288 chapter 34
cp ENRIQUE’S STORY
Enrique had a difficult birth. He was
The village workers helped Enrique’s
born blue and limp. He did not start
family make a special chair for him, with
breathing for about 3 minutes. As a result,
a cushion and hip strap to help him sit in
he developed severe cerebral palsy. His
a good position. They taught his mother
body became stiff and made strange
and sister how to help him sit in a way that
movements that he could not control. His
would keep his body from stiffening so
head often twisted to one side and he had
much.
trouble swallowing.
special
cushion
(See p. 609.)
Later, they added
wheels to the chair.
To protect him, his mother kept
him on the floor in a corner.
Enrique’s mother loved him and cared for
him as best she could. But as the years went
by, he did not gain any control of his body.
His mother kept him on the floor in a corner
so that he would not hurt himself. He spent
most of his young life lying on his back, legs
stiffly crossed like scissors, head pressed
back, looking up at the roof and the mud brick
walls. By age 3 he had learned to speak a
few words, but with great difficulty. By age
6 he spoke only a little more. He cried a lot,
had temper tantrums, and did not control
his bowels or bladder. In many ways he
remained like a baby. A visiting nurse called
him ‘retarded’. Still lying alone in the corner,
Enrique grew increasingly withdrawn. At
age seven—if his mother understood him
correctly—he asked her for a gun to kill
himself.
Soon after this, Enrique’s mother and his
older sister took him to a team of village
rehabilitation workers in a neighboring
village. The workers realized that he would
probably never have much control of his
hands and legs. But he desperately needed
to communicate more with other people
and see what was going on around him,
to be included in the life of his family and
village. But how could he do this lying on
his back? His
mother had tried
many times to sit
him in a chair, but
his body would
stiffen and he
would fall off or
cry.
With his new chair, Enrique was able to
sit and watch everything that was going on
around him. He was excited and began to
take more interest in things. He could also sit
at the table and eat with the family (although
his mother still had to feed him). Everyone
talked to him and soon he began to talk
more. Although his words were difficult to
understand, he tried very hard. In time, he
spoke a little more clearly. He also began to
tell people when he had to use his toilet. He
discovered he was no longer a baby, and did
not want to be treated as one.
Every day Enrique’s sister and brother
went to school. One day Enrique begged
to go too, and they pushed him there in his
chair. Soon he went every day, and began to
learn to read. Enrique had begun to develop
more control of his head. The village workers
helped the teacher make a book holder
attached to
Enrique’s
chair, and a
head band
with a wire
arm so that he
could turn the pages.
A happier and fuller life had begun for
Enrique.
Disabled village Children