Welcome to Spirit Magazine

Fall 2008 Vol 7 / No. 1

Yedei Chesed is a contract agency certified by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

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Dear Editor,

I just wanted to let you know how beautiful and inspiring Esther Markowitz's story was ("A Vision Beyond Vision" Volume 3, Issue 4).

I felt especially touched by the details, because I myself spent a great deal of time together with Esther while we were sitting at our babies’ bedsides. I also have a child who was born with a host of medical challenges. Boruch Hashem, my daughter was repaired surgically and she is an A-okay kid now. However, I sat with Esther when we were both in midtown hospital number 1; we then both transferred to midtown hospital number 2, and we were together for many, many weeks.

Esther is a terrific person; she is a beacon of strength and she is a most wonderful wife and mother. Even in the hospital, with her daughter's life in the balance, she was most loving and 'under control,' considering the circumstances. May the Ribono Shel Olam give her and her family lots of nachas and siyata dishmaya. Hindy is a lucky kid to have landed in this family.

Sarah Sander

Dear Mrs. Kramer,

Thanks for a great publication. My husband and I await each issue eagerly, and we just wish it were a monthly publication, as we derive much chizuk from it. We especially loved the poem written by Dubbie Simon, titled "Misdiagnosed" (Volume 4, Issue 2, page 24). Thank you, Dubbie, for a great piece. Keep those poems coming if you can! We, too, gave birth to a child with Down Syndrome. He is now 2-and-a-half and we feel the same way you do. When he was born, the doctors made us feel like we are taking home a 'monster.' They couldn’t be more wrong! They'd change their tune if they would meet our lichtige neshama, who brings so much light and joy to our home.

Shoshi D.

Dear anonymous author of “A Tribute to Dovid” (Volume 4, Issue 2),

I am a mother of a child who has significant multiple disabilities. We’ve been contemplating finding a family care placement for our child for the past year, as it's become increasingly difficult for our family, with the birth of a new baby several months ago. Of greatest concern to us was the fear that no parent can love and care for a child like his or her biological parents. I kept thinking that a foster parent would be content with our child just the way he his, without pushing him to his maximum potential. Reading your article was an eye opener! The love portrayed in your article washed away most of the concerns we’ve had. The devotion of a non-biological mom, of the likes you’ve portrayed, can actually happen. I'm sorry for your great loss, and I am happy Dovid had the opportunity and z’chus to be in your care for the short while he was.

We now have taken the appropriate measures to have a family care agency help us find an appropriate home for our tzaddik.

Thanks for sharing your story and helping us make this life-altering decision.

Anonymous

Dear M. Schwartz, author of "An Interrupted Life: A Mother's Perspective of Epilepsy" (Volume 4, Issue 1),

Thanks so much for your article. I felt as though you were reading my thoughts as you portrayed your life with a child with epilepsy.

My son, too, was the perfect child until age 11, when he had his first (obvious) seizure. We've spent the last five years running from neurologists to neurosurgeons in search for a treatment or cure for Chaim's uncontrolled seizures. In the interim, his seizures and/or medication have altered his personality immensely. He goes from being withdrawn and depressed to loud, disruptive, and aggressive – even violent at times.

It's difficult watching your child fade away because of the side effects of drugs. Thanks for showing me that I'm not alone!

S.M.

Dear Editor,

Thanks for a great magazine! I look forward to each and every issue. I feel compelled to comment on the article "Mom’s Taxi" by Esther Cohen (Volume 4, Issue 1). We recently had a similar situation, where we spent months looking for a perfect car. Two months after we purchased our SUV, my son was in a terrible accident that left him immobile and requiring a wheelchair. There is no way the specific wheelchair would've fit into any other car we were considering. It took reading your article to open our eyes and show us that there is hashgacha pratis in every step of our lives, including the purchasing of our car! Thanks for making us aware of this.

Anonymous

Dear Editor,

I would love to see more articles written by fathers for fathers. We women somehow manage to network. Most of us have the natural ability to seek help, guidance, and information. Somehow, men find it harder to do so. My husband is in his own world when it comes to our special-needs child. The only support he gets is by reading Spirit! Magazine. He reads and rereads any article written by a father of a special-needs child and marvels with jealousy at their ability to do so. If any men out there are capable of sharing thoughts, feelings, and chizuk, please do so, as you have no clue how many men out there are scanning the pages looking for your words.

A desperate wife!