It Takes a Village

This entry is from Lincoln's grandmother.


I know that it really doesn’t take a village to raise Lincoln, but Sam and Liz like to let me think it does. Larry and I live in Amarillo and since the day Lincoln was born, I have marshaled his Amarillo team. We talk about Lincoln and they make all kinds of suggestions for his therapy, his eating and his overall success in life. I will never forget the day I ran into the 3 pediatric therapists in the hall outside my office and of course, we were discussing Lincoln. I mentioned that he did not want to eat from a spoon and we called Sam right there in the hallway and the occupational therapist talked to Sam (whom she has never met) for 20 minutes to share great tricks to introduce food in a non-threatening way. And, may I add, she was right. They worked!
      
The sweetest assistance Lincoln got from his Amarillo team came when the Pediatric physical therapist told me that the greatest thing Lincoln has going for him is a grandmother who prays. Lincoln gets a double dose of that. Kathy Nite (his maternal grandmother) probably matches my prayers word for word. When he was born, I prayed for him from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet and all of the organs in between. I would fall asleep praying for Lincoln and jerk awake at 2:15 to say “Sorry, God. Where were we? Oh yes, let’s talk about those hip joints.”

These same therapists introduced us to a wonderful catalogue that they use for therapy. It enables us to order any piece of equipment that Sam and Liz deem necessary for Lincoln’s development. Their house and backyard show proof of how successful these pieces have been. From the platform swing on the fort to the clacking alligators that introduced him to walking, from the balance ball to the mesh tunnel, the Amarillo team made a huge difference as Sam and Liz used these pieces to make therapy fun.

One life saving part of our Amarillo team was the buyer in purchasing at our hospital. I told her all about Lincoln and showed her his one month picture and naturally, she was charmed. I told her that he had become totally hooked on one very specific nipple for his bottle and refused to drink from any other kind of nipple. His nipple of choice was not sold in the retail world, so she volunteered to donate 1,000 nipples from the supplier to Lincoln and we had the pleasure of sending them and crates of donated formula by UPS to his highness who was going to starve without them! (or at least we thought he was going to starve)


The most reassuring part of Lincoln’s team comes from the pediatric nurses at our hospital. They have always told me that we would all fall madly in love with Lincoln and of course, that is what happened. They reassured me that medical advances will make Lincoln’s life so much easier than those who came before him and they are right.


The best part of Lincoln’s team spreads far beyond Amarillo’s borders. We have the coolest and the quirkiest family you can imagine. Our family comes from all over, but when we get together, it is hard for Lincoln’s butt to ever hit the ground, because some aunt, uncle or cousin has him up in their arms to flirt with him or just snuggle with him.

I know that our team is not there to enjoy the day in and the day out life with Lincoln. But, I firmly believe that it does take a village and I am so proud of our village and wish we could do more.