Eight Steps
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 7:10PM Max is the cousin of Jim The Small Child Nephew's and Will The Baby Nephew. He has arthrogryposis, a deformity of the joints which forces his body into odd, painful angles.
When he was conceived and the syndrome discovered, the doctors told his mother to end the pregnancy. His father said, "I will carry that kid around on my back for the rest of my life if I have to."
When he was born, his hands and feet were clubbed and a recessed jaw left him unable to suck from a bottle. The experts decided that perhaps he might be able to walk one day. Maybe.
When he was a year old, his mother died. He dragged himself across the floor by the arms to get where he was going.
When he was one and a half years old, he had serious surgery which left him in tiny casts. He rolled to get where he was going.
When he was two, the physical therapist added heavy braces to his legs. He clung to furniture to get where he was going.
Yesterday, the braces cast aside, he walked eight steps across the middle of his grandparents' living room to get where he was going.
May this help you tired moms out there get you where you're going. Happy Mother's Day.
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Reader Comments (12)
That's incredible. Praise God!
Posts such as this one are the reason as to why I am a daily reader - your insight and thoughtfulness make for some of the most memorable pieces that I have read.
Kudos, MB!
Okay, I'm sitting here with tears running down my face. My dearest friend in the world is currently 10 states away from me (I'm in Arizona and he's in Indiana). He's fighting terminal cancer, and I've never before been able to find anyone to compare his will power to. You just gave me that person.
God bless you!
May the next year find Max discovering the joy of walking anywhere and everywhere he might wish to go----and may God grant him a long and happy life!
If my friend can maintain the same tenacity of spirity and the same willpower as Max, perhaps the months to come will see him celebrating his 50th birthday (in October) exactly the way he wants to (in Las Vegas).
Yahoo! for Max and his dad!
Thanks, MB for sharing this story!
Thank you. As the mother of a perfectly healthy little boy with whom I get frustrated simply because he's a normal not-listening four-year-old, I needed that.
Wow- would that we all had such tenacity to get to where we want to be.
Praise God! That is so wonderful! Happy Mother's Day!
Wow.
Just wow.
Thank you for that story.
Hooray for Moms everywhere. You rock.
Wow. I don't think such a short post has ever meant to much to me. Thank you for sharing that - my tears are made of hope that this little boy will never lose his determination.
Thanks so much to everyone for your very kind words. It means a great deal to me that you were able to draw inspiration from little Max with the big plans.