk3mJiy7gwuT7-sb3lU7uHr77Au3vf0tKyzq-qeUrx_2BwiC_HFKr6vaA3bG8yJs1k5tt67bgG1cYlkNl/s1600/110919north-medford-high-bash42hope-emma-CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU2MHhZJvzQEdoNgoM-ZGL8qAkeETri4H4FPzhuDPDbYxTAD_pqXsWDkfwUYnk3mJiy7gwuT7-sb3lU7uHr77Au3vf0tKyzq-qeUrx_2BwiC_HFKr6vaA3bG8yJs1k5tt67bgG1cYlkNl/s320/110919north-medford-high-bash42hope-emma-CROPPED.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Better watch out for the left hook<br />Emma about to demonstrate her legacy of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">having 3 sisters with black belts in taekowndo</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkamlmGC9nMiidQa8eZYRxLfthJUdD39w81czLAHTmV6MnhPNo8qLVQbWGAQwUCbrAhaXeAqPDuuKFVIgH7o_kYzoqGhnrtCFfTegTFr7Vtga0Rl-ycGOvGffBR5m2QpWnnkkJPZUcRdH/s1600/111007home-pics19emma-CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkamlmGC9nMiidQa8eZYRxLfthJUdD39w81czLAHTmV6MnhPNo8qLVQbWGAQwUCbrAhaXeAqPDuuKFVIgH7o_kYzoqGhnrtCFfTegTFr7Vtga0Rl-ycGOvGffBR5m2QpWnnkkJPZUcRdH/s320/111007home-pics19emma-CROPPED.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma discovers her hand</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A real train equipped for a wheelchair!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma, the light at the end of my tunnel</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you get for her birthday for a kid who can't hold a toy in her hand?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDAx9cTK2Ojpc7SRi9vV54NuJmNS7qYMUWfVUstZhewfVhwPiCQQLkLdN99klSOmUDhfKCVzc4Mp86kYfnaTPEiWnkDJJJsCsazcCjjQz8bCd7tuuAyZgLCrPem6eU73Fqhyphenhypheno5PNlu1Q-/s1600/111221stevie%2527s-17th-birthday-party16roy-stevie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDAx9cTK2Ojpc7SRi9vV54NuJmNS7qYMUWfVUstZhewfVhwPiCQQLkLdN99klSOmUDhfKCVzc4Mp86kYfnaTPEiWnkDJJJsCsazcCjjQz8bCd7tuuAyZgLCrPem6eU73Fqhyphenhypheno5PNlu1Q-/s320/111221stevie%2527s-17th-birthday-party16roy-stevie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chillin' with my 17-year-old</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma is legally blind<br />What better gift for her than the gift of light</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVDR45bq68WOx-xYaRCOlKhRA26azvnRdTGZvymyxH2Fh_2j9yFdSfum7q6r7GhyLXNtMAW5BFhy7bUyKPBGnsJmUN79Qn6MuwKbzHy53Vo6kFtuUdD6LGgSHS1XrjJ2zw2pCvSYiUT6Y/s1600/111230breakfast-with-5-daughters29hope-emma--rebekah-anna-roy-rachel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVDR45bq68WOx-xYaRCOlKhRA26azvnRdTGZvymyxH2Fh_2j9yFdSfum7q6r7GhyLXNtMAW5BFhy7bUyKPBGnsJmUN79Qn6MuwKbzHy53Vo6kFtuUdD6LGgSHS1XrjJ2zw2pCvSYiUT6Y/s320/111230breakfast-with-5-daughters29hope-emma--rebekah-anna-roy-rachel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breakfast with 5 of my 9 lovely daughters</span></td></tr>
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<br />Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-54104934290208107372012-01-22T04:00:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:25:27.546-08:00A Dad's Nightmare over False Sex Abuse Charges<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following is a horrific story of what can happen when the parents of a child unable to communicate are charged with abuse. For parents of disabled children it's not that uncommon. I should know. I have a disabled child and it's happened to me three times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The father, Julian Wendrow, was arrested and jailed for 80 days, 70 of which in solitary confinement. His wife was arrested, fitted with an electronic tracking device and placed on house arrest and, as a result, lost her job as a research attorney. Their disabled daughter was put in foster care and their autistic son was put in a group home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />All of this happened because of a false charge the father had raped his disabled daughter. Now, if you're like most people, you're skeptical of the charge really being false but, in this case, it was crystal clear. The rape charge came about after a school facilitator with only two hours training helped the non-verbal daughter to communicate by guiding her hands over a device like a Ouija board and came up with the message,"My dad gets me up, banges (sic) me and then we have breakfast. He puts his hands on my private parts." There were other messages about rape, living in a home full of weapons and pornography, and that this had been going on for years while the mother let it happen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The daughter was subjected to a rape exam but no evidence was found and no weapons or pornography were found in the house. The daughter, although 14, has the cognitive level of a baby, doesn't know her own name, and doesn't have the ability to construct the statements attributed to her. A test by a judge confirmed this. With the facilitator out of the courtroom the judge asked the daughter the color of her sweater. The facilitator was brought back into the courtroom and, without knowing the question, asked to facilitate the girl's answer. The facilitator could only come up with,"JIBHJIH". Asked if she had a brother or sister, the response was,"3FE65".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Ultimately, the family won a $1.8 million judgement against the police department and lawsuits are pending against the prosecutors and school district.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />What I find so disturbing about this incident is how so many people could charge blindly forward to destroy this family without examining if their only evidence, a highly controversial technique, was flawed. It's also disturbing to me because it's personal. I've had three similar incidents in which I could have ended up in the same situation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I also have a severely disabled daughter who is unable to communicate as well as two other special needs daughters. On one such incident approximately a dozen armed police officers and agents from Child Protective Services showed up at my home. Their intention was clear. They were there to take the girls under suspicion I was abusing and molesting them. The police immediately removed my teenage daughter from the house and began going door to door questioning my neighbors about me. They interrogated my teenage daughter and her mother in the street trying to get them to make incriminating statements against me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In the end, my ordeal ended when the worst the police could come up with was a statement from my teenage stepdaughter, "He's the perfect dad." But what if she was mad at me, as teenagers frequently are towards their parents, or what if someone thought they saw or heard something?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In fact, in another incident someone did say they saw something. An employee at a fast food restaurant called 911 and said she had witnessed me slamming my 3-year-old daughter's face forcefully into a table top. You can imagine how police responded to that. Of course, it never happened. What the employee "witnessed" was hearing the blood curdling screams of a special needs child in a full blown meltdown and assumed the rest. Fortunately, the restaurant had video surveillance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />It's tough being the parent of a severely disabled child but to be constantly scrutinized by people who assume every disabled child is being abused only adds to the difficulty. In my case, as a male primary caregiver for female special needs children, I face even more suspicion and the more these incidents happen to me the more some assume he just hasn't been caught yet. Even so, I wouldn't change it. As uncomfortable as it is to be constantly in suspicion, the safety of my daughters is paramount and there are those among us who target children who have difficulty reporting their crimes. Many more are opportunistic and disabled children are an easy temptation. Mothers starve their disabled children to death while social workers look the other way. Please, check out the evidence on my web site, <a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/abuse.html" target="_blank">http://www.fatherof11.com/abuse.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In the end, I'm deeply saddened by the ordeal of the Wendrow family but I'm grateful for a system that, for the most part, is doing what it can to protect our most vulnerable citizens, severely disabled children. After all, it's the system I have to rely on to keep my disabled child safe when I'm no longer around to care for her. What needs to be changed is not the tenacity of authorities who seek to protect our children but the tendency to put blinders on once they're on the scent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-83050258715679868902012-01-20T14:11:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:20:03.867-08:00One of those One-Sided Mornings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was one of those mornings. When Emma arrived home from school the bus driver informed me one of her shoes was missing. My mind quickly brought forth images of frantic people searching the school and the bus and panicking because it's a quadriplegic child who can't speak and she has to have both shoes </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and both AFOs (orthotic devices) to do her physical therapy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I quickly assured the bus driver Emma had both shoes when she got on the bus so it wasn't me but, for appearances sake, I quickly searched the house. Oops, there the missing shoe was right in the middle of Emma's hospital bed. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As stupid as I felt for that, it only got worse as I quickly realized I had also only shaved one side of my face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Now, you're probably wondering how anybody could possibly be that dumb so let me explain. Months ago I googled "psycho child" and it came back, "There is hope," and that's the problem, my other brain injured daughter, Hope. While Emma is a quiet as a mouse, 5-year-old Hope is, how do I say this tactfully, not, as evidenced by the multiple police reports that have resulted from innocent bystanders wondering, "what the #$%^l was that," and calling 911.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />So there you have it. Hope was in fine form this morning going psycho because there was a spot on her shirt, her old fart of a father was trying desperately to get both girls ready for school before their school buses arrived, and things fell through the cracks. Well, at least I didn't fall on my crack. I've already done that numerous times due to a balance problem and don't want to do it again. Did I just imply I'm unbalanced?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go shave the other side of my face.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-15737808037961579242012-01-20T11:50:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:20:25.668-08:0010 Things I've Learned from having a Severely Disabled Child<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My daughter was born quadriplegic, legally blind, and unable to eat or drink so she is dependent on a feeding tube. She is unable to even hold a toy in her hand. She is unable to speak but that doesn't mean she can't communicate. On the contrary, she has taught me more in the last 6 years than all my almost 60 previous years combined.</span></div>
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<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>A severely disabled child can be a tremendous blessing.</strong> After the initial tears and anger subsided my disabled daughter quickly became the greatest blessing of my life. She has brought me tremendous joy and fulfillment and has taught me what is truly important in life. It is through a child who is incapable of returning my affections that I have learned the true meaning of love. Although it's a difficult job I wouldn't trade it for anything.</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Having a severely disabled child is like having a magnifying glass to expose your true character.</strong> Whether they be virtues or flaws, your character strengths and weaknesses will be exposed due to the additional stress imposed on the parents. For those of us who rise to the challenge there is little reward but, for those who don't, there is a long line of people waiting to criticize us and tell us how to do our job.</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>There is no such thing as reciprocity.</strong> I once dedicated an entire year of my life to helping a family care for a quadriplegic member but, now that the shoe is on the other foot, in the six years since my quadriplegic daughter was born, the number of people who have volunteered to come into my home to help with her care is zero.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Your child's chances of being abused are enormous.</strong> There are predators who target vulnerable people for rape, theft, and horrific crimes but it goes far beyond that. Disabled children are bullied mercilessly by other children. The very people who are supposed to be protecting your child often lash out, not out of maliciousness but out of frustration. Teachers discipline disabled students more often than non-disabled students. Bus drivers may be intolerant of disabled people because they require extra attention and cause them to be off schedule. Caregivers find it easier to watch TV than to change a diaper. It goes on and on. I feel the frustration too so and, although I don't take out my frustrations on my child, I do understand how easy it is for this to happen. It grieves me that those among us who are so vulnerable are the ones so frequently abused. (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TCDAeKVQVQ" target="_blank">see Nancy Grace on YouTube</a>)</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Chances are your marriage won't survive.</strong> I keep in contact online with many other families with similar children and I've lost count of the number of times one of the parents, usually the father, bails and leaves the other parent to care for the disabled child. It's a combination of stress on the relationship and one or both parents resenting the fact that they no longer have a life of their own because their life is totally occupied caring for the disabled child. As I write this I am keenly aware that I may soon lose my partner, not out of abandonment but because the same birth traumas that almost killed my daughters will likely kill their mother.</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>There's a good chance your child will die before reaching adulthood.</strong> As I keep in touch with hundreds of families with children like my daughter, there's a never ending stream of reports that one of these precious children has died. I feel like the survivors of the USS Indianapolis must have felt. For those who don't know the story, the USS Indianapolis was sunk in World War II in warm waters infested by sharks. About 900 men survived the initial sinking but the navy never reported the ship missing so they floated in the water for days watching their shipmates being picked off, one by one, by the sharks. By the time they were spotted by accident and rescued, only 316 men were still alive.</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The burden of caring for a severely disabled child is so great many parents actually resort to killing their child.</strong> I was stunned how often this happens. Like many parents with a disabled child, I research my child's condition online and, about once a month, I run across a news article about a severely disabled child being killed by their parent. Usually the child is starved to death over a long period of time, the cruelest death imaginable, but cases of death by abuse or mercy killings are not that uncommon either. The numerous starvation cases are an indictment of how our society looks out for its most vulnerable members. For this to happen, friends, family, and all the various social agencies involved with the child have to be looking the other way over an extended period of time and yet it does happen and it happens regularly. How can this happen in a so-called civilized society?</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Having a terrible tragedy in your life is no guarantee against future tragedies.</strong> As if having as severely disabled child isn't bad enough, I have 3 special needs children, all diagnosed within 14 months of having life-threatening medical conditions. As bad as that sounds, both of us parents are disabled too. Unfortunately, it's not unusual for a family to have multiple special needs children or a parent of a disabled child to also have significant medical conditions or disabilities. Then, of course, there's the almost universal tragedy of financial hardship for families with severely disabled children.</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Well meaning people say and do hurtful things.</strong> It's not so much intentional as it is insensitive but it happens all the time, everything from people making "retard" jokes in the presence of my daughter to cliches of which they have no clue how much they hurt. When my daughter was born with severe cerebral palsy and doctors told us she would be quadriplegic and blind, a well meaning friend came to the hospital and said, "At least she's healthy. That's the important thing." Even though my daughter cannot pass her disability to someone else, it's not unusual for the parent of another child to make a subtle or not-so-subtle attempt to prevent their child from playing with my child.</span></li>
<li style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God may exist but don't count on his people to lend a helping hand.</span></strong><ol style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 6 years since my daughter was born I've heard countless Christians tell me they'll pray for her but it never occurs to them that they may be the answer to their own prayer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've heard countless Christians tell me God can heal her, as if I didn't already know that. Although they mean no harm, it comes across as ignorance about the value of special needs children and the purpose God has for them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've heard countless Christians tell me God never gives us more than we can bear but that just comes across as an excuse for not getting involved.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've heard countless Christians tell me they're so glad God chose me to be my daughter's parent but that comes across as, "Better thee than me." It offends me because, if God chose me, then he also chose the parents who chose to kill their disabled children. It also offends me because it makes me out to be a saint when I'm not. I didn't choose this role. It's just the hand life dealt me and I'm only trying to play it out the best I can.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In spite of the countless numbers who have offered their sympathies, the extent of those people actually doing something, however, is 2 people who volunteered to drive our van to take us somewhere because I am no longer able to drive due to my own disabilities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I sound bitter, I'm not. People don't behave this way out of malicious intent. They just don't know what to do or how to respond to a severely disabled child and I, like most parents in this situation, am just too exhausted to take the time to educate them.</span></li>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something to Consider</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a well known story in the Bible. A man was born blind and some people asked if it was because of his sin or his parents' sin. Jesus response was, "<em>Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.</em>"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you like most and assume Jesus was talking about healing the guy? We live in a time when medical miracles are common. Most wouldn't even think twice about this. Even 2000 years ago when this was written the man's story was rejected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps what Jesus was talking about is the "works of God" in our special angels isn't healing them but what we can learn from them.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unconditional Love:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of us love our children but what if your child required your love/attention 24/7, 365 days a year but was incapable of returning that love? Is your love really unconditional?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happiness and Contentment:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if you lost everything; your sight, your ability to communicate, your ability to move, your ability to even eat and drink? How happy would you be then? In spite of all that my disabled daughter is the happiest person I've ever known.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 7 Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed and Sloth</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever wonder what life would be like without these? You have to look no farther than a severely disabled child to find out.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Appropriate Response:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When their paths cross with a child like this most people offer to pray for the child and walk away. The outcome? The child is not healed, the person's faith is not strengthened, and nobody receives benefit from the encounter. How much better to say, "God, what is it you wish to teach me today through this child," and become a friend to the child and the child's family. Jesus said it is much better to give than to receive. Give the gift of time to a disabled child and you'll find out what it is to receive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>
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</div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-25112844568609305152012-01-20T09:24:00.000-08:002012-01-21T10:13:59.405-08:00Child Disability Terminology Primer - for those who don't have a clue what we're talking about<br />
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<ul>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ADA</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (Americans with Disabilities Act): This is what those morons do who illegally park in handicap parking spaces.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>AFOs</b> (ankle-foot orthotics): Lesser known martial arts weapon designed to inflict maximum body damage on the parent or caregiver of a disabled child when they're spasming and kicking the #$%^ out of you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CP</b>: Some say this stands for Cerebral Palsy. It's pronounced See-Pee on account of that's what the parent does for the rest of their life, well that and the chunky brown stuff too.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CVI</b> (cortical visual impairment): Loss of vision caused when the eyes work OK but the brain doesn't. Most commonly seen in parents of children with brain injuries when the parent leans over to kiss a child in a wheelchair thereby triggering the child's startle reflex resulting in parent's eye being gouged.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>DAFOs</b>: Slightly more Deadly version of the aforementioned AFOs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>EI</b> (Early Intervention): Government program designed to keep parents from strangling the so-called experts who think they know more about their child than they do.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>FAPE</b> (Free and Appropriate Public Eduction): This is what happens to special needs children at school. They get Faped by the other kids who think it's fun to bully them. Of course, the teachers do nothing to protect the child and sometimes engage in a little faping themselves because, after all, FAPE is mandated by the government.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Friends</b>: Something you used to have.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fundoplication</b> (or Fundo or Nissen): A surgical procedure designed to prevent the child from barfing all the time. It comes from the Latin phrase for Funds Depletion.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>GERD</b> (GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease): For the rest of us it's called heartburn but, for the disabled child, they give it a bigger, fancier name so they can charge the parents hundreds of dollars a month for what the rest of us pay $10.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Head of Household</b>: Your new income tax filing status after your spouse bails because he/she “didn't sign on for this”.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>HBOT</b> (HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy): One of the more creative ways of putting additional pressure on families with a severely disabled child. The theory is that if they squeeze you enough they can get more money from you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>HIE</b> (Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy): Technical term for brain damage due to lack of blood and oxygen. It's what happens when your doctor screws up while your baby is being born. It comes from the Latin phrase, Not My Fault. One of the many causes of cerebral palsy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>IEP</b> (Ignored, I mean Individualized, Education Plan): This is a document that supposedly describes what your special needs child will be doing in school all day. A group of experts employed by the school district comes together once a year to make guesses as to what your disabled child will be doing a year from now. They then list highly specific and individualized therapies and procedures to assure the child actually achieves that and put them in a document that suspiciously ends up looking the same as everyone else's IEP. They then mail copies of the document to everyone who promptly ignore them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>IFSP</b> (Individual Family Service Plan): This is the baby brother to the IEP. It takes a lot of practice to really foul up an IEP so, prior to your child being old enough for school, they get to practice for 5 years while your child is still a preschooler.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Insurance</b>: Your new full time hobby after your company realizes your child is a million dollar baby and takes advantage of every loop hole.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I Love You</b>: Something other parents get to hear from their child.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Legally Blind</b>: A condition that causes stupid adults to approach a disabled child's parent and say, “I don't know if you know this but did you know your child can see?”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mic-key</b>: A plastic, button looking, thing that is inserted in a hole in the child's stomach wall. It is designed to do 4 things.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Connect a feeding tube to the child.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Give the child something to yank on so, once pulled out, they can spray stomach contents on everyone and everything.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Trick the parent or caregiver into thinking the feeding tube is firmly attached thereby assuring maximum spilling of sticky pediatric formula.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) Allow the child to make cool fart noises through their belly button.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>NickJr</b>: The only TV station you get to watch for the next 20 years.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>NICU</b> (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit): Pronounced Nick-You on account of that's what they do to your pocket book.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>NPO</b> (Nothing By Mouth): It's the Latin equivalent of nothing by mouth but, if they just said nothing by mouth they couldn't charge you as much.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>PT</b>, OT, and all the other ___Ts. A form of therapy designed to leave your pocket book empT.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Quad</b>: Short for quadriplegic. This doesn't mean the person is paralyzed in all four limbs. It can also mean the child kicks and punches the #$%^ out of you when you try to get them dressed because they can't control their spasms.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>R-word</b>: This is something, that if you say it, some parent is going to bitch slap you. For the uninformed, we don't say retarded anymore because of its association with that most awful of insults, calling someone a “retard”. We now say intellectual disability or cognitively impaired.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ramp</b>: Something you put in the front of your home to alert your homeowner's association to watch you extra closely for creative ways to fine you. Also used to alert criminals that your home is an easy mark.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>SBS</b> (Shaken Baby Syndrome): An argument in support of capital punishment.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Seizure</b>: This is what they do to your home and personal property when you can't pay your child's million dollar medical bills.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sleep</b>: Something you don't get anymore.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Spastic</b>: One of the positions parents assume when they get their child's latest medical bill or denial in the mail every day.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>SSI</b>: A religious cult that believes someone with a higher cost of living due to a disability can live on $700 a month.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Toothbrush</b>: A device designed to make tube fed children vomit immediately prior to their school bus arriving thereby assuring the child always wears a clean set of clothes to school.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Trach</b>: Similar to the aforementioned Mic-key but it's used to connect a breathing tube/ventilator rather than a feeding tube. It comes with the added benefit of depriving the parent of sleep because you have to suction slime from your child's airway every few minutes 24 hours a day so they don't choke to death.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Vent</b>: This is what the irate parent does when the stupid caregiver doesn't know how to operate the child's ventilator and is too proud to admit it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Wheelchair</b>: </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) A device designed to instantly widen doorways and to give your home a custom “lowrider” wainscoted look, that fashionable ring throughout your entire home approximately 12 to 18 inches above the floor.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) A device designed to double your car payments.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fulfillment</b>: What you now have in place of fun. Not a bad trade, all things considered, because fun lasts a moment and has to be repeated over and over again whereas the fulfillment you get from loving a severely disabled child lasts for eternity.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-65036369126474751782012-01-20T07:37:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:21:04.164-08:00Lessons from a Tightwad - When a Bargain isn't a Bargain<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Whether you accept other people's description of me (tightwad) or my own (frugal), you can see why I was so thrilled with my solution to the annual dilemma of what to get the partner in parenthood for Christmas. I had </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">scored an HD video camera for $44 that sells online for three times that and, oops, she had wanted one last year and I forgot.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>She was thrilled to tears that I had remembered and I was thinking, "Wow, for 44 bucks I've redeemed myself and pulled off a small miracle!" It was a great day and I was feeling mighty smug about myself, that is, until a few days later she started using the camera.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Then I found out her computer doesn't have enough disk space and is so slow it can't even display HD video so, ka-ching, a new computer! </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Then I discovered t</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">he new computer needs a special cable to connect to the old monitor. Ka-ching! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Of course, it needs expensive blank discs for recording all those HD home videos onto Blu-Ray. Ka-ching!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br />OK, so at least I've still got the old printer that </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">uses $2 ink cartridges, right? Well, it turns out the old printer </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> isn't compatible with Windows 7 so that had to be replaced too and, of course, the new ink cartridges are far more than $2. Ka-ching, ka-ching!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Next year for Christmas, I think I'll just get her a box of chocolates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-19719982139143746832012-01-19T05:24:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:21:26.292-08:00Unintentional Exclusion<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">Some places are proud to open their doors to the disabled but, once inside, it's like being in the 1960's and being told, you don't have to sit in the back of the bus any more but don't get any ideas about sitting in the seat next to me. Then you discover the only place there are any rows they don't occupy are in the back of the bus. That's today's </span><span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">exclusion, unintentional and often in denial</span><span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">.</span><span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">I once took my disabled daughter, Emma, to an internationally known disability organization and found one of their employees illegally parked in the handicap parking space we needed to unload Emma's wheelchair. When I complained the employee's manager defended the employee and said, referring to the handicap parking laws, "We're taking a break from that today."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I once complained about a church with a disability ministry that, although it was unintentional, Emma had been excluded from their Christmas program. They responded by sending me a letter calling me names and accusing me of defaming their organization.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Prior to my severely disabled daughter being born it was common for us to go out to lunch after church with other people. In all the years since my daughter was born we've only been invited out to lunch once.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicD5IQX8eaFcG5KQ9m-2OlvQgWndzBISn844KKlh5cedR66dXRy6EHotzo5bFXg4zECzWGQ1zgjTJ87Z2RTO6VexT5JNoxN38b4QEh49uDU_j0fUKpGxLLP4Nqe-YhFbvD7kb6alhxkXHI/s1600/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks89burger-king-fail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicD5IQX8eaFcG5KQ9m-2OlvQgWndzBISn844KKlh5cedR66dXRy6EHotzo5bFXg4zECzWGQ1zgjTJ87Z2RTO6VexT5JNoxN38b4QEh49uDU_j0fUKpGxLLP4Nqe-YhFbvD7kb6alhxkXHI/s200/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks89burger-king-fail.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">This fast food restaurant had a new handicap parking space complete with new sign, new paint on the pavement, and a new access to the concrete sidewalk. Unfortunately, they failed to move the bicycle rack that blocked the sidewalk to the restaurant's entrance.</span></div>
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<span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">The one thing all of these examples have in common is nobody intended to exclude or offend anyone. It's human nature to want to be around people like ourselves so, unless you go out of your way to practice inclusion, you will automatically exclude us and probably won't even be aware of it. Even well-meaning people trying hard to do the right thing end up excluding us because, </span><span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">unless you're in a wheelchair, it's hard to anticipate the needs of someone in a wheelchair. Even so, it's still exclusion and it still hurts.</span></div>
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<span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">What is inclusion? With regards to our example of the back of the bus, it's someone who says, "S</span><span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;">it any place you like and we'll come sit with you."</span></div>
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<span class="size12 Helvetica12" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 19px; min-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></span></div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-15673938508095285622012-01-19T02:55:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:25:40.997-08:00Disabled Children Punishment from God?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia lawmaker, Bob Marshall, recently made headlines by making the following statement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically.</b></span> Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children. In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. <b>There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.</b>” (my emphasis added)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/02/22/83337/disabled-abortion/" target="_blank">http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/02/22/83337/disabled-abortion/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Marshall's statement is both offensive and inaccurate. I am the parent of a severely disabled child. How dare you demean my child by referring to children like her as a punishment. She wasn't born subsequent to an abortion but she was conceived as the result of an act of adultery. Would you suggest she also is a punishment from God for my sin?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am also a Christian and I wouldn't suggest disabled children are a "special punishment". Perhaps Mr. Marshall should read what Jesus, himself, had to say on this issue. <i><span class="reftext" style="line-height: 14px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: text-top;"><b style="text-decoration: none;">"<a href="http://bible.cc/john/9-1.htm" style="text-decoration: none;">1</a></b></span><span style="text-align: justify;">And as </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Jesus</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> passed by, he saw a man which was blind from </span><span style="text-align: justify;">his</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> birth. </span><span class="reftext" style="line-height: 14px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://bible.cc/john/9-2.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><b>2</b></a></span><span style="text-align: justify;">And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? </span><span class="reftext" style="line-height: 14px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://bible.cc/john/9-3.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><b>3</b></a></span></i><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."</i> John 9:1-3 KJV</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe, if Mr. Marshall were to spend time around the disabled he might see what Jesus was talking about. Determination, perseverance, and overcoming in the face of obstacles are the bedrock of achievement. Who better among us to teach such qualities than the disabled? That's right, Mr. Marshall. Disabled children are a blessing, not a punishment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regardless of where you stand on the abortion issue, there's common ground to be found here. There are numerous quotes from famous people along the line of, the measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest members. By this measure, this Virginia lawmaker has no business being a lawmaker at all as he seeks to reduce our most vulnerable members to the status of punishments. </span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></span></div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-22992055015121727952012-01-18T09:09:00.001-08:002012-01-22T09:22:41.154-08:00Food for Thought<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6dixvCxkBMok1n2Hj06lcc0FSlqL1kIbaObnYw5ZCmCm270VhV5fAhtm9C7zP_cNOG1tYgVdHie3EiAQdbHkwjpyhz5bzTm5xn9uL7hTJ2La46Q5yLvpvnTPnVqGggKonvQ-ibpin4xw/s1600/110730church-camp-howard-prairie28wheels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6dixvCxkBMok1n2Hj06lcc0FSlqL1kIbaObnYw5ZCmCm270VhV5fAhtm9C7zP_cNOG1tYgVdHie3EiAQdbHkwjpyhz5bzTm5xn9uL7hTJ2La46Q5yLvpvnTPnVqGggKonvQ-ibpin4xw/s200/110730church-camp-howard-prairie28wheels.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">Two children, both born with the same brain injury, both with the same prognosis. One ends up profoundly disabled, quadriplegic, legally blind, unable to even hold a toy in her hand, and unable to eat so she has to be fed with a feeding tube. </span>The other walks, talks, and does all the things other kids her age do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is it that disables a person? Is it their diagnosis or is it disbelief and discrimination? Emma is quadriplegic but she won a dance contest. Her sister was so clumsy she broke her own arm in two places and, for four years, never won a fight. But she never once threw in the towel and ended up at the martial arts world championships.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_Age19vmuXCZjrPXSqhGTFZHZsh7NMdPwh9rKHzB1Ou1nIEZ0ENn21JkjTEiR6CYfhJsd9pfsi6nmjAlBJKVLJQ6JdNwef0N_AutIAEY2-2aasy4bhEjNC_5EJ5V60mzWE5dXRSveug/s1600/111203swim-meet-at-SOU97laura-emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_Age19vmuXCZjrPXSqhGTFZHZsh7NMdPwh9rKHzB1Ou1nIEZ0ENn21JkjTEiR6CYfhJsd9pfsi6nmjAlBJKVLJQ6JdNwef0N_AutIAEY2-2aasy4bhEjNC_5EJ5V60mzWE5dXRSveug/s200/111203swim-meet-at-SOU97laura-emma.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRD90hVE27ZBtLQNk_IJVlxateY84d12piGdCrdCImpTHBNpKvfhn3LT3pZ6ZOgnIuZgJedBfAnYPP4i5pH5bLgrdlB-7qwHm550d3CWcbTSdT_eO_8d5Kt0Rs4OQB4FVLkOjXV4uJCc/s1600/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks89burger-king-fail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRD90hVE27ZBtLQNk_IJVlxateY84d12piGdCrdCImpTHBNpKvfhn3LT3pZ6ZOgnIuZgJedBfAnYPP4i5pH5bLgrdlB-7qwHm550d3CWcbTSdT_eO_8d5Kt0Rs4OQB4FVLkOjXV4uJCc/s200/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks89burger-king-fail.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unintentional Exclusion: A new handicap parking space but a bicycle rack blocking a wheelchair's path to the restaurant. A handicap accessible bathroom at a university but can't get to it because of five steps. Is there something you don't know about in your life that is a barrier to the disabled?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJ12sz6qHShwUGselqF4jEey9B2YuFpmhMY3nQzK4HM_OegZvDMuAwkrgBu525yn0r9sYXcNuVXhKjcAxMQfI8jJgIqo3nc_NmPS5SzEkg656tacBYsm-3UsHO4iTd5V-ovvr64-2vJA/s1600/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks62emma-lifted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJ12sz6qHShwUGselqF4jEey9B2YuFpmhMY3nQzK4HM_OegZvDMuAwkrgBu525yn0r9sYXcNuVXhKjcAxMQfI8jJgIqo3nc_NmPS5SzEkg656tacBYsm-3UsHO4iTd5V-ovvr64-2vJA/s200/110819joni-friends-twin-rocks62emma-lifted.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some compare Emma against themselves and she comes up lacking. Others compare where she is to where she was and she comes up an example. Others see her example and marvel at where she will be tomorrow. "but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." King James Bible - 2 Corinthians 10:12</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGNSa0Mww8fvJtQkoAKuDKX3D6A899Yt70eZDbr6NKhTvVpwazyJBu4F_dOfhXBCaPUYi3NnWPBYMbBLGcoO-kYKysVczp4uKVBJgyyLILTCeWZsy4xFQtJNx7J1g6TgJwuzBJzP3yw8/s1600/060922hope-is-born23hope-gesture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGNSa0Mww8fvJtQkoAKuDKX3D6A899Yt70eZDbr6NKhTvVpwazyJBu4F_dOfhXBCaPUYi3NnWPBYMbBLGcoO-kYKysVczp4uKVBJgyyLILTCeWZsy4xFQtJNx7J1g6TgJwuzBJzP3yw8/s200/060922hope-is-born23hope-gesture.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some say it can't be done. Some say I'll try. Some say I don't know how. Some say what if I fail? Others don't care what others say and persevere until they overcome. Which are you?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KKgtgNxjIda7fC3QF1tRRvyysoK0TBAwFX2oH1OVKoVeGWHoOEM6GAEcIbF6xRrFBraIdeFsicGxHac_SVR4ErjZh8AK1XQ4fGd32nY4Wa1OJqbj8KNb1PEtADpEfBOTDs1-PYbTg-Q/s1600/handicap-parking350x263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KKgtgNxjIda7fC3QF1tRRvyysoK0TBAwFX2oH1OVKoVeGWHoOEM6GAEcIbF6xRrFBraIdeFsicGxHac_SVR4ErjZh8AK1XQ4fGd32nY4Wa1OJqbj8KNb1PEtADpEfBOTDs1-PYbTg-Q/s200/handicap-parking350x263.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How far would you go to steal from the disabled? It may be a convenience to you but to a person in a wheelchair it means waiting until you return so they can get into their vehicle.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFJ4he8GEC41wKDep14xXvrJEu4LdfBJx8LzBCJV7efnt2_zn5hqVF1MYJp-yuYAwJ1xYOrc6vKiYNUd7qDkowMofpAcAYTxUl06pt4Sq1gwKfEilyzqSggdYA-eYUYmCPFAMQTVDIiI/s1600/100702seaside12hotel-emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFJ4he8GEC41wKDep14xXvrJEu4LdfBJx8LzBCJV7efnt2_zn5hqVF1MYJp-yuYAwJ1xYOrc6vKiYNUd7qDkowMofpAcAYTxUl06pt4Sq1gwKfEilyzqSggdYA-eYUYmCPFAMQTVDIiI/s200/100702seaside12hotel-emma.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Freedom isn't Free. It's paid for in blood by the sacrifice of others. I have a friend and fellow veteran who survived Pearl Harbor. He has friends who didn't. Many have paid that price so the rest of us may be free. How have you used your freedom and what have you done to honor their sacrifice?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEcM-3UG0ezGy763-V5BwffAo3TlmAoB1FTghphPRpQQDRXr5jgDq5wWqF0-kDpz3zZZRRox79lTvriX3JcPMpxnYb5QrIxft0uIlH4NR4tWwRmSwMJ_k9q1R5lBeZ5bd97gNIxJ2tfw/s1600/110316gtube-mr-potato-head11emma-hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEcM-3UG0ezGy763-V5BwffAo3TlmAoB1FTghphPRpQQDRXr5jgDq5wWqF0-kDpz3zZZRRox79lTvriX3JcPMpxnYb5QrIxft0uIlH4NR4tWwRmSwMJ_k9q1R5lBeZ5bd97gNIxJ2tfw/s200/110316gtube-mr-potato-head11emma-hope.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What have you done to teach your child about the disabled?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPC_8yaAzxxUYCbc6yZZ3MozmBA91hxpFvnBTaRlclSocBcBEM_RL6ATvFLz8y8hyphenhyphenV7lxyeMXK6PJ-Xg_wuqrsm-aNHdr8BX2VEven2L0hSA8NnWxqdK-P7KtHLlRuEuyGU8WUgwL_J8/s1600/060102miriam_s-photoshoot-of-emma01roy-holding-emma_s-feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPC_8yaAzxxUYCbc6yZZ3MozmBA91hxpFvnBTaRlclSocBcBEM_RL6ATvFLz8y8hyphenhyphenV7lxyeMXK6PJ-Xg_wuqrsm-aNHdr8BX2VEven2L0hSA8NnWxqdK-P7KtHLlRuEuyGU8WUgwL_J8/s200/060102miriam_s-photoshoot-of-emma01roy-holding-emma_s-feet.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God may have the whole world in his hands but, to the severely disabled child, you are the world and her future rests in your hands. What have you done to make the world a better place for her?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzvlXP8dfqq8b_db2SsOFmYMY8Sffsa9a7MCMxW7LIG8yhTIcbfWx7o_ZoFF4ruD5-n0veOAB2uXU6vpEy2aZjOQBzfZOnP5H9Q_29BofiWLkloIdfK_6NaeEWhuSD6Dhyphenhyphenj82fU8taDY/s1600/111023railroad-park13emma-tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzvlXP8dfqq8b_db2SsOFmYMY8Sffsa9a7MCMxW7LIG8yhTIcbfWx7o_ZoFF4ruD5-n0veOAB2uXU6vpEy2aZjOQBzfZOnP5H9Q_29BofiWLkloIdfK_6NaeEWhuSD6Dhyphenhyphenj82fU8taDY/s200/111023railroad-park13emma-tunnel.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They say when you die you see a light at the end of the tunnel. I've already seen that light, in a disabled child incapable of hate, greed, violence or lust. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we were all like that?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEF6xLVtxRpMKbfGnVDJxMs_7EN84XrU7CtafomN6rHOS-Gui6gO9w7ahcxosqhvoORvx-qvslnAbAsWqLYftqF95ImJrCcKYhzVYOK41ZyEOUFcRY1OjgWe9kgs7tVyVahOhVB_RrKM/s1600/110826hope-christian-church-campout56emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEF6xLVtxRpMKbfGnVDJxMs_7EN84XrU7CtafomN6rHOS-Gui6gO9w7ahcxosqhvoORvx-qvslnAbAsWqLYftqF95ImJrCcKYhzVYOK41ZyEOUFcRY1OjgWe9kgs7tVyVahOhVB_RrKM/s200/110826hope-christian-church-campout56emma.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some achieve through skill or talent. The disabled achieve through determination, perseverance, and strength of character. Kinda makes you wonder, is it they or we who are the disabled?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>
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</div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4452205580003726595.post-49043680457701437802012-01-18T09:09:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:23:00.039-08:00Cinderella's Ball - Emma wins a dance contest in her wheelchair<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">How do two people win a dance contest when neither are able to dance? </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The answer may surprise you because it involves how a quadriplegic child was able to do what no other child could do.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqqO7e_FSon1w8eVp5mEeBzYarhST7hl420VGsYQg_ngFk1J0KazKiG5lnD7GeNhDpQuR70e_0bw-jJymZ1vZLqTBWImlnf_UU1npsjWuiKJvKDCW25ePtDOOiPIjmDfrVFDEzb-SXMfE/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner52mail-tribune-photo350x233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqqO7e_FSon1w8eVp5mEeBzYarhST7hl420VGsYQg_ngFk1J0KazKiG5lnD7GeNhDpQuR70e_0bw-jJymZ1vZLqTBWImlnf_UU1npsjWuiKJvKDCW25ePtDOOiPIjmDfrVFDEzb-SXMfE/s200/110218daddy-daughter-dinner52mail-tribune-photo350x233.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXl202IX3XufVsclucy0F8roA9-S1d63ErHuQKeE3sar-MQZU21GQOb59Y9ZhZEjs32KNP-5dv9ZXzk_hfbhzu5B-VPcuXtS0ndFjE7lX0K_C4T2VQCtJBS0bSN14GRV8hjRqPGGIzqw6z/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner50mail-tribune-photo350x233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXl202IX3XufVsclucy0F8roA9-S1d63ErHuQKeE3sar-MQZU21GQOb59Y9ZhZEjs32KNP-5dv9ZXzk_hfbhzu5B-VPcuXtS0ndFjE7lX0K_C4T2VQCtJBS0bSN14GRV8hjRqPGGIzqw6z/s200/110218daddy-daughter-dinner50mail-tribune-photo350x233.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenmj1VaJUZABCmEPrpQjhGRJ9igs9oO1a_GUnKwF9BQcqr0Ws1f7qHSt_oCb46WncdsoZ6rQ3o2wJIZ3Up9rEdkeOJeA9MDTGA7Tk1n2SsNyH3h7J23QNmN3yB6_48lixFkQY_iTcFS2G/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner05emma-Cropped350x641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenmj1VaJUZABCmEPrpQjhGRJ9igs9oO1a_GUnKwF9BQcqr0Ws1f7qHSt_oCb46WncdsoZ6rQ3o2wJIZ3Up9rEdkeOJeA9MDTGA7Tk1n2SsNyH3h7J23QNmN3yB6_48lixFkQY_iTcFS2G/s200/110218daddy-daughter-dinner05emma-Cropped350x641.jpg" width="108" /></span></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma is quadriplegic. Her inability to dance is obvious. She lacks mobility. I, on the other hand, have an invisible disability, Meniere's Disease, and I lack stability. In the previous seven years I had fallen over 100 times. After one fall I required surgery and I've had orthopedic problems and pain ever since. After another fall I hit my head hard enough to be rendered unconscious and my neurologist told me I'm having seizures as a result.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjf-1Ujzif7OHx5m1UnN37jjOD7wxBrP2LeNln2mnrPMazXTNDu3AGzce2PGL3bmjxuAsiYw7wz6yt5YnZueICvqJci9VuNKpQJ-4Ssh7USivwXcX4KL_xdzOXZjoKWTOVXBAPe2it34u/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner00roy-stevie-emma350x451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjf-1Ujzif7OHx5m1UnN37jjOD7wxBrP2LeNln2mnrPMazXTNDu3AGzce2PGL3bmjxuAsiYw7wz6yt5YnZueICvqJci9VuNKpQJ-4Ssh7USivwXcX4KL_xdzOXZjoKWTOVXBAPe2it34u/s200/110218daddy-daughter-dinner00roy-stevie-emma350x451.jpg" width="155" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">For five years I attended the city wide Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance with my daughter, Stevie, but was never able to dance with her. The risk of falling on a crowded dance floor with a bunch of adrenaline pumped children was too great. For five years I sat on the sidelines and watched enviously as other fathers danced with their daughters. In the past year the prospect of dancing with my daughter became even more remote as my orthopedic problems reached the point where I was having difficulty walking.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAhGh1MRE9Afg96L1JG6C2BwY7nPFOZ30SZthhEfbej34Ouzx4AP80F8wcSanOf5rm603PvxeLoJ441Q0YXHBc4rzgcQVDtw7ZqSuVANiUxXszvfW1YNtFmtNlKGecJPhxSQ2ewgB7JkJ/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner14emma350x325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAhGh1MRE9Afg96L1JG6C2BwY7nPFOZ30SZthhEfbej34Ouzx4AP80F8wcSanOf5rm603PvxeLoJ441Q0YXHBc4rzgcQVDtw7ZqSuVANiUxXszvfW1YNtFmtNlKGecJPhxSQ2ewgB7JkJ/s200/110218daddy-daughter-dinner14emma350x325.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Some say what happened next was coincidence. Others say it was providence. Regardless, it made our Cinderella story possible. Although neither Emma nor I are able to dance on our own, each of us provides what the other lacks. I am able to push Emma's wheelchair to give her mobility and her wheelchair provides me with support to prevent me from falling. As for my orthopedic problems, I just had two steroid injections in my spine. It wasn't anything planned for the Daddy Daughter Dance but it did give me a temporary window of opportunity in which I could take my chances with Emma on the dance floor. I collapsed on the dance floor afterwards and I paid dearly in the following days but it was worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The event was truly a Cinderella's Ball. Every girl was given a long stem rose and after Emma and I were announced as the winners, girls in droves started lining up and giving their roses to Emma. It was spontaneous and it moved me to tears.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisq2z66A0QKP4R_1yqYSlbtW-C31Yz_tWke5CvXWSMaajjlUHuACR4T7UbWg15E-hskOxQ_imUE0kNwmavsJwos2ZEhKuH2-yHmGbBZSBs3pglasjO1giQTtWcNEwhze6dI_vbzXQXrTh6/s1600/110218daddy-daughter-dinner46emma-roy-twist-winners350x307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisq2z66A0QKP4R_1yqYSlbtW-C31Yz_tWke5CvXWSMaajjlUHuACR4T7UbWg15E-hskOxQ_imUE0kNwmavsJwos2ZEhKuH2-yHmGbBZSBs3pglasjO1giQTtWcNEwhze6dI_vbzXQXrTh6/s200/110218daddy-daughter-dinner46emma-roy-twist-winners350x307.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">How ironic that, for five years I sat on the sidelines unable to dance, and when finally it did happen, it wasn't a so-called "normal" person who made it happen but a quadriplegic child. And when it did happen it was more than just dancing. It was an expression of joy. We won the dance contest but there was something much greater going on. Although Emma is legally blind she and I made eye contact as I tipped her wheelchair backwards and in that moment while we were "dancing" to The Twist in her wheelchair, I kissed her on her forehead. It was no longer a dance competition but just Emma and me enjoying each other's presence, as if neither of us had any impairments at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Perhaps that's what it will be like in heaven, dancing with my quadriplegic daughter without any awareness she or I are disabled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.fatherof11.com/" target="_blank">www.fatherof11.com</a></span></div>
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</div>Father of 11http://www.blogger.com/profile/14815035875855655208noreply@blogger.com0