Deaf History Month means more, I suppose, to someone who is deaf or has a deaf family member, but should mean something to all of us, as none of us are guaranteed that we will hear well for the rest of our lives. For our family it is significant, because my youngest brother is deaf, along with other disabilities, due to an illness in infancy.
The observance of Deaf History Month came to be due to some key events that took place in the time period it covers. While many month-long observances cover a single month, this one spans two…the dates are from March 14th through April 15th. The key events that took place that make that time period significant are:
March 13 - On this date in 1988 the “Deaf President Now” movement succeeds, and Irving King Jordan becomes President of Gallaudet University.
April 8 - On this date in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a charter establishing a college for the deaf, so April 8th became known as Gallaudet Charter Day in honor of the start the first University for the deaf, Gallaudet University.
April 15 - On this date in 1817, the first public school for the deaf is opened, the “American School for the Deaf”
For me, memories of having a brother who is deaf are first and foremost in my mind when I hear “Deaf History Month”. Along with being deaf, he has other disabilities as a result of having Spinal Meningitis when he was a baby, only 6 months old while we were on a family vacation. The impact that a disabled family member has on a family is dramatic, and can take many twists and turns, but I will tell you that God has been faithful in providing for us, and for my brothers needs in the past and for the future.
When he was young, there were no programs for what was referred to as “multiply handicapped” children, so he didn’t fit in a deaf school because of his other disabilities. There is much more support for families with disabled children now, and I hope it will continue to be something that our government will support, no matter how poor the economic outlook is.
Yesterday we had the family here at our home to celebrate and honor my Mother on her on her 80th birthday with food, fun and a lot of love. My brother said it best when he stated that “80 years ago today, on October 5th, 1928, the world became a better place because you were born”.
Before I get sentimental, and share some of the wonderful things about my Mom, let me share a few things things that happened the year of her birth:
March - Movie “Legion of the Condemned” with Gary Cooper opened on the 10th; there was record trading on Wall Street for the time on the 28th
May - the Electron Microscope was invented; Shakespear’s “The Tempest” opens on Broadway; General Electric starts a regular schedule of television programs out of WGY in Schenectady, NY
June - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
July - Television sets go on sale for the first time; Warner Brothers releases the first feature length talking movie “The Lights of New York”
September - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
October - Joseph Stalin’s 5 year plan is announced; the German Graf Zeppelin dirigible comes to Lakehurst, NJ. BUT BEST EVENT OF ALL, my Mom is born.
November - Herbert Hoover is elected as President; Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willy”, the first synchronized cartoon with Mickey Mouse in the “Star” role, opens at the Colony Theatre in New York City.
December -Boulder Dam Act approved by U.S. Congress, approving the construction of the dam in Nevada.
There’s just a bit of the history of the year of her birth, but let me tell you some of the things that I remember about my Mom that make her very special to me:
She is a woman of exceptionally strong faith.
I don’t remember a night in my childhood when she didn’t come in and pray with my brothers, sister and I before we went to bed, no matter how long the day had been or how tired she was.
Mom is strong, yet gentle.
She loves to garden, and still does, and always has something starting under her special plant lights.
She had the challenge of raising a multiply-disabled son right up until a few months ago when he moved into a group home. He was born when I was 12, with a brother and sister between he and I. It took some maturing on my part, a lot of it, to realize how hard it must have been to divide her attention among all of us when she was faced with such a challenge.
It was at my bedside after going to Vacation Bible School when I was just a toddler that I prayed with my Mom to receive Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I have found that I am never too old to learn some nugget of spiritual truth from my mother.
Mom has always loved feeding birds, and has always had a feeder full of seeds…or when we were young, a tray that we would fill and lay out in the yard, and watch as Mom identified each bird. When the Grackles were migrating by the hundreds, I remember her going out once with a LOT of bread, breaking it, and throwing it, and it was gone before much of it had a chance to hit the ground. Thanks to her, I, too, always have a feeder full of seeds hanging outside.
Mom never had a drivers license, and thanks to my father’s income and careful management of money, was able to stay at home and care for her children.
During the last 5 years of my father’s life, years in which he was taken from Mom and all of us due to a series of small strokes, Mom sacrificed herself and her back bending over him to care for him; helping him to and from wheel chair to bed; taking care of his personal needs…yes, we did have help come in, but Mom did a lot. Dad passed 11 days after her birthday a few years ago…her words when I brought her into the room after he had passed (a phone call kept her from his bedside) were “my lover is gone”.
Mom loves cats, she went from a woman who shot at them with a super-soaker when they came in the yard to stalk her birds at the feeder, to the owner of a series of cats, 3 of which she has today.
Mom allowed us to explore the world around us, allowing me to keep all sorts of creatures in cages, jars and aquariums in my room as long as I took good care of them, and allowing my brother to study creatures smaller than the eye can see at a young age through a microscope, which I am sure is the foundation for his being the Scientist he is today.
I could go on and on, she deserves so many accolades, and I don’t know how to put my love for her into words. She is a treasure beyond words! I love you, Mom.
Today I was listening to Sarah Palin speak in Iowa, and again she mentioned her desire to bring awareness to the unique challenges that those who have “special needs” family members, or family members with “disabilities”, face on a day to day basis.
This touches a very special place in my heart because I have a brother who is in his 40’s who is a special needs adult. The memories from his past life are a mixed bag that contains many different emotions. Maybe, over time, I’ll share some of those things with you, and you can share your situations if you’ve “been there” in comments here, if you like.
For now, may I just say that it is wonderful to see that someone is bringing this issue to the forefront on a national level! After just finishing spending several years helping my family and brother by researching how to best meet my brother’s future needs, I have learned and seen a lot, and there is a lot of need in this area.
My brother, John, is in his 40’s, he has a delightful disposition, and a wonderful smile, because my Mom, who will be 80 in a couple of weeks, has been devoted to him and his care. John cannot talk, he can walk, but not easily, he can’t hear in one ear, and can only hear a bit in the other. All of this from a bout with Spinal Meningitis when he was a baby, while we were on vacation as a family at my Grandparents.
After the doctors realized the damage that had been done to my 6 month old baby brother from this illness that kept him in the hospital for most of the summer, and often with a 50/50 chance of living, they told my mother that it would be best if she just put him in an institution, that he would never amount to anything. That was not to be, and because of it, my brother was an active member of our family for his whole life. He is capable of caring for many of his own personal needs, getting a bowl of cereal, vacuuming, dressing himself, so many little helpful things that would never have happened had he been raised in an institution. There is a lot deep inside my brother that you see in his eyes that may never come out until we can talk to one another in heaven when all things are made new…what a day that will be!
Recently, after a lot of work and even more prayer, we were able to move my brother into a Christian group home, the one that we hoped and prayed he would live in, and he is happy there. Best of all, he doesn’t live far from all of us.
Was it always an easy road? Far from it, but it is through the challenges in life that we learn the most, isn’t it?
