The Inspirational Legacy of Helen Keller’s Parents
For Parents with Children with Disabilities
Take a walk with me back to the days of 1882.
We walk into a stuffy room lit by flickering candles that stink rather than scent. There really isn’t enough room for the furniture — a crowded amalgamation of a sofa, table, and chairs, a writing desk, and a crib.
A doctor takes center stage, a stark figure overstuffed with seriousness, standing over a tiny baby laying on the table.
The parents, tense with anticipation, stood on the opposite side of the table, their eyes fixated on the doctor’s every move.
The doctor finally tore his gaze away from the infant and turned to face the anxious parents.
With a deliberateness that amplified the gravity of his words, he said “Your child is completely deaf”. After a short silence that seemed oppressive, he continued. “And the fever will soon rob her of her eyesight. Your child will never again hear or see.”
It was as if the walls themselves were closing in and constricting the life out of the mother, as she reached for her husband. The father himself, with trembling hands, reached out for the table to steady himself.
