Actually, he *is* kind of heavy, he weighs 250+ pounds, but now that he is 18, I don't try to pick him up anymore. The Big Guy, our oldest, is a bit of unique character. He was born with a host of problems, disabilities, and challenges but with them have come opportunities, life lessons and lots of growth for everyone in our family (that's why, even though he is heavy, he isn't . . . ). Trying to get a decent picture of him is very difficult. This is one of the best of the recent ones, in spite of his state of undress (he rarely wears a shirt, summer, winter, it doesn't matter) and so we have many, (i.e. nearly all of 'em) pics of him in the near-buff. The list of his diagnosed disablilities is long; mixed cerebral palsy--spastic and ataxic, chronic depression and anxiety, learning disabled, auditory processing deficit, sensory integration problems and bipolar are the ones that seem to have stuck for the longest. The others didn't seem to fit, such as, conduct disorder, autism, mental retardation and ADHD. For one thing, this kid is really smart! His learning disabilities make it hard for him to process everything he is being told but once something is explained in a way that he learns, his comprehension is excellent. His quick intelligence gives him a great sense of humor and he is a keen observer. He is also very sensitive to the feelings of others. His ability to read people's emotions almost makes him seem like a mind reader at times. He has the memory of an elephant (should I say, the "convenient" memory of an elephant who doesn't always want to do what he is told) and he has a deep understanding of all things spiritual with the exception of why he is the way he is. He just doesn't get that. He hates that he has the problems that he has but we, in our typical selfish way, are happy about it because of all the blessings that come our way as a result of his suffering. Aren't we awful?
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