Sean T. - Quilt Finished in 2005
Born: June 15, 2000
Illness: Hydrocephaly, ADHD
A Thank you from Sean's Family!
Written October 15, 2005
Cathy, how do we ever thank Love Quilts and ALL the talented stitchers for the beautiful love quilts my children were gifted with today. Thank you also for sharing your family and delivering these in person as this was an extra special gift to our family. I am still in awe this evening as I looked at each individual square and can't imagine the patience of each quilter as they so lovingly labored to make these masterpieces for our kiddos. I am the world's most uncrafty person and couldn't sew a seam let alone create what you brought today. Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart for the special gifts for 3 of our children. I know they will cherish them for the rest of their lives. As the mom to many special needs children YOU HAVE ALL TOUCHED MY HEART IN A WAY YOU WILL NEVER KNOW. LQ and Stitchers will forever hold a special spot in my heart as I watch 3 of our 10 children daily lavish in the love and warmth given so generously and unconditionally. Thank you and God bless each and every one of you.
Love, Sue T. mom to Brent, Kim and Sean T. amongst our earthly angels.
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On October 15, 2005 my family and I were able to hand deliver Kim, Brent and Sean's quilts to them. The following was written when I got home that night. I will post this on all 3 kids sites. Cathy - LQ Founder
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Hi all, I am bushed (so keep that in mind as I write this rambling post! LOL), but thought I would come online quickly and let you all know how my day went.
Today we drove about 85 miles into the "thumb" of Michigan to hand deliver Brent, Sean and Kim's (Jessie Kimberly) quilts! We left here about noon, drove and picked up hubby at work as it was on the way and off we went. All who went were... me (of course!), my hubby Jeff, my son Curt, my daughter Kayte, Kayte's friend Taylor and my mom! What a "herd" coming in we were, but with a house full of 10 adopted children, many many cats and kittens, 5 dogs (2 are saint bernards!), outside was rabbits, pigs, goats, ponies... I am sure they didn't even wonder when 6 people piled out of the car in their driveway!
Anyway, we arrived and met everyone. How wonderful everyone was and it was so nice to finally meet them all. Right after we got there and before the kids got their quilts Brent treated us by singing two songs (and later a third), he has a wonderful voice. Brent is totally blind and to barely meet all of us and then sing for us... well, it was amazing and we all had tears in our eyes.
Kim was the first to open her quilt. She hugged and looked at her pillow and then her quilt. With two other siblings waiting to open theirs she didn't spend much time looking at it then, but later, as we were talking, she spread it on the floor and looked at every square.
Sean opened his quilt next. Sean is 5 years old and is very shy and didn't quite know what to make of everything. Although I know he loved his quilt and I am sure will look at it and enjoy it when he is comfortable and alone, we didn't push him too far at the time as you could tell he was very uncomfortable with everyone all watching him. I know he will love it though.
Brent opened his last and could hardly contain himself. He spent a lot of time trying to read the braille beads that were on the pillow and was just beaming when we told him it said "proud american". He fingered his quilt for the longest time and asked if he could put it on his bed. Later he sang the song "proud to be an american" (my hubby thinks it is by Lee Greenwood, but he isn't sure) and it was beautiful!
We all talked and looked at pictures, went downstairs to see their 7 day old kittens, then outside to the barn to look at all the animals. It was a very nice day, one that we all wont forget for a very long time. We took the long way home (ended up going about 220 miles today) to check out some state campgrounds we might want to visit with our new camper next summer. It was a long day, but well worth the trip. They are a wonderful family and we all enjoyed everyone so much!
Take Care, Cathy - Love Quilts
Sean T.'s Story
written by mom Sue
Sean Michael was born June 15th, 2000 and shares his birthday with his sister, Katy. He was an emergency c-section birth and a preemie weighing a mere 3 lbs at birth. When we were contacted about adopting Sean he was headed for a nursing home with a DNR (do not resuscitate order) due to findings from a CT scan done at age one week. He was diagnosed with Lobar Holoprosencephaly.
Holoprosencephaly is a disorder caused by the failure of the prosencephalon (the embryonic forebrain) to sufficiently divide into the double lobes of the cerebral hemispheres. The result is a single-lobed brain structure, severe skull and sometimes facial defects. In most cases of Holoprosencephaly, the malformations are so severe that babies die before birth.
There are three classifications of Holoprosencephaly. Alobar, in which the brain has not divided at all, is usually associated with severe facial deformities. Semilobar, in which the brain's hemispheres have somewhat divided, causes an intermediate form of the disorder. Lobar, Sean's case, in which there is considerable evidence of separate brain hemispheres, is the least severe form. In some cases of Lobar Holoprosencephaly the baby’s brain may be nearly normal.
We were told he would be blind, deaf, no cognitive skills, no motor skills. We told them to remove the DNR and treat him as a living child until we could get all the paperwork done and bring him home forever and always to his forever family.
Sean has experienced delays in a lot of areas but with time and love he is today doing things none of his doctors expected him to ever accomplish. A CT scan done a year ago showed a diagnosis of hydrocephaly (water in the brain) and they couldn't see the original diagnosis noted at birth.
Sean has had a lot of therapies and medical appointments throughout his young life but today besides some minor delays in some areas he enjoys many thing! He is daddy's shadow and loves helping daddy "feed the ponies". He is a true miracle and we are blessed by his smile and love.
Written by Sean's mom Sue
