My Name is Sarah

Sunday, November 30, 2008
Favorite Fall Memory # 60
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Favorite Fall Memory # 59
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Right after music we go to Camp Cheerful for my Therapeutic Riding.
A MESSAGE FROM MOM
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A few years later the resident camp that Sarah attends each summer built an indoor arena and began to offer therapeutic riding. It is a good distance from where we live, but I hated that Sarah had ended her riding with such a bad experience. I thought maybe since she was familiar with the camp, she would be more comfortable there with the horses. I was wrong.
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It took the staff and volunteers three months or more before Sarah would even enter the ring with a horse. The difference though was the training they received because it is a NARHA accredited center. Each week they patiently and gently worked with Sarah in the stall area until she was comfortable petting the horse. From there, they had a plan that eventually got her back on the horse utilizing the wheelchair lift they have. Slowly she started to make progress. It has been about three years now, and each session she is doing better than the one before. She now really looks forward to her ride each Saturday.
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I thought you might like to see the report we got for the last session. I just love how independent and confident she is becoming. As you read this, you will also pick up that there is definitely a love affair with Doug. What a great and dedicated volunteer he is. I wonder if it is By Chance or By Design that he is scheduled on Saturday and has this special relationship with Sarah?

Friday, November 28, 2008
A MESSAGE FROM MOM
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Shortly after waking up the next morning, the doctor told me he thought Sarah was Down syndrome. My dreams of the little girls being best friends were shattered. For days, I avoided Stacy's entire family. If I saw them outside playing, I would be sure to stay inside. I didn't want to have to tell them about our diagnosis. Eventually, I pulled together enough strength to let them in on our little secret. Is it By Chance or By Design that Stacy and Sarah quickly became playmates.
When Sarah was just a toddler, I was given a copy of the book Circles of Friends by Robert and Martha Perske. Chapter 3 begins, "Friendships are such an everyday thing, we just take them for granted. They are like electricity, telephone, clothing and three meals a day - we anguish only when we are deprived of them. And yet we have just begun to sense the pain experienced by people with disabilities when they are deprived of mutually satisfying friendships with ordinary people." At the time, I remember reading the book, more interested in the beautiful illustrations of darling children with Ds. The words did not seem to have a particular connection with me. Looking back, I simply didn't get it.
(click on the picture to enlarge)
In 2007, the Brush High School yearbook editors decided to write stories about friends. Without giving me the details Stacy told me she agreed to share her story of her friendship with Sarah. The day the book came out, I started to get calls from teachers who worked at the high school. They could barely tell me about it without crying. Then parents of other students started calling. They too were having a hard time describing it. Finally, I drove up to get Sarah's copy. Why I had to read it before getting to the car is beyond me. I was sobbing. Hysterically. The security guards stopped me to ask if I was alright. The assistant principal asked if he could be of help. I made it to the car, calmed myself down, and then called Stacy on my cell phone. I tried to tell her how much I liked the article, how much I admired her inner strength to share her story, and how much I loved her.
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Robert Perske goes on to write in the book, "we need to view a good friendship the way we look at a sunrise, seeing it in all its radiance."
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That's why I was so emotional, and I suspect the other adults too. I finally got it. Sarah has been genuinely blessed to have such a beautiful friendship with Stacy. True friendships are to be envied. They generate their own energy, their own passion, their own life line.

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My wish for every child with Down syndrome is to be blessed with a friend like Stacy. There is nothing richer in this world.
Late Breaking News
Favorite Fall Memory # 58
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Late Breaking News






Favorite Fall Memory #57

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Favorite Fall Memory # 56


Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Favorite Fall Memory # 55

