Voice Of A Silent Heart

Family's Hope (Winner)

This entry is submitted for Wattpad Contest and Challenges : May 2022 for the prompt- Family that grows together.

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A Family is the pillar of your strength. A family is the string that binds you together. A family is the light that ignites you. Also family is the crutch during your hard times.
Therefore family is not just a word but the whole world.

It is a known fact that life as a mother is beautiful but not easy. Women all around the globe cherish being a mother. They dream of the day when they will hold their baby in their arms. The day a woman decides to have a baby, she falls in love with her young one. For a mother her baby is the essence of her life. The happiness of that child will always be at the back of her mind. She would go to the ends of the earth to protect that baby.

And just like every mother out there, I did the same thing for my baby.

I have been married for twelve years now with two children, a girl and a boy. By god's grace I have got a beautiful family. My girl, Sara is ten years old as she happily lives her young and carefree life. And my son, Sam is seven years old who is also living a happy life but isn't able to enjoy all the gifts God has blessed us with.

Sam can't hear or speak. He is deaf and mute since his birth.

First when we got to know about his medical condition, it devastated us. I started to blame myself for not being careful during my pregnancy. It broke me apart but my husband, David stood beside me like a rock. He talked to me as slowly my guilt started subsiding and we mutually agreed to fight this battle together.

We promised to help our child in every possible way we could. But we will never let him feel inadequate or alone. He is our child and we love him. There was no other option but to become strong and move forward because we are a family that grows together.

After multiple visits to specialists for two years after his birth, we were finally ready with a plan. Sam was going to have implants which will aid him in listening and speaking. He had three surgeries in total in the span of another two years and now he was ready for the next phase.

The Doctors had done their job and now it was our turn. After the implants Sam needed to learn to speak with the help of teaching aids and therapy classes meant for kids like him. But mainly it was our patience and time that was needed to help Sam lead a normal life.

From that day on my first priority was to take care of Sam. My husband and daughter would also help as much as they could but they had to attend office and school respectively.

So I stood up to the challenge and took it upon myself to teach Sam the art of speaking and listening.

I even enrolled myself in an online class so that I know what I am doing and how I can help my child further in his therapy.

There were times when Sam would get frustrated with all the exercises, he would start throwing things all over the place. These times were the hardest because it made me angry too. It became hard for me to hold on to him when he couldn't even understand me. Most of the time, I ended up crying myself at the end of his terrorizing agony.

But after a year or two I always controlled myself for the sake of my child because I understood his frustration over new things. I would wash my face, give him his favorite treat and put on the TV. I loved cartoons, they always calm him, maybe because he could understand them without actually hearing anything.

I learnt that patience is the only solution.

Sometimes he would sit in a corner without uttering a single word. He would ignore every attempt to make him laugh or respond in any manner. His dejected look made me question myself, what if I am not doing enough? What will I do if he starts hating me?

These times I would sit near him and start talking to him about mundane things or read a story. I would act normal and in a soothing voice I kept on reading until he responded in any kind of way. Doctors told us that he may not understand everything but after his surgeries he can listen to what we say in some capacity. So we continued to hope and never treated him any differently than our daughter.

We just made sure that he is never alone among people who don't understand him or treat him any differently because of his condition.

Slowly and steadily Sam started picking up small words, they were not clear as they should be but it was enough for us to dare to hope for more. It was progress and we couldn't ask for anything else. I started homeschooling him at the best of my capability along with his regular therapy sessions.

During all this time we made our home environment positive and encouraging for him. We started communicating to him more in easy words that he would understand and feel a part of the conversation. We never let him feel left out or lonely. We encourage him to speak more rather than pointing towards the things he wants.

We always try to keep up his morale by appreciating his hard work and treat him with a million dollar smile.

It was not easy, it's a battle we fight everyday, still do after all these years. But we do it because we are a family that grows together.

There are a few words that I have written in regards to a Family-

The person who has the love of a family,
Rich or poor, he will go through life happily,
Evan at the time of a calamity!!!

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I am proud to announce that this story was selected as the winning piece. Thank you so much ComeAndSitWithUs for the opportunity and motivation. I really appreciate it.

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