Because Antonio was born with scoliosis he had physical therapist that would come to our home and do stretches with him. As Antonio got closer to a year old Victor and I noticed that he wouldn’t sit up on his own, and he wouldn’t even attempt to crawl. We spoke to Antonio’s physical therapist about this, and she told us she would bring in someone to test him.
After the tests were done, Victor and I were informed that Antonio was behind in his fine and gross motor skills. The physical therapist began to come more often to our home for the continued to work on stretches, and some other exercises to help Antonio. She was a joy to have in our home and to help Antonio. She would teach Victor and me the stretches, and would also let the other children watch and play with her when she came.
After another year of Antonio’s physical therapist, Susan, coming she noted further concern about Antonio, so Victor and I decided we would take Antonio to his pediatrician to be looked at. We made the appointment and I can remember the visit like it was yesterday. The doctor looked at Antonio, and had another doctor come in and look at Antonio, and eventually we were referred to a specialist. When we went to the specialist, they were very concerned about Antonio’s scoliosis, and after being left alone in the room for a very long time, the specialist came in and informed us that Antonio had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I had never heard of that, and neither had Victor, but from the look on his face we knew it was good. He told us that, Antonio’s muscles will continue to get weaker and weaker as he gets older, and that most individuals with this disability don’t live past the age of 25. The specialist continued to talk to us, but Victor and I were no longer listening. I was too busy wondering why my Heavenly Father would do that to Antonio, he was such a sweet child, and he deserved to have a long happy life, like my husband and I.
After the doctor’s visit I was so confused, I had no idea what I was going to tell my family about the visit. We decided not to say anything to our children yet, but we of course told Susan. She was very empathetic towards our situation, and she even told us she would have someone contact us that works with families that have children with disabilities. A few days after speaking with Susan, her friend, Mary, called us and said that if we wanted she would love to help our family and Antonio. Mary was amazing. She would come every week with Susan and they would work with Antonio, and make sure to do stretches with him and worked his muscles to delay the inevitable as much as possible. The children, Victor and I became very comfortable with them, and so did Antonio. He began to grow into a beautiful little boy; he even learned to walk, though he did need braces to do so.
When Antonio was a few months from starting Kindergarten, Susan and Mary informed us that he would transition from working with them to working with someone employed by the school. They helped us by writing a Transition Plan to prepare us for Antonio going to school, but I was nervous to let anyone else work with Antonio. Susan and Mary had become a part of our family, and having a stranger work with Antonio was a scary thought, but Susan and Mary comforted us and told us they would help the transition go as smoothly as possible.My family has been blessed with so many supportive friends. Antonio has truly helped our family grow in size and love. He has taught everyone a great deal about what life is really about.
