To understand Charlie, we have to go back to the beginning. Here is a recap:
August, 2005, Charlie was 3 1/2 years old. He had been the baby until 4 weeks prior when little brother Alonzo (now AKA "Chip") came along. This would have been traumatic enough, but then Hurricane Katrina came along, followed by the water, nearly drowning when the water pushed him under a dumpster, no food or water to drink while they waited long hot days to be rescued, and then the commotion and confusion of shelters in San Antonio. His mom would disappear all day to drink with her friends.
Then a man named Mr. Jim took Charlie and his family to a shelter in the "hill country". Here at least he had lots of room to run. And run he did. He ran and ran and ran, as if he could run off all the trauma.
After 6 weeks at this shelter, they moved into a house in San Antonio.
May, 2006, his mom took him, his brother and 2 sisters back to New Orleans on a bus. He did not want to go, so he hid in his closet. His mom found him and beat him.
Two weeks later we and his Dad (Mr. Thornton) came to get him and his little brother. He was in filthy clothes, no shoes, and had lost so much weight his pants would not stay up.
We have learned far more than we ever thought we would about Post Traumatic Stress. We have had people say, "Well just get over it, kid!"
No one "gets over" PTS, they can only attempt to learn how to live with it and deal with it. How I wish Charlie could "get over it". He tells us that the only time he does not think of the water is when he is at school, because he is busy there.
In addition to the PTS there is ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Medication calms him down so that he can learn to stop and think before he reacts.
No medication will make up for the beer his mom drank while she was pregnant and the resulting Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. When we first met Charlie, his nickname was "Bud" in honor of all the Budweiser beer that his mom drank. And medication cannot make up for the abuse, neglect and abandonment by his mom.
While Charlie is behind in his emotional development, he is way ahead in the smarts department. No one is a stranger to Charlie, with his charm and good looks he can strike up a conversation with any one. He hears and sees everything, and he can explain or describe things in great detail.
While sitting in Time Out he would stare up at a picture that my nephew took of a waterfall. One day when Charlie was excused from time out, he proceeded to tell me in great detail how he could build that waterfall. He would need big rocks and little rocks. The big trees needed to be there already, but he could plant the small ones. He ended with, "I sure would like to see that waterfall." I promised him that some day we would find a waterfall in Texas that we could go see.
Do you think he would have the opportunity to see a waterfall if he still lived in the Projects of New Orleans?
Charlie still has a special bond with Mr. Jim, the man who rescued them from the chaos of the big shelter in San Antonio. He loves to go swimming in Mr. Jim's pool. Yes, Charlie loves to swim.
Last week we met with the Special Ed diagnostician who had tested Marquel. Half way through the meeting he looked over at Charlie who was sitting surprisingly quiet against the wall and said, "And that boy is going to be President one day!"
What an awesome future Charlie has ahead of him.
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