The Heart's Voice
Page 18
The sound of a heart speaking was a beautiful thing.
Dear Reader,
Hearing impairment is a serious issue in my family. In 1996 my beautiful niece Hillary gave birth under very trying circumstances that even involved airlifting her newborn daughter a hundred miles away to a special hospital. After fearing that our Madison wouldn’t survive or could do so only with extreme medical problems, we thanked God to find that her sole impairment was loss of hearing. What a blessing she’s been to us!
Her parents have always treated Madi as the perfectly normal child she is, so our darling not only speaks normally, reads on grade level, enjoys television and, yes, even music, she’s also made significant accomplishments in her young life that few hearing children have achieved. Last year, her parents allowed her to enroll in competitive cheerleading, and her team went on to win two national championships in the mini-tot division. Madison herself won the American’s Elite National Championship for Individual Dance at the age of six in Kansas City, Kansas. A world champion at six! How’s that for inspiration?
As Madi could tell you, love, strong support, hard work and prayer can overcome any personal challenge, which is Dan Holden’s message for us in this book. Like Dan, Madi knows she’s “challenged,” and that’s sometimes daunting, but—also like Dan—our little rosebud has bloomed huge under the bright light of personal accomplishment. I hope you enjoy their story. And look out, world, here comes Madison Bowles! (Go get ’em, baby.)
God Bless,
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1059-2
THE HEART’S VOICE
Copyright © 2004 by Deborah Rather
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*Everyday Miracles