I can still remember standing at the nursery window with my
son and his uncles, my daughter-in-law’s brothers, one being his middle name,
Ryan. As we watched at the window,
moments after his birth, his chest was caving in and out as he yelled. We could
see his rib cage expanding with each scream. We knew the newest member of our
family was going to be a strong contributor who would make his presence
known. Little did we know, at the time,
he would be so silent.
I had never known anyone autistic. My children were both
fairly normal. I guess a better term for them is children with no special
needs. I still can’t say I know how it feels to be a parent to a special needs
child, only to being a grandmother to one.
I am a strong supporter to my children, and am now very cognizant of
this topic and very supportive of the cause. I wish had been more in tune
sooner. I waited till it was a reality for our family and only then became
informed. I took the same road with
cancer.
I think we are all
like that somewhat. Only when we are
directly touched do we step up to the issues that seem insurmountable and take
them on headfirst. Sad though that we tend
to wait to get involved when our involvement, confronting issues, helps things
change. We need to be more proactive as
a society and as Christians.
Ty has only been around for four short years. In that time frame, he has shown me that
every day that goes by there are signs of hope.
His growth, over the years, astounds me. He has gone from being a
reclusive boy who never smiled to what you will see in the video. He is coming
out of his shell. He is learning to interact with the world and with
people. He is a reminder that people can
change, minds can be touched even when it involves neurology that we don’t
completely understand. Given enough energy, love, repetition and support,
battles can be won and Ty is winning them.
I still don’t understand why him. Why my grandson had to be
chosen to have autism. I no longer
question God over this and no longer pray for it to go away overnight. I
believe he will continue to fight his way over the hurdles. I know God has Ty
in his sight, has a plan and Ty is living it.
We are part of that plan, all of us, his family and perhaps all of you,
reading and watching this. I wonder what part you play? He is one small boy but God created him to
have an impact. Little by little he is
making strides towards some imaginary finish line to continue a race and
continue making advances.
As Ty hit his four year old birthday, we all were amazed
looking back at last year’s birthday to see the growth and development from the
last 365 days. No longer is he a boy who flees to his own bedroom when company
comes over. He now will interact more
with the world than before, is hitting a growth spurt and continues on the
learning curve.
I recently heard my dear Rebekah question herself, “I wonder
sometimes in my zest to have him be the best he can be if I push my son into
too much therapy.” I told her, “You are
only guilty of loving your son as much as you can possibly can. Amen God gave
Ty to you!”
