50 years ago today, my beautiful daughter, Dawn, was born into this world. She lived 38 years in a body ruled by cerebral palsy. She was beautiful. One of my friends called her a porcelain doll. She was never able to speak, walk, feed herself, or enjoy any of those activities that most of us take for granted.
Our bodies have been beautifully and perfectly designed, and thankfully, in most cases, infants begin their lives with everything in a potential state ready to flower in a "normal" human life. For whatever reason, some of us don't begin life that way.
When she was born, I had never heard of cerebral palsy. I was blindly ushered into an awareness that changed everything about my life. Her birth in 1969 was at a time when real changes that viewed people with disabilities was different than it is now. I was told by a neurologist to just take her home and love her. He offered no support or ways to help her. Fortunately, I did find therapy for her, and so began that chapter. Still today, I remember the other moms, the kids, and the therapists as some of the most beautiful, compassionate and "even happy" people I have ever known. In this world, we all supported each other, and were so grateful for any tiny small change in any of the children.
I wonder, as I learn of some of the new healing modalities being used today, if my daughter may have been blessed with a better life, if she had been born at a later time. I always recognized and loved her beautiful spirit, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have focused more on that spirit, the absolute beauty of her soul.
