"Special" Needs

Tomorrow could be the last visitation for the father of my son. I am his dad. We have had Chad for over a year now. The last year was one of the longest years of my life (and I think longer for my wife) and I can hardly believe a year has already passed. I pray that he will become a permanent part of my family.

"Special" needs. We hear people talk about "special needs children", or "differently abled" or "handicapped" or "handicapable" or blah, blah, blah, etc, etc. . ."let make up a name that makes ME feel OK about this child". This boy is so cool. He has so many things that make him "special" that we have had to make visits to neurosurgeons, neurologists, developmental pediatricians, nutritionist, nephrologist, cardiologist, opthamologist, neuro opthamologist, gastroenterologist, geneticist, orthopedist, pysical therapists, and speech pathologist. MRIs, EEGs, CAT scans, ECGs. . .My girls have learned alot about medical care this year. We go to most appointments as a family. It has been a part of their homeschool this year(they both know how to hook up a G-tube for bolus feeding and attended training for infant CPR, for example). It is quite amazing to witness two young girls give tender love to a child that is so very normal to them, to have never heard them complain about sharing their time with a child that demands much of their parents time. I have never heard them say anything but positive things about the boy (except of course comments about various smells that Chad is quite talented at producing and, before picking him up, questioning when he last was fed to avoid wearing what he might have just been fed).

My wife, Kim, and I have realized how easy our lives were before having Chad. You miss alot about life and I think may not be listening for God when things are easy. This hectic rollercoaster year has been a blessing for my family.


I am occasionally asked something like "If you knew all that you know now would you do it again?" Interestingly, this question can typically be interpreted to be "If you knew all of the "problems this child has" would you. . .?". My honest answer is: If I knew only about all the Drs appointments, the heartache, the sleepless nights, the tension that results between spouses when they are stretched thin. . etc. Well I don't know, sounds hard, there must be more qualified people. But we brought Chad into our home with the commitment to provide him the best care we can. We were not aware of the tremendous challenge it would be to care for him and we were also not aware of the tremendous blessing he would be to our family and to many others.

What makes Chad so "special" is really NOT all of his "problems", but IS how he has touched the hearts of so any people. He greets you every morning with a beautiful smile.