Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Kind (10/17/24)
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TITLE: What Does This Mean to Us? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ruby Isaac
10/24/24 -
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bit off-key along N. W. 23rd Avenue in Portland, Oregon. Rocket launchers blasted multi-colored fireworks displays into the midnight sky. Dogs barked. Car horns honked and honked and honked. The world outside my hospital window rocked!
Inside Wilcox Memorial Hospital, my husband and I celebrated an event closer to our hearts: Earlier that day on December 31, 1966; New Year’s Eve, our second son, Stanley, was born. I waited all afternoon to see him and hold him. Finally, a little after midnight, the noise outside settled down. I began to doze off, uneasily wondering why no one had yet brought Stanley to my bedside. That did seem strange.
But God knew why, and to this day I believe that He was kindly preparing me for an emotional roller-coaster. He provided a reservoir of comfort for my spirit before I knew that I needed it. As I drifted into dreamland I heard in my mind the deep voice of George Beverly Shea singing, “He’s got that little tiny baby in His hands…He’s got the whole world in His hands!”
I have always looked back to that crucial moment with thanksgiving to God for using that dream to remind me of His faithfulness to me:
“The LORD is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.”
Psalm 145:13b [ESV]
“The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works."
Psalm 145:17 [ESV]
By the next morning, I still had not seen Stanley, but his pediatrician—we’ll call him Dr. Swanson—stopped by to talk to me. One of the things he said was, “We don’t know that he’ll ever be completely normal in every way; but that isn’t to say that we do know that he won’t be.”
I tried to let that confusing message sink in, but had no words. I dabbed at the tears in my eyes with the edge of the bed sheet. Dr. Swanson reached over, pulled a tissue from a box, and handed it to me. Then he continued, “We have some concerns about his health. He scored a rating of ten on the Apgar Test which is phenomenal. But then as we observed, he didn’t warm up and he didn’t pink up. So we’ve sent him over Good Samaritan Hospital for further testing.”
Ah! So that’s where he is, I realized without saying so. Dr. Swanson said that Stanley would need to be observed over a period of time to see how he develops before his condition could be accurately diagnosed. He used the scary term, “some kind of a congenital malformation,” then said, “I want to see you in my office with the baby in six weeks.”
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When I arrived in Dr. Swanson’s office six weeks later, he greeted me warmly, asking: “How are things going?”
“Wonderful!” I said. “He is such a good baby—so easy to take care of!
“Wait! Stop right there,” said Dr. Swanson. “Let me ask you some ‘yes or no’ questions.”
“Okay. I’m ready.”
“Can he hold up his head?
“No.”
“Does he try to stand up in your lap?”
“No.”
“Can he roll over?”
“No.”
“Does he keep you up at night?”
“No.”
“Now that’s not normal,” he said gently, waiting for me to process it before quietly asking: “Is it?”
With tears streaming down my face, my heart in my throat, and my stomach churning, I could not even speak. All I could do was shake my head—no.
“We think he’s a mongoloid. That’s what we think. But we don’t know for sure. We need to observe his development.”(1)
“What does this mean to us?” I asked.
Graciously, Dr. Swanson spent at least another hour with me, explaining the social, medical, and family ramifications involved. In conclusion, he said, “It means that I’m going to do everything in my power to get you to put him in Fairview(2) at the earliest possible time. Meanwhile, take him home and love him.”
We did take him home and love him. But we did not “put him in Fairview.” God gave him to us to take care of. Also, we knew that “He’s got that little tiny baby in His hands…He’s got the whole world in His hands!” As things turned out, Stanley as the middle of three children lived with us for nineteen years until the Lord provided special foster care. But that’s another story.
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(1) The outdated term, “mongoloid,” has been replaced by the term, “Down Syndrome” or “Down’s Syndrome.”
(2) Fairview Training Center in Salem, Oregon, was formerly the state’s institution for serving mentally handicapped children. It has been closed.
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