Dear fellow travelers,
Thank you, thank you, for being here on this wonderful
journey with me-- called life.
Everyone of us, everyone-- has a history, a past, a story,
and everyone is here to learn from their experiences, from their past-- Conscious changing lessons.
One of these stories began a little over 21 years ago. A
beautiful baby boy was born. This first baby of the family, was of course the
adoration of his parents and grandparents. He was a precious little one, he
quickly sat up and then immediately began crawling, showing great curiosity
with everything he saw.
Then one evening this little one was bouncing on his
mothers knees and she held up a metal coffee can filled with pop corn kernels
and behind his head, shook it with all her energy and when he just kept bouncing
and didn't turn around, she asked the grandmother if she thought there was a
problem.
In that instant the grandmothers stomach turned over and
over. Frozen, while pushing away the Yes, thoughts. But saying " Not in my
family, to this child, to this family".
After going from denial, a trip to the audiologist
happened. And the tests results were "Profound" in one ear and "
Severe" in the other, a jet plane going overhead could not be heard.
No one in this family had any experience with "deafness".
What does this mean?
"Deaf" all the old stereotypes of deaf people
played over and over in the
grandmothers head. and the daughter blamed herself for his
"problem"; she had been sick for a brief time while she was pregnant.
Then the work began. The daughter, being a tenacious,
proactive person, started studying everything she could find out about
deafness, the deaf community, the disabilities act, what resources were
available. She also taught herself American Sign Language (ASL). The
grandmother also researched and came to terms with her own sense of shame about
her previous held opinions.
The school for the deaf was visited, along with Gallaudet,
where only sign is approved. Total Communication was the decision that was
agreed on. Which means communication by every means possible.
The first hearing aid at the age of two was put in the
profound ear, with the order "Don't put it in on the way home, any sound
will probably scare him."
Language lessons began, association of a loud sound, like
a door closing with the sound of a door closing. and on and on.
This beautiful boy during his early years, lived in
silence, There was no closed captioned TV, or Texting, but if you couldn't
read, it didn't matter anyway.
The daughter signed every word that was said.
She home schooled for years and then the high school days
approached. Would he be accepted at a highly racked charter school?, The days
went by. And Yes, he was accepted and an interpreter needed to be hired by the school district. That
happened a few days before school began, It had been a long summer.
When he was 16, and time for his drivers license, again
the grandmother went to fear! What if he couldn't hear another car or a horn
blowing? Would he be safe?? She had to learn to let that fear go! and turn it
over.
He graduated from high school and the college days
approached. The state university was the accepted one, since they would provide
the funding for an interpreter.
A few days before the first semester began, a court
stenographer was hired. He went to every class and typed and somewhere in the
world, it was translated into readable English and appeared on the boys laptop.
YES!
The college years went by.
In 20 years, much had advanced with technology, not all
perfect but better.
The grandmothers own consciousness had changed.
She marvels at her daughter and her drive and of course
this now beautiful man. Who even learned Latin and is a precocious reader.
On Saturday the 26th of May 2012, he graduated from the University of Delaware
Of course if you were reading between what was written,
you know I am the grandmother, and the mother is my wonderful daughter and the
boy is my marvelous grandson.
YES, Everything is possible!!! Don't ever believe the old
tapes, BELIEVE, and have Faith, it isn't always easy. BUT everything is always
possible.
Everyone and everything is a gift for learning, a chance
to expand, a chance to have Faith,
Life happens, and we are here to learn and to share.
Is there an experience we need to embrace?
Is there a hidden race thought we need to reveal and
erase?
Just pondering on a story from my life,
Linda Patton, RScP, ENTC
http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com
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