"Mom, why is it I pray for relief of my suffering, but it seems like I suffer even more? I don't understand," Autumn asked her mom.
Autumn was born with a crippling disease, but she was a fighter. The dr.'s said she would never walk or talk. They told her parents she would need constant care. The dr.'s did say with some therapy their daughter would have limited mobility, but she would most likely be confined to a wheelchair. Autumn's mom was devastated to find out their daughter had Cerebral Palsy. She cried for days to come and would not let Autumn out of her sight. As time went by, more dr.'s appointments came and went.
When Autumn was nine-months old, the dr.'s started her physical therapy. The therapist would come over to Autumn's house on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for an hour a day. This would go on until Autumn was three, when Autumn would start early childhood development at the local school. The therapist would work all of Autumn's limbs to strengthen them and keep them loose. They would eventually start teaching Autumn how to eat. The therapist told Autumn's parents one of the best things they could do for Autumn was to lay her on a blanket on the floor. This way she could work her arms and legs and maybe she could learn to get around with her arms since she would never walk. The therapists told Autumn's parents, "walkers were big no no's, the walker will make your daughter lazy."
Autumn's parents wanted to make sure they did everything they could for Autumn. Autumn's mom was a real trooper. While dad was working to provide for the family, mom was making sure Autumn had every chance at a normal life. Autumn's mom would read books to her constantly. She would set Autumn in front of the t.v. in a walker with her head and body supported. She would turn on kid's education programs like Sesame Street while she did household chores and looked after their other son who was just a baby. Mom wanted to make sure Autumn had every opportunity for some type of normalcy in her life.
To everyone's surprise, everything mom was doing for Autumn would start to payoff. When Autumn was about a year-and-half old she said, "Mommy," it did not stop there. Autumn began to put two words, three words, four words, and finally full sentences together. Not only was Autumn speaking, but she was speaking clearly. By the time she was two she was reading simple children's books that her mom read to her all the time. The therapist told Autumn's mom,"she has memorized the stories." Autumn's mom told the therapist, "who cares, she's talking."
Autumn's mom forgot about the therapist coming over and had Autumn in her walker. When the therapist walked in and saw Autumn in a walker they were very upset. Again they explained to Autumn's mom, "This walker will make her lazy and all of our therapy will be for nothing."
"But, she pushes herself around in it. It is the only way she can get around."
"She will become lazy though, she is never going to walk, so let us do our job."
"You said she would never talk either."
The therapist continued with Autumn's therapy and every time they were finished and left, Autumn's mom would place her back in the walker so she could get around. This went on for several months until Autumn was almost three. One particular night Autumn's parents had Autumn in the floor playing with her. They would stand her up in between them and act like she was walking. Little did they know she would take her first of many steps and never crawl again. Autumn began to walk when the dr.'s and therapist said she never would. The therapist arrived for Autumn's therapy session. Autumn's mom was holding her when the therapist walked in. Autumn's mom stood Autumn on the floor and let go. The therapist could not believe it when they saw Autumn start to walk towards them.
The years would pass. Autumn would continue to see the dr.'s and suffer set backs, but she would never give up the fight. Autumn would develop a serious case of scoliosis that would require a steel rod to be inserted along her spine. The dr.'s would also discover she had nerve damage on the left side of her face that kept her from smiling and caused numbness on the left side of her face and mouth. Autumn would never grow to a normal height for a girl. Her growth stopped at very young age, she never grew past four-foot-six. Autumn would remind her parents, she was the smallest giant in the world and the fight for normalcy would never stop.
Autumn would go on to graduate high school with A's and B's at a sophomore in college level. Autumn would continue to suffer set backs in life. People would look at her size and minor disabilities and would not give her a chance at certain tasks or jobs. No one would hire her for work. Finally, Autumn asked her mom, "why is it I pray for relief of my suffering, but it seems like I suffer even more?"
"Well let me answer that with a question. When we go camping and you have to go to the restroom, but you look at that rundown outhouse that was built during the civil war and you decide you don't need to use the restroom anymore. Eventually your stomach starts hurting and you can't hold it any longer. You suck up all the courage you can and you open the door to that outhouse, the odor almost knocks you over, but you walk in anyway, take care of business. How do you feel when you come out?"
"Better"
"So, see happiness can be found in an outhouse."
Autumn's mom goes on to tell her, "No matter how much it hurts and how nasty it can be or get, you have to suck up the courage, get in there and fight."
It wasn't until after she started college, when she realized what she was suppose to do with her life. Autumn graduated college and went on to open orphanages in Romania. She is now a mother to hundreds of unwanted children with their own problems.
Happiness can be found in an Outhouse