Under Construction

Under Construction

Think on this...we have been raising funds to make our home handicap accessible for my son who has special needs. We are well into the first phase of this process and things are a bit of a mess. There is dust everywhere inside of the house, and we have a massive amount of debris outside. We can see steady change and improvement, but the process has my family disheveled and out of sorts. We have had to embrace the reality that this is the new normal, at least for a while. The interesting thing is that I am learning a lot about life transformation as I watch my home renovation.

One lesson I have learned is that whenever a major change needs to happen there is usually destruction that must happen first. Whether quitting smoking, or trying to be a more empathetic person we usually struggle when change starts in our lives. Things get ugly before they get pretty. Another learning is that everyone in the family is affected when an adjustment begins in the life of one person. You can't avoid it. We are communal beings, and when a person is being changed we all have to give them space.

The truth is that we are and should ever be under construction. That is because no person is perfect, and who doesn't want to grow to reach his or her full potential. But, when people are in transition we need to allow things to be messy and give them an opportunity to make the change. We can desire the needed change so much that we can despise the necessary process. The Bible says, "As all of us reflect the Lord's glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory". 2 Corinthians 3:18 As my house is being changed, I hope my life is as well. Just a thought
Written by Damian Sr.

The Sounds of Greatness

THE SOUNDS OF GREATNESS

Ludwig Van Beethoven, the master classical pianist and one of the greatest wonders in the world of music, was deaf himself for the last 25 years of his life. He started showing his incredible genius at a very early age. Beethoven’s work has and will forever remain one of the finest in the world of classical music. He continued with his incredible work and compositions even through his later stages of debilitating deafness. He overcame.

Ray Charles was an American musician and pioneer in the genre of soul music, rhythm and blues, gospel, country and pop music. Charles started to lose his sight at the age of five and went completely blind by the age of seven. The Rolling Stones ranked ray Charles number ten on their list of the 100 greatest artist of all time. In 2004, and voted him number two on their November 2008 list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time". He overcame.

Stevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Stevie Wonder was blind from birth. Wonder signed with Tamla records when he was eleven and continues to perform and record for the label. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and won twenty-two Grammy awards -- the most ever won by a male solo artist. On December 1, 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. He is overcoming.

Damian Jr is an emerging musician who too is overcoming adversity. Despite his developmental challenges, he has cultivated a vast musical rolodex, perfect pitch, incredible rhythm and good syncopation. He enjoys playing chimes, keyboard, bells, cabasa, guitar, drums, etc. He learns musically without a doubt. Since he has difficulty clapping his hands, he clicks his tongue instead. While enjoying worship, classical and fun music, he sings, moves, and taps to the beat. He finds such joy and life in his music.

Special Thanks to Megan Weatherford, Neurologic Music Therapist and Tim Villegas, School Teacher/Musician for helping him cultivate his musical gifts!!!

Superhero & Champion

Superhero & Champion

My wife has always called me my son's superhero. It stems from the first days of his life when I was the primary. I was the one who watched him emerge from the womb blue, saw him take his first breath, was the one fighting with doctors initially when they were saying he needed to be institutionalized long term, etc due to the initially poor prognosis. My wife had recently had surgery, and I had to be what both she and my son's hero. The other reasons that she calls me a superhero is the fact that Damian Jr. is a total daddy's boy, and now he is my full time job. So yes, I will embrace that designation, but she is undoubted his champion.

I remember six years ago when tubes coming out of every part of his little body, and my wife struggled to pull herself up to his bed to see her son. Having had a major surgery, this was no small feat. I tried to explain to her everything that was explained to me while she recovered, and she just stroked his head and whispered into his ear what would be the defining words of his life, "Keep Fighting, just Keep Fighting". That was all she had that day, but she would quickly model that statement.

Before she was well enough to move around, she was working to make sure that our son had everything he needed. It started with his breast-feeding as she was in tears making sure that he had what was most nutritious. I soon had to go back to work so she took the lead. There was meeting after meeting with doctors and specialists. She was interviewing therapists, finding programs, and firing people who weren't in agreement with what we believed God was doing in his life. She was a force to be reckoned with.

She eventually went back to work and he to school, but this process repeated itself. She would be in constant contact with his teachers to ensure his progress. If she thought that a person was giving up on him or was resolved with where he had come thus far, then she would go on the attack. There where even moments when she had to let doctors go. They would look at her like she was crazy, but she had told her son to keep fighting, and she wasn't going to do anything less.

Recently, we were the given the financial figures that would be necessary to make our home and lives more accessible for our son that were truly beyond what we could do on our own. Mommy to the rescue, and this blog was birthed. My wife refused to be stopped, slowed, or shushed. She has made it up in her mind that Damian Jr. would get everything he needs to live a healthy and a happy life. It's become a part of her personal mission. I am now his primary caregiver, but I can't out work his Champion.

Well, her birthday is this week. She is in need of a break as most Champions are, and I am working hard to give her a brief moment to rest. The one thing you can do to make her birthday extra special is to give to Damian Jr.'s medical fund. Like all Champions her greatest wish if for victory in the battle. To see that her son has what he needs would be the best birthday present she could ever get.

Written by Superhero aka Damian Sr.