Michael 

 August 7, 1977- 

 Michael came into this world on a Sunday at 5:52 AM at 7lbs 4oz and 17 inches long. He was WIDE AWAKE and looking as if he had a "mission". Just after the delivery, the doctor (who had the bedside manner of a Nazi) rudely announced, 

"THERE is something WRONG with this child." 

No mother wants to hear those words - I kept trying to look. I was so afraid and was starting to panic.  The Physician treated me as if I had personally done this to "ruin" his day, and immediately told the nurse to "shut her up", and with that, they covered my mouth with anesthesia. I was OUT. 

When I awoke, it was true! 

My firstborn child had a rare bone dysplasia that resulted in dwarfism.  He had club feet and small lungs, he wouldn't suck and had to be gavage fed. 

This was such a shock. I was devastated and was not prepared at all. Then again, how could one be prepared - back during a time when there was no need for diagnostic tests if this was your first child - there was no indication this would be a concern after a healthy pregnancy.  

They sent me home where I grieved the "normal" child I believed I was going to have. I was 23 years old. There were phone calls to make. Not only was I upset but the first-time Grandparents on both sides were shocked. No one could understand how and why this happened. I was not a religious person. As a teenager, I dabbled in witchcraft, the occult, astrology, and numerology. I did all of that. I grew up in the 60's and 70's - we all did that back then. At times I identified with agnosticism. Sometimes out of pure rebellion, I identified as an Atheist.  At one time, I believed I was a witch. A good witch, of course. 

During Michael's birth, I felt a DIVINE presence. Was it the God of the Universe, and was HE punishing me for all the "wrongs" I had done in my life? I believed it was - God was punishing me and through this child. Funny, that it was the God I never really believed in, yet He was the one punishing me. 

Retribution theology is the idea that you get what you deserve. God sees to it that the good people get good things in life, and the bad people get bad things. God punishes people in this world in direct response to their actions. Retribution theology says, for example, if you get cancer, it’s a sign that God is punishing you for something bad you’ve done. If your business prospers, it’s a sign that God is pleased with you. Retribution theology is thus an overly simplistic interpretation of life events that makes assumptions about God’s intentions. 

Retribution theology is countered in Scripture. The fact is that not all good people are rewarded with good things in this life (Job and Paul are notable examples). And not all wicked people receive punishment immediately; otherwise, we wouldn’t have questions like “How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?” in Psalm 94:3 (cf. Psalm 73:2–16). King Ahab was one of the wickedest kings ever to defame a throne, yet he reigned twenty-two years in Samaria (1 Kings 16:29). Twenty-two years of luxury for the evil king, while the righteous in Israel were being persecuted; there weren’t many believers in retribution theology in Ahab’s day. 

Well-meaning Christian people would tell me about the sins of the Father and the previous sinful generations. Little did they know, they brought with them their retribution theology just as Job's friends did when they came to speak to him in his misery. They told me it would be hard to raise a child like him. They said it would be hard for him in school, etc. Life sure did not look promising. There were so many unknowns with this child. I knew absolutely nothing about dwarfism and the physical limitations of his rare form. 

Meanwhile, I grew more and more in love with this little guy. Michael was the apple of my eye, the light of my life! He was a little blessing. 

After the first year, We joined Little People of America. LPA) is a nonprofit organization that provides support and information to people of short stature and their families.  I started receiving good support. I saw other average-sized families with dwarf children living their normal lives and that is what I wanted for our family. I was determined to be the BEST MOM for Michael. I wanted to raise him as normal as possible. By this time, he had 2 younger brothers, who he loved and was very proud of being the BIG "little" Brother!  For a short time, we did have a storybook family - Lived in a nice home, a nice family-oriented neighborhood, and a nice school in Silicon Valley.  Michael had many good friends and did well in school. Everyone loved Michael and enjoyed his wit and sense of humor. He was a talented writer. He loved sports, especially stats, that he could rattle off with the best of any fan and his favorite teams were the San Francisco 49ers, Giants, Golden State Warriors, and San Jose Sharks. He adored Joe Montana and Will Clark of the Giants. 

I've often wondered, what field he would have gone into had he lived. It so happens one of his best friends told me that, they had talked about running an online sports page - Kevin went on to do it and there is no doubt in my mind, that Michael would have been a part of it. The page is now well known, with sports writers from all over the country. You don't have to be tall to be able to love sports and talk about it. 

Our Testimony