This paragraph gave me the chills - how sad !!There is much to be sad about in our scoiety but I do things in some things society has changed for the better
Molly's medical records indicate that she was born with a club foot and a lazy eye, which was left blind after surgery. When she was around 2, records show, doctors amended her diagnosis to "profoundly retarded," a characterization that Daly doubts but has no proof to contradict.
Daly says his father tried to stay connected to Molly and visited her at Fairview, the Oregon state institution where she had gone to live. But because Molly became so upset each time he left, the staff asked him to stop coming, Daly says.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/08/01/wheres.molly/index.htmlHow sad if was for the parents, siblings and the child itself to have to feel that this was their only option~how could you judge them when all of society tells you that this is best? So sad!
I cant imagine the thought of it for my child..I still remember my mom telling me what amazing things they could do for Sarah if I chose this for her!
I am so glad to be living in this time instead of 20 years ago..I still would of kept her though:)
Oh I hope I was not saying that all institutions are bad or that parent who send their kids to instituions are bad parents - not at all
I was just saying that the prevalence of that thinking - the beleif that that was the only option - was what was bad
My aunt's husbands cousin had cerebral palsy. I remember as a kid he lived around the corner from me. I would visit him any time i went passed his house. We became close even though he was pretty much non verbal. It was always a very welcome greating I got from him and his parents, who were older and primarily spoke portugues. Joey was a special person and as a child i was drawn to his special gift. My husbands cousins child also has cerebral palsy. Every time i see him i just want to spend hours with him. These are people who have something special about them. You can feel it when you walk in the room with them. It is something out of this earth. But i wish more people knew. For those who are instituationalized, they would bring such joy if we could look passed the sorrow. I can not judge though. I have never had to think about such a decision.
I read the article mentioned in this article...such a mix. Awful - horrific experiences and then a blessing of a school. I don't know what I would do if it were a last resort or option. Payne is quite a handful, but I don't know. He's not bigger than me yet - but help me when he is...all if will take is one blow to the throat or head and I'll be down for the count. He is muscle and strong and doesn't come out of his "moments" fast enough to stop himself.Fred Thank you for posting this.
I read everything I could find on Where's Molly. It makes me sad not only because of my son's setbacks but my own. When I was born The doctor carelessly forced my delivery and bruised my brain. I don't have any retardation wich was implied by the doctor before I was one yr. old. At the time, my parents were urged to put me in an institution. They were told I would never walk or run or have any kind of life.
I am so glad they said "no we'll keep her." I have had a leg surgery at a young age and a few eye surgeries too. Most of my life I have been perfectly fine. I have a very slight limp that is previlent only when I am extreamly nervous. I have always gone to regular schools, etc. Most people don't even know, who have known me all my life.
I will have to see that movie now!!!
Thanks for sharing the article. I appreciated the background on historical developments, and it's nice to know that there's an online registry which helps people get reunited with family members that were institutionalized long ago.Oh yes I saw that, my BIL sent that out to all the family. My other BIL is severely retarded and was born in 53. My MIL was ridiculed for refusing to send him to an institution. Then that is what was done, period. Sometimes I wonder if he knows how lucky he was to have a mom who thumbed her nose at the drs and even family and did what she thought was best for her child.