Yesterday, I saw a group of clowns, which is a strange sight when you are not at the circus. But it brought back a bittersweet memory, more sweet than bitter. 44 years ago today, My first child, Kevin was born with a severe form of cerebral palsy and he would never be able to walk or talk or even hold his head up without support or grasp a toy or a spoon. But one thing he did well was to smile and laugh and bring joy to his family. On his 21st birthday in 1992, we pretty much understood that this would be his last birthday. Much of the light had gone from his eyes and his smiles and laughter were much less frequent as he was very ill and was being fed from a stomach tube. Since eating was one of his great joys, that was sad in itself. At the time of his birthday, his sister Kelly Blood was 19 and his brother Chris Coons was 17 and little sister Jessica McKevitt was only 4 and they all loved him very much. Kelly had a job and she decided to spring for a clown to come to the house and visit him to bring a little joy into his life and it worked. For that sweet moment, Kevin laughed and enjoyed the antics of the clown and we all could forget that we were soon going to lose this sweet boy. Oh, the miracle of laughter. We should never underestimate it. He lived another 6 months after that. The sensitivity and kindness that Kelly showed at age 19 is in all of my kids and I believe that much of it is a direct result of having grown up with this precious boy. Never ever feel sorry for someone who has a disabled child for they are blessed in so many ways.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 14:15:34 +0000
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