I wasn't accustomed to writing on behalf of someone else. I couldn't help but think of the biggest words, but continued to come up with less meaning than I had intended.
It was hard for me to put myself in someone elses shoes. How was I to speak to a woman I had never met, dealing with a situation the contents of which were unknown to me? But when I picked up the phone to speak with the mother of a family of five, my voice calmed and hands ceased their quivers. Her soft tone eased my heart to a steady beat and I realized that I had no reason to be worried.
She described her life in a matter of minutes and I could do nothing but lend an ear. Never did she talk of how her daughter's disabilities, PDD-NOS, disrupted or completely dismantled their day-to-day life. All she spoke of was need. She needed the help to support her daughter's behavioral therapy which had cost more in one session than she and her husband could afford to continue. She spoke of the family members that were constantly reaching out to help when Anne, her daughter, would have an episode. And of her two other children who were so understanding and loving toward Anne.
Then she said something that I swear would have made an old man sob; "The thing is, I know that Anne will probably never get the help she needs, but I've heard of the support it has given to others, so I had to do something. My husband and I are so grateful for our daughter, we just want her to have every opportunity she can."It has become my job to do everything I can to help Anne and her family live to their potential as individuals and as a family.
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." -Albert Einstein
Help us End The Wait Now and take your opportunity to let the world see it's full potential.
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The experience of meeting my family is something that I have trouble articulating, too. Personally, knowing that I am giving hope to at least one family on the Waiting List and helping them to strengthen their belief in future reform is still borderline unfathomable. Even so, I would like to stress the cruciality of ignoring these feelings of doubt as to not impede progress. Inaction is undoubtedly the biggest offense of all.
ReplyDeletePerhaps best illustrative of the power of unrestrained perseverance is Michelle and her son, Ofek. Michelle, with her venerable commitment to helping her son and other families on the Waiting List, defies any sense of doubt by driving to Annapolis every Wednesday to persuade Maryland delegates to increase funding for the Waiting List. Ofek, a freshman at UMBC, chooses to focus on his abilities rather than let muscular atrophy define him. As an accomplished student, a prize-winning chess player, and a loving family member, Ofek is quite obviously a man of action. In the case of both mother and son, risk is not avoided, but embraced and applauded with the possibilities that it holds.
We must heed the example set by Michelle, Ofek, and the other inspirational families on the Waiting List. Being a Loyola University Maryland student, I strive to live the creed of "Men and women for others." Working for such a worthy cause has pushed me one step closer to reaching the potential of this mission statement, and I implore everyone to experience the same intangible, inexplicable sense of reward that I continue to enjoy by fighting for this cause.
-Matt M.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”-Dale Carnegie
I completely felt the same way about getting in contact with my family. Almost wanted to keep waiting for them to contact me! I worried that asking all these questions about the Saxingers' situation would reveal my ignorance to the true difficulty of their situation. How could I understand what it would be like to raise a child with a developmental disability? I'm still a child myself!
ReplyDeleteAnother big concern of mine was making sure that the Saxingers knew I wasn't just doing this for a grade. I needed to be enthusiastic, without coming off as a peppy college student who doesn't realize the gravity of problem. So I tried to include lighthearted questions (What are Anne's hobbies?) along with the more serious ones (Do you have anything you'd like to have said to the governor?).
These questions were also designed to support me with direct quotes for my letter to the governor. I wrote the letter not only with the intention of sending it to the governor, but with the intention of sending it to the Saxingers. Hopefully my letter did justice for their story!
In the end, my nerves were calmed when I thought about how nervous my family must feel everyday. To feel the anxiety of waiting for funding that they know they deserve must be beyond frustrating. Of course, these families have learned to live with this anxiety; they have too much to take care of to worry about waiting. So I looked at my letter as a way to try and relieve a little bit of worrying for the Saxingers and a result all my worries went away.
-Devon O.