Facing The Impossible With God Brings Stories Of Hope
How do I explain what it was like to learn that my child has autism? This question always makes me think of when 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell into a well. There are so many similarities.
Baby Jessica
ABC13 Houston. (2021, October 14)
*Information used with the permission of Chip McClure
Jessica was playing in the yard one minute and gone the next. When Jessica’s mom, “Cissy,” realized it, she couldn’t believe it! The well had been covered by a heavy rock. Cissy tried desperately to reach her…but couldn’t! She screamed for help and called 911!
Jessica’s dad, Chip, was told while at work. He couldn’t believe that she had fallen into an 8-inch opening.
Neighbors came.
Police came.
Firefighters came.
Paramedics came.
A volunteer from an assistance program came for parental support.
They could hear Jessica crying but could not reach her!
Jessica was eight feet below ground. A backhoe began digging but the vibrations caused her to sink to 22 feet. A microphone was lowered into the well to hear any sounds from Jessica.
When Chip arrived, he still couldn’t believe this was possible. A police officer let Chip listen through his headphones. He heard Jessica crying. The shock of it hit him hard. He dropped to his knees and prayed in desperation. He suddenly felt peace and knew that Jessica would be alright.
A new plan was made to use a machine that is normally used in oil fields. There “happened” to be one close by. This machine was used to dig a shaft, five feet away, parallel to the one Jessica was in.
Doctors said that in order for Jessica to survive, they would need to have her out the well within 36 hours. They were close to that time limit.
They still had to dig a cross shaft to get to her. But, the drill hit hard rock and progress stalled until they could get diamond bits. They were delivered free of charge.
Other necessities were also delivered free of charge. One man gave Chip a hundred-dollar bill. He just wanted to do something to help. An elderly woman gave a peso. These gifts touched Chip’s heart deeply.
When the workers broke through to the shaft where Jessica was, a paramedic worked hard for hours to get her out. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough room to do it.
Suddenly, a man came up to Chip and said that he knew of a hydro drill that would be able to cut through the hard rock quickly. They just had to find a way to get it there in time.
He and Chip started making phone calls. An Air Force Colonel connected them with a Fed Ex executive and the drill was delivered.
The hydro drill did indeed cut through the rock quickly. The paramedic went back down and was able to free baby Jessica!
It was the right machine at just the right time!
There was still a long road ahead, but they were thankful to have their daughter back!
Click here to read more about Jessica
Hannah
My Story
My daughter, Hannah, didn’t fall into a hole in the ground. But she regressed into autism. She developed normally for 18-19 months.
Then suddenly…
She lost all her language skills.
She had meltdowns that lasted for hours.
She would hit her head repeatedly.
She would pull her hair out.
She had terrible digestive issues.
Hospital visits were frequent.
My husband, Dan, and I felt so helpless! Our hearts cried, “Somebody help us to help our child!” We were losing her and couldn’t reach her!
Once, at the E.R., Hannah stopped breathing. We had to leave the room while they resuscitated her. She was then airlifted to a larger more equipped hospital that was hours away by car. I was so distraught.
But, when the helicopter took off, I felt like God was saying that the power it took to lift that helicopter was nothing compared to the power He would use in Hannah’s behalf. I felt peace and knew she was going to be okay.
Doctors ran tests but didn’t find anything. One night, I woke out of a sound sleep and remembered a book about a girl with autism I read years earlier. I knew: this is autism.
Dan was a truck driver and was on the road when Hannah had another “episode.” I gave her mouth-to-mouth. My oldest daughter called 911. Back to the E.R. we went.
Hannah was sent to the other hospital again by ambulance. Her nurse and I rode with her. During the next episode, the nurse put the back of my hand to Hannah’s mouth. I felt her breath!
When we arrived, the nurse gave me $20. She saw that I didn’t have my purse. I was so touched by her kindness!
The head pediatrician said that Hannah had a seizure disorder, but there was “something more globally going on.” I told him I was sure it was autism. He advised us not to label her with that, “because autism is a bad word.” He suggested placing her in a home, because “kids like this eat families alive.” We knew that wasn’t the right answer for her.
My sister had a friend whose neighbor had a son with autism and was receiving Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The friend connected her neighbor and I and told me about ABA. This was in 1999 before ABA was well-known!
She told us about ABA and helped us arrange a 2-day evaluation with specialists.
Hannah was diagnosed with autism and began receiving ABA. We noticed a positive difference by the end of the first week!
It was the right program at just the right time!
There was still a long road ahead, but we were thankful that we were getting our daughter back!
Click here to read more about Hannah