Rebecca's Voice

One of the greatest challenges that Rebecca faces is the lack of a voice. Her disabilities leave her unable to speak and unable to use her hands for signing. The only recourse she has is to use the few sounds she can make to communicate her current needs and feelings. She can grunt, she can squeal, she can hoot, she can cry, and she can laugh with joy and laugh with anxiety. We heard that last communication sound on Friday night.

In our home, we have one and only one TV. Rebecca loves the TV, since she can enjoy the entertainment on it and not be required to perform any kind of therapy work. It is her form of simple diversion. She enjoys VeggieTales and other cartoons, as well as more "teenager" type of entertainment (i.e. comedies like Cheaper by the Dozen). The one and only TV in our home is one we purchased the same week that we adopted Rebecca. It was over 13 years old and in very poor condition. It did not survive the move to Tamarac and she was very disappointed. Nevertheless, she did not express any frustration. After all, there was more than enough comedy going on in her new home as Mom and Dad went about the task of unpacking all those boxes that got moved on the big yellow truck.

Well, Rebecca is not the only one in the family who enjoys TV. Mom is an avid viewer and Dad enjoys his share of sports programs. We were all somewhat disappointed that the old set did not survive, so we went off as a family to our local Circuit City in search of a TV deal. We found one that met everyone’s satisfaction as well as fit within our budget needs.

About now, you may be wondering what the purchase of a new TV has to do with Rebecca's anxiety laugh. Really, you had to be there, but I will try to explain. The TV is larger than our old set and somewhat heavier. Also, it had to be placed into a cabinet that was just about the same size as the TV. In other words, there was not much room to navigate getting the TV into the cabinet. Rebecca laughed with pleasure as we purchased the TV. She laughed with comic relief as we fumbled with the box and all its stuffing materials. That was somewhat egged on by Dad's over exaggeration of the unpacking process. However, as Mom and Dad struggled with the TV in trying to get it into the right place in the cabinet, Rebecca started with her anxiety induced laughing. She was so worried that she almost got to the point here she was going to cry. You see, even though Rebecca cannot walk, cannot talk, cannot deliberately use her hands, she has a clear understanding of her parents priorities. She knows that there was a 13-year gap between the last new TV purchase and this one. She heard Dad say that this new TV would have to last 20 years. From her prospective, if Mom and Dad got clumsy with the task of installing this TV, she was going to be without a TV for a long, long time.

Happily enough, Mom and Dad were able to get the TV into the cabinet without any mishaps. Rebecca's anxiety laughter immediately converted into her happy laughter. A few minutes later and the cable TV and DVD player were hooked up to the TV and life in the Brown home was once again looking good.

Isn’t it amazing how God has gifted us all with our own special and unique way of communicating? The challenge for each of us is to be open to listening to others in ways that may not be easily understood initially, but will yield great understanding if we are willing to invest the time.