Monday, September 17, 2012

Becky Loves Her Papa

A couple of weeks ago, my wonderful husband accompanied me to southern New Mexico for a visit with Becky.  I'm going to try to describe the amount of excitement, anticipation and pure joy Becky expressed about her "Papa".  

During one of our nightly phone calls, Becky asked if Papa was going to be coming with me during my next visit.  I told her "yes, he is" and was treated to a long, happy shriek lasting at least ten seconds.  Sure, it's nice that her mom was coming to see her, but the REAL thrill was that Papa was coming.  

When Becky first met Frank, they formed an instant bond.  We had gone to Frank's restaurant following a Special Olympics Bowling tournament.  He treated her to a good supper and spoiled her with dessert. After eating, we loaded Becky onto her van...or rather, we TRIED to load Becky onto her van.  The wheelchair lift got stuck in mid-air.  We had a long wait for the "van guy" so Frank got into his truck and retrieved his Dallas Cowboys blanket (a truly coveted treasure).  He covered Becky and tucked the blanket into her wheelchair.  Becky felt so cared for and special...she talked about it for months afterwards.  

Over time, she was much more interested in talking with Papa on the phone than anyone else. She'd call me and ask "how's Papa?". If she could figure out he was there in the room with me, it was all over.  She HAD to talk with Papa.  Sometimes it is a challenge to get Becky to talk and keep up her side of a conversation; but not with Papa.  All of a sudden, she is full of questions and finding ways to make the call last longer.  They have a fun little game at the end of their phone calls where they keep saying goodbye to each other - louder and louder, sillier and sillier. They both love it!

Anyone who knows Becky knows that she is a terrific hugger.  When Becky hugs you, you feel it for hours! We have all learned to have Becky hug us with her right arm so that we can eventually get away.  If she hugs someone with her left arm, that person is going to be there a while.  Becky always hugs Papa with both arms.  

So, back to our last visit...  We arrived at Becky's home about half an hour before she was scheduled to get home from dayhab.  We made ourselves comfy with me at her computer doing a clean-up and Frank sitting on the sofa in the living room.  Becky came into the apartment and immediately saw my Sonic drink on the counter. "Mom!"  She wheeled over to me at the computer and gave me a huge (right armed) hug.  Lots of kisses were given and received.  I told her to turn around; that's when she spotted her Papa.  SHRIEKS! SQUEALS! "PAPA!!!!!!"   Crazy driving into the living room followed by lots of (left armed) hugs.  She didn't let him out of her sight until it was time for us to leave.  As we were about to leave, Becky gave Papa a special gift.  A stuffed bear wearing Dallas Cowboys uniform.  Yes, they have a strong, very special bond.



2 comments:

  1. That is so nice--glad they have bonded so well!!

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  2. Your story is so heartwarming!! I am glad I took sone time to finally read some if your blogs. Thank you for sharing!!

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