Adolf's Story: Spring Break

Ahhh…spring break! This year is the first year I have children in elementary school (Hunter is in Kindergarten and Adolf in Fourth Grade) and I realize that spring break is actually a tease! I can feel the excitement and fun of summer just around the corner, but we still have two and a half months left of school. The official summer countdown has begun. I look forward to the seemingly endless days at the pool, beach, friends, and no schedule!

Adolf continues to do very well. He has Physical Therapy three times per week and still sees Dr. Grossman on a weekly basis for follow up visits. He wears his leg splints during the night to keep his legs from contracting while he is sleeping, but during the day he is a regular active kid! It brings me such joy to see him run, ride bikes, climb trees, and participate in everyday activities that were difficult or impossible for him before his surgeries. It is truly a miracle of God that everything has been so smooth.

Do you want to see something absolutely adorable? Look at the picture below! Yes, that is our Adolf in a tuxedo and very proud of himself too!

Adolf in a tux ready for the Children's Burn Foundation Gala

Adolf and another burn victim at the Gala

Scott, Adolf, and I at the Gala

Uncle Laine and Adolf at the gala

Each year the Children’s Burn Foundation hosts their annual Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to raise money to pay for the surgeries and rehabilitation for children burn victims both domestically and internationally. In addition, the foundation works closely with schools and other organizations on burn prevention education. The Gala is a very important fundraising event for the foundation and we were so thrilled to attend. Scott and I had been working with Adolf on how to greet adults, shake hands, and have good table manners and Adolf performed brilliantly. People said he was so well mannered and was a miniature James Bond. We were very proud of him. We also meet another young boy in the United States undergoing burn surgeries. He and Adolf sat next to each other at dinner and it was wonderful to watch the two of them connect. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to all the donors to the Children’s Burn Foundation. Without their financial support, this miracle would not have happened.

A week after the Gala, we got to dress up again! This time it was for Uncle Laine’s LA5 Rotary Club. He was the keynote speaker and was speaking about his work in Uganda and Adolf’s story. It was at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles, so again Adolf dressed up in a suit and practiced his “grown-up” manners. Again, he did amazing. I was beaming with pride. Laine did a great job telling Adolf’s story and was even awarded the special Rotary Service Award for 2012. The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self” and he truly exhibited this with all the work he has accomplished in Uganda.

After the Rotary luncheon, a guest at the club sat down with Adolf and gave him an impromptu piano lesson

One night when Eva was away on an overnight with one of the Uganda Mission members, the family was eating dinner and Adolf was particularly active and talkative, Hunter (my six year- old) asked him, “Why did your auntie burn you?” Scott and I were both quite shocked, and immediately focused our attention on Adolf, not sure what to do next. Adolf replied in a fairly relaxed manner, “My auntie tied my hands to my legs like this. [Gestured with his hands and legs to show them tied in front of him.] Then she put me on fire banana leaves. I scream and scream. Neighbor come and take me to hospital. Doctor could not help my legs. When I wake up, my legs don’t work. They just don’t work anymore. Then my auntie was gone and I had to ask people for food.” Wow. To hear it from Adolf himself was very powerful. Even with the still emerging English language. I was personally amazed how he was able to describe it in such a detached manner. He seemed fairly comfortable speaking about it and my son asked a few more questions like, “Did it hurt?” and “Who took care of you?” He answered them all in the same tone, without anger, sadness, or other emotion. It almost seemed like he was talking about someone else. This horrendous thing happened to him and he was describing it like he was telling us about a trip to the zoo. He did say, “I see it in my eye sometimes. When it hurts, I see me on fire again.” It was hard not to scoop him up in my arms and tell him how much we love him. I wanted him to continue to talk with our family without me becoming an emotional bowl of mush. I am not a psychiatrist, but maybe my readers know if his ease of talking about the injury shows signs of healing and acceptance or pain that is still hidden.

Each day is a new adventure for us and as Forest Gump says, “Ya never know what you gonna get.”