Introduction
Disease and deformity, both words that strike fear into the hearts of expectant parents. They are things that happen to other people. This is a story about one of those "other" people and one of those "other" families.
Mitchell Grant
Thompson was born November 7th 1994 at St. Joseph's Hospital in London Ontario Canada at 3:08 a.m. He is the son of Lynda Colleen and Grant Ralph Irwin Thompson. The Thompson's currently reside in London Ontario.
Their son, they all affectionately call Mitchy, had just one noticeable problem when he was born and that being a herniated belly button, which Doctors said would most likely need fixed before Mitchy turned five years old.
The only other odd thing about Mitchy's birth, was the absence of the family gynecologist, Dr. Frasier Fellows, who was out of town when their son was born but that would not be what would bring the Thompson's world crashing down. There was no other indication that anything was wrong with Mitchy or that he would soon be diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy shortly after birth.
Lynda and Grant had already been blessed by the births of two daughters, Brandy May and Brittany Marie. In fact, the couple had no plans to have any more children when Lynda found out she was pregnant with a third child.
Now this unexpected news brought with it a mixed bag of emotions. Grant, who loves sports of any kind, was thrilled with the idea of having a son to coach someday, a boy to carry on the family name and a son to share his love of sports with. Yes, a son running around the house would fit right in.
With Lynda, it became a roller coaster ride of emotions. She was elated that she had given her husband the son he had always wanted, still, she would have been happy with another daughter as long as the baby was healthy. When Mitchy was born all seemed normal except for the herniated belly button.
When Mitchy neared the age of five months however, Lynda noticed several odd things about her son, which prompted her to seek out medical help. She noticed her son did not look to the left at all and would not look at his left hand. When Lynda would dress him, she would notice that his left arm seemed tighter than the right one.
When Doctors gave the Thompson's the bad news, their happy world came crashing down around them. They were stunned, shocked, terrified and devastated to learn of their son's ailment. Who wouldn't have been?
The couple shared many tears. Lynda cried for weeks following the diagnosis but soon she came to realize one very important thing, she loved Mitchy with all her heart. Nothing would ever change that.
It was at this time in their lives that Lynda and Grant reached the conclusion that they were going to be strong, together. They were going to be the best Mom and Dad they could possibly be. What else could they do? This is Lynda's story of how they deal with Cerebral Palsy as told to Lynda's friend Jeff Parkin.
