Continued from Part 2: Scar Tissue
Mommy and daddy have been trying so hard to help our Makala learn how to take care of the scars no one can see. The scars in your heart and shown by the tears you cry, and the way you act and show your feelings. When Sean was starting to get better after his accident, he wanted to make sure no one could see his scars or notice his limp. So he tried very hard to hide it.
The problem was that he was on the News and when his accident happened everyone knew about it. Some people made the story even worse then it really had been–if that was possible. Some people told the story and added things to it. By the time Sean went back to school some people thought he had cut his arms off, his legs and one guy even heard it was his Head! There were rumors about him going over a 100 miles an hour before he hit the mailbox post.
There were rumors that his parents had a nervous breakdown, and got divorced. There were rumors that they put a computer in his leg and he was the “Bionic-Boy.” There were rumors that his parents were suing everyone in town. The parents of his friend for giving Sean a sled to play with in the first place. The city for not building roads good enough to sled on. The post office for putting a mailbox post in the wrong spot. The people who lived at the house with the mailbox. The guy who dragged Sean off the road and called 911. Heck, there were rumors we were suing each other!
It was hard for Sean to deal with all the rumors and ideas that everyone thought were true. The real story the way it happened was bad enough but the extra stories people made up were really too much. Even today, over ten-years later Sean is still a story people talk about. Every time someone wants to build a new house on that street the neighbors fight it because they say the road is not safe for children–and the always drag up the story of Sean and his severed leg. Everyone warns their children not to sled on that street–because of the boy who severed a leg. Sean is famous. But, most of the stories are outrageous and aggregrated.
Sometimes, even Sean remembers the story different then how things really happened.
It was hard for a 9-year old kid to get his leg re-attached. Sometimes, he remembers how mommy had to take care of him, and it hurt or he didn’t like what mommy had to do to help him heal. Sometimes Sean thinks I was very mean to him, like the day we went to the Buffet and we took his crutches away–and told him he needed to walk over and put his own dinner on his plate. It took about 5-hours of sitting at the Buffet before Sean got brave and tried to walk on his leg he couldn’t feel anymore. But, mommy and his daddy waited–Tori waited too. We all waited as long as Sean needed to stand up and get his own food.
When we left the Buffet, Sean was walking without his crutches anymore, and he knew he was strong enough to walk without them. He was wobbly at first, and his back hurt, his hip hurt and he was still very scared inside. He didn’t want to fall he didn’t know what would happen if he did. He didn’t know if he could get up off the ground by himself. But, he took one baby step at a time. And the next day he took more steps.
On the third day he took some more steps, and he fell. He sat on the ground for a long time, crying and begging for help. Screaming that he could NOT STAND UP! But, I believed that he could and knew that he would if only he would believe in himself. So, I just tried to talk nice to him and encourage him to stand up. Stand up little boy, you can walk on your own two feet and I will be here to help you along.
He still cried, yelled at me and didn’t want to try. So mommy put her hand inside of his hand and told him to pull on me, to stand up and use me to get up. I had to be a little mean about it because I could not pick him up myself he was too big for me to lift–he had to be strong enough to pull on me and get up off the ground.
It took a long time–but, when he was done feeling sorry about his situation–when he was finished being mad about the fact he was on the ground he was able to hold my hand and pull on me, just enough to pull himself up and stand again.
When he did–we walked to the sofa and cried together. We were both scared for so long, for nearly 2-years of operations, care for ripped up skin and muscles, therapy and scar tissue rubbing. Crutches and medication and dealing with the rumors. But, that day was the end of a horrible long journey we walked together. I was there at his side the whole way–even when he was in the hospital and I couldn’t always stay with him because I had to take care of Tori too.
That was the day that Sean and Mommy had a special kind of love born. Sean learned that he could depend on mommy for a hand-up, but that mommy loved him so much she would let him be mad at her so he would learn how to walk on his own two legs even when he fell.
To be continued: What Started As a Letter Turned Into A Journey Of How I became Your Mother. The Story of Joe and Eddie.
Related Blogs:
- Choices and Consequences
- Scar Tissue
- Rumors and Crutches
- The Story of Joe and Eddie
- Thanksgiving and LeRoy’s Boys
- When Uncle Eddie Took Care of His Birth Mother.
- I Married An Adopted Boy.
Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms: Adoption terms and special needs words may vary from agency to agency. The terms used in this Special Needs Adoption-Related Glossary may be slightly different from one State to another.
A | B | C | D | E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L | M | N-O | P | Q-R | S | T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.
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Anna is a Families.com Insurance and Guest Blogger. Read her blogs at: http://members.families.com/happymomanna/blog