The Ghost Behind the Wheelchair - Softcover

Darnell, Lila Ridings

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1403315892 ISBN 13: 9781403315892

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2002

Synopsis

Sudden paralysis is a circumstance no one wishes to get intimatelyfamiliar with, but such tragedies do unfortunately occur.¿ In my own experience, I've learned that amother will search desperately for the tools of education whenever they'rerequired, but when my son was involved in a life-changing accident, I couldfind no shared experiences written of by another parent.¿ After living through the experience of theaccident's aftermath and the many months of rehabilitation, I was eventuallyable to sit down and put words onto paper in the hope that another mother wouldone day find my experience helpful during their own times of learning andsearching.That immediate past so suddenly lost, without preparation of any kind,brought my old son into focus at the same time as my mind was trying to meetthe new one-who was in many ways a stranger based on the physical limitationsand changes now present in his life. During this time is when I met the ghost--and the handsome man in the wheelchair.¿I was determined to do so positively, but had no instruction book on thenew parenting needs.¿ We learnedtogether, all of us who loved my son, and I can now see that part of the lessonis that the ghost leaves us in his own time as we learn to let him go.There is no one-means or one-method lesson book.¿ I have tried as honestly as I can to sharemy experience as a mother.¿ My attemptis supported by my courageously inspiring son who was the motivator and teacherin many ways and by his younger brother who shared commitment and devotion withme.¿ At the end of our story-which istruly a beginning of another-our lives are full and blessings continue toenrich our times together.The goal of this book is that the reader will findsomething that will take them through Hell Week to the start of their lovedone's new life with more hope and confidence.¿Many have contributed to our progress; I hope I may contribute to thehopefulness of others in similar circumstances.

About this title

About the Author:

Lila Leona Ridings Darnell was born and raised in the rolling, wooded hills of Terrapin Ridge, a rural area outside of Greenville, Illinois. The youngest of eight children, she grew up just down the hill from the church she, her family and all the families of the other area homesteaders attended. At their late ages, her strict father and mother were a little softer on their baby girl than they'd been with her older siblings. Her father Urban Lee was a millwright in the steel mills of Granite City who loved reading and discussing the Bible and was a gifted writer, and her mother Beatrice cooked, sewed and quilted a wonderful if simple life for her family. 'Lila Lee' was married in February, 1961, before graduating high-school in the spring of 1962. Her first son, Scott Alan, became the pride and joy of both of his parents and a large, loving family on September 23, 1963. The young Darnell family traveled much in pursuit of work, settling briefly in Iowa and Florida in between return moves to Greenville. Along the way another son, Roger Kent, was born, on May 5, 1966. Having received the writing gift from her father, Lila learned to tap the well often as a means for dealing with life's joys, challenges and hardships. In 1974, she became a single-mother, raising two very active boys while navigating a career as an administrator and while learning of the unprotected world beyond marriage.During the years when her boys were growing into men, her blood, sweat and tears were all set down in volumes of verses, many of which have been destroyed and buried along with the more difficult memories. What remains is a strong mother and an independent woman, who enjoys a special solace and strength every day from her knowledge of the two sons she helped to raise and the lives they've built from their bonds of love and experience.Still compelled to write both fiction and verse, the writing of this book was yet another example of the way Ms. Ridings Darnell has used writing as a ther

About this edition

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1403315892
• ISBN 13: 9781403315892
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120