Christopher "Utoy"
We had the Christmas party of our HOLD chapter yesterday and also the dedication of the new Handmaids who have completed their Christian Life Program (CLP) that day.
I noticed one participant to be carrying a baby. A closer look showed that he was not really a baby but he was small because he had no lower arms and legs. I looked again to see how his mom looked and she looked okay, she looks happy actually.
She was carrying him and I wondered if he could walk… then after some time I saw him running about even dancing at one point… even if he had no knees and lower leg he was freely moving about… and still a little later I saw him drinking juice holding the glass with his two arms. I asked his mom for his name, it was Christopher and they also called him “Utoy”, he was three years old and he was the sixth child. She was not a bit self-conscious when she said this and it made me glad. I also noted that there were several children that were either carrying him or playing with him and that made me more happy.
Then one of the sisters there (nope, not a nun, Handmaids call each other sister) came to me and pointed him saying “kawawa naman” (it’s a pity)! I asked her “why?” and she said “papaano na lang siya pag laki nya” (how will he be when he gets older)? I told her, “he is happy and so many care for him and that’s what’s important now. And we should not really look at him with pity since he was happy and doing so might just make him self-conscious of his handicap and dwell on it”. Then she said, right.
There’s a poster in my door which says “if there is great love there is always great miracle” so I am actually praying for “great love” for him. His future depends a lot on how much his family and friends love him and treats him! He will not likely get the miracle of having his arms and legs complete though that might be possible in the future the way stem research is going, but he’ll surely get the miracle of living a meaningful life. He could have prosthetics of course. What is needed most NOW, especially from his family is how NOT to focus on his handicap and instead give him the foundation of being able to make something of his handicap, after all nature always provides something in exchange of something we lack but we have to be keen on recognizing the form of her compensation.
Napoleon Hill also had a great quote on handicaps and difficulties. He says, “Every adversity carries within it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”
He was not just talking of a principle he has no first hand experience on for he actually had a son that was born without ears —as in no ears! Not just the outer part but the whole hearing structure! The doctors told him that his son would never be able to hear nor talk. But he did NOT resign himself to the doctor’s opinion. The doctor had nothing at stake and was just expressing a professional opinion, but he had! It was his son that the doctor was talking about.
He decided that his son would be able to hear and talk. He did not know how but he was sure there was a way if he really DESIRED it! He also knew that it was not enough for him to desire it but that his son should also desire it and believe! He placed this DESIRE in his son and raised him believing that his handicap was actually an advantage. In the end his son was able to hear and speak…Oh it was not instantaneous, it took years! But the BURNING DESIRE pointed them on the right direction.
So how will Christopher be when he gets older? I don’t really know… a lot of it will depend on him and his family but I am praying for a miracle for him.
I noticed one participant to be carrying a baby. A closer look showed that he was not really a baby but he was small because he had no lower arms and legs. I looked again to see how his mom looked and she looked okay, she looks happy actually.
She was carrying him and I wondered if he could walk… then after some time I saw him running about even dancing at one point… even if he had no knees and lower leg he was freely moving about… and still a little later I saw him drinking juice holding the glass with his two arms. I asked his mom for his name, it was Christopher and they also called him “Utoy”, he was three years old and he was the sixth child. She was not a bit self-conscious when she said this and it made me glad. I also noted that there were several children that were either carrying him or playing with him and that made me more happy.
Then one of the sisters there (nope, not a nun, Handmaids call each other sister) came to me and pointed him saying “kawawa naman” (it’s a pity)! I asked her “why?” and she said “papaano na lang siya pag laki nya” (how will he be when he gets older)? I told her, “he is happy and so many care for him and that’s what’s important now. And we should not really look at him with pity since he was happy and doing so might just make him self-conscious of his handicap and dwell on it”. Then she said, right.
There’s a poster in my door which says “if there is great love there is always great miracle” so I am actually praying for “great love” for him. His future depends a lot on how much his family and friends love him and treats him! He will not likely get the miracle of having his arms and legs complete though that might be possible in the future the way stem research is going, but he’ll surely get the miracle of living a meaningful life. He could have prosthetics of course. What is needed most NOW, especially from his family is how NOT to focus on his handicap and instead give him the foundation of being able to make something of his handicap, after all nature always provides something in exchange of something we lack but we have to be keen on recognizing the form of her compensation.
Napoleon Hill also had a great quote on handicaps and difficulties. He says, “Every adversity carries within it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”
He was not just talking of a principle he has no first hand experience on for he actually had a son that was born without ears —as in no ears! Not just the outer part but the whole hearing structure! The doctors told him that his son would never be able to hear nor talk. But he did NOT resign himself to the doctor’s opinion. The doctor had nothing at stake and was just expressing a professional opinion, but he had! It was his son that the doctor was talking about.
He decided that his son would be able to hear and talk. He did not know how but he was sure there was a way if he really DESIRED it! He also knew that it was not enough for him to desire it but that his son should also desire it and believe! He placed this DESIRE in his son and raised him believing that his handicap was actually an advantage. In the end his son was able to hear and speak…Oh it was not instantaneous, it took years! But the BURNING DESIRE pointed them on the right direction.
So how will Christopher be when he gets older? I don’t really know… a lot of it will depend on him and his family but I am praying for a miracle for him.
posted by elizabeth | 1:11 PM
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