An Essay of Faith, Perserverance, and Hard Work

Abstract

I will start at the beginning. I was born on Saturday, September 11, 1971, at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. My parents noticed that I was not developing as quickly as they expected. They also noticed that I was not getting over certain fears that other normally developing children usually get over by age 2 or 3. Some of those fears were toilets flushing, fireworks (although today some people tell me that this is a legitimate concern as opposed to a fear and it may be both), race cars, and the like. As a result, I was taken to the Developmental Evaluation Center in early 1973 where my parents were told that I was moderately retarded which really did not fit me at all. They also had been told that I needed to be placed in a special school for children with mental retardation. In early 1974, I was sent to Frankie Lemmon School to receive the best help possible with my “diagnosis” of moderate retardation. I went therefor 3 years and I improved to the point where I was able to go to public school. When my parents and teachers told me about this, I was Ecstatic! Now, some of you out there must be thinking: “Great! No more problems! He’s living happily ever after!” I am sorry to dash that thought, but that was not the case.