| By Sharmain GraingerIt takes a special kind of grace to adequately care for a child with a debilitating disability, but to be graciously caring for an adult in such a state is truly a God-given ability.Claudia Jordan was born on March 14, 1957, at Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara. She was the ninth of fourteen siblings born and raised in that community. She went to school there and still lives in the community at 57 Wellington Street. But, like most of us, she didn’t quite know what her purpose was on this earth.Claudia and her differently-able son, Denbert, share a laugh.It definitely had something to do with teaching, because soon after her secondary education she was inclined to become a teacher. Her first teaching exposure was at the Anna Catherina Nursery School and she taught the little ones with absolute passion. This was definitely her calling…or so she thought.The beginning of 1978 saw her tying the knot and soon after a baby was on the way. She was only too excited to be preparing for the extension to her family. Her bundle of joy arrived on September 26,Adidas NMD Wholesale Price, 1978.Two days earlier she was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital with severe labour pains, but the medical personnel there told her she wasn’t quite ready to deliver her baby. “They told me it was dry labour…and explained that they would have to surgically remove my baby,” Claudia recounted during a recent interview with me.However, it was two days later that a Caesarean Section was performed on her. She was presented with a bouncing baby boy whom she named Denbert.She recalled seeing “a normal, handsome, good looking baby” and remembers feeling so proud to be a mother. However, she couldn’t just yet take him home to show-off to her family as her sutures from the C-Section still had to heal.He was placed in the nursery as she recuperated.In fact it would take about one month before she was able to leave the hospital because, according to her, “my sutures kept getting infected.”Claudia was living at her mother-in-law’s home and it was straight there she headed after being discharged. At the time she had no concerns about her newborn, but months later she realised that perhaps something wasn’t right. This was because she was able to compare his development to another baby in the household.The same day she delivered, her sister-in-law delivered a baby girl, and by eight months she was creeping and doing all the normal things that babies do. But Denbert wasn’t even creeping.“He instead started pushing on his back and then I observed he had squint eyes and he wasn’t grabbling at things like a normal developing child.”It was following a visit to a private paediatrician that she would get the most disturbing news of her life. Not only was she informed that her son had brain damage, but it was likely that he would eventually become like a vegetable.“Nobody told me why that could have happened,China Soccer Jerseys, but I kept observing him…I was young and some of the things I just didn’t understand,” Claudia vividly recalled as tears began welling in her eyes.What she didn’t really understand was the fact that her son was experiencing the onset of Cerebral Palsy.Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement. This condition is said to develop because of damage to an area of the brain.But no one in either her or her husband’s families was ever born like that, noted Claudia, a state of affairs which corroborates scientific consensus that Cerebral Palsy is neither genetic nor a disease. It has been deduced that the majority of cases are congenital, meaning that they come at or about the time of birth or are diagnosed at a very young age rather than during adolescence or adulthood.Although her son’s condition was viewed as a taboo issue in her family, and by extension the community, Claudia decided that she would be proactive rather than recoil in silence.She turned to the church for help.“I trusted God for wisdom, but when I did understand a little of what was really going on I was devastated…It wasn’t easy to accept,” she admitted.Claudia eventually heard about a Rehabilitation Centre that was situated at Oronoque Street, Georgetown, and soon after started taking her son there twice weekly. He was one-year-old at the time.However, because of her teaching career she couldn’t continue taking the time to travel all the way to Georgetown to attend sessions. As such she decided that everything she learned at the Rehabilitation facility she would practice with Denbert at home. She even decided to set up a mirror, similar to what she saw at the Centre, so that he could see himself as she helped him learn to walk.Claudia also acquired a go-cart which, according to her,Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020, also helped in her attempt to develop his motor skills.It all paid off, because by the time he was five years old Denbert, though nothing like a normal child, was able to walk on his own.“He was slumped over, had his head descended, but he was walking…” said Claudia, who regarded the day her son started walking as “my big day.”However, the screams and the constant drooling did not subside and there still wasn’t much support from the community.“It just was not a natural thing for people in the community to see a differently-able child, but I had to be there for him and I used to let it appear as if it was alright…I had to be more than a mother to Denbert; I had to make the sacrifice and I wasn’t prepared to let go.”Potty training was an extraordinarily difficult task, but eventually he was able to get a hang of it, Claudia reflected.Although he seemed incapable of talking, she was encouraged by the fact that her son was walking and made the bold step of taking him to the school where she taught. And much to her amazement, many of the teachers accepted him, but that wasn’t true for several parents whose children were attending the school. Some were in fact very sarcastic in their remarks when making reference to Denbert.And by the age of 11, the Head Teacher of the school was not too willing to have him remain there any longer; after all he was way past the recommended age limit for such an institution.However, Claudia’s spirit was certainly not daunted, in fact she got even more ambitious and decided to request of the then Head Master of the Dem Amstel Primary School to accommodate Denbert there. The response was favourable,Cheap Baseball Jerseys Shirts, which was perhaps due to the fact that he had an aunt teaching at the school.During this period, Claudia was able to complete her studies at the Teachers’ Training College and she applied for a transfer to the Den Amstel School to be close to her son. By this time, she recalled that the squint in Denbert’s eyes had disappeared and his ability to do little things was noticeably improved.He was accepted in the school environment,Cheap China Jerseys, as children were taught to respect and help him. They had gotten so accustomed to his presence that he was even included at playtime. “Even now when some young men see him they would sing to him ‘hands up and take a five…, are you ready? Let’s go, Denbert,’ and he responds to them,” said an evidently elated Claudia.She is confident that her son was able to learn a great deal, even two times tables, during his time in school.He remained at Den Amstel Primary until he was 28 years old, a decision he made all on his own, because his favourite teacher had left on Whitley Council leave.Today, Denbert remains dependent on his mother, who sacrificed everything, even her marriage, to continue to care for him.Although retired from teaching conventional school, Claudia continues to embrace her God-given gift to help children with varying forms of disability at her home,Authentic NCAA Jerseys Cheap, as she continues to show her only son unconditional love, the way God intended.And according to her,Cheap Shoes Free Shipping, he is a most loving son.She recalled being diagnosed with diabetes and quite unwell for a period, in 2002. Discerning her condition, Claudia recounted how her physically challenged son would awake each hour of the night and pray for her in his own way. Today her diabetes is in remission and she and her son have a bond that only a mother and son who understand each other can have.“Taking care of Denbert hasn’t been easy, but I am glad that I was given the privilege to do this because more than anything I believe he is my guardian angel,” a confident Claudia asserted. |
