Becoming the Mother of a Handicapped Child at Age Sixteen

At the tender age of sixteen, I discovered what it meant to be the mother of a handicapped child. I wondered what it would mean for the child to have a mother who is only sixteen years old. Would the daunting challenges associated with his disability be too much to overcome for someone as young as I was? William was a perfect newborn, except for his right leg; it was three inches shorter than the left. The right foot had seven toes: the two extra toes had bones in them. Dr. Cummings, his pediatrician, informed us that it was highly unusual for extra digits to have fully formed bones. In addition, William's right foot was also clubbed and his knee was the size of a softball.

As I sat there listening to the doctor explain what he thought the problem might be, I was thinking of how and why this happened to my little man. The nurses were chattering about my boy, how they have never seen anything like it before. What did they mean by it? Already feeling I needed to defend him, I started to think of his future. At sixteen, how will I take care of him? How will I graduate high school? What if he hurts his already damaged leg? How can I help him if I do not know what to do?

The doctors at the hospital, including Dr. Cummings, warned me that William may never walk. My miracle baby proved them wrong at seven months old! There as I turned the corner from the kitchen, he was standing up, looking at me, he was laughing and smiling. I said, "Come to Mommy, come here." As he took five or six steps, I grabbed him. My emotions ran wild; I was filled with the greatest joy. What an unbelievable day. I began to evaluate what the doctors had said, thinking to myself, what do they know?

Soon after, he had his first surgery. Dr Cummings, whom we know very well by now, was removing the two extra toes. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that one month later he would be walking on his cast. William never knew that he was not supposed to walk, he just kept on walking.