Fifteen years ago in Kathmandu a little boy was born. Doctors knew something was amiss but they didn’t know exactly what. So they told his mother to neglect him and “let nature take its course”. Sadly that is the way children with special needs are treated in many parts of the world. His parents were strong disciples. In fact they were leading the Kathmandu church at the time. They loved their baby and they were determined to fight for him. His mother was raised by another strong woman (Sarojni, featured in a story published in Women Today a couple of weeks ago, is Ralph's grandmother) and she herself was a very resilient person. In the year before Ralph was born, Monica had personally met and studied the Bible with twelve different women who became disciples in a very challenging mission field. The same woman who could lead others to faith in such a daunting mission field was not about to give in and lose hope for her baby!
Ralph turned out to have Down’s Syndrome. In order to get help David and Monica Norohna moved back to New Delhi where they received much support. Forward the clock fifteen years later and this past weekend Ralph was baptized! Many tears were shed as his family and friends witnessed his second birth.
Ralph has been a shining light throughout his life. He has taught all of us in the Indian churches to love and accept a child who is differently abled. He is always friendly, giving, and outgoing. His parents have done a fantastic job getting advice and confronting a culture which does not welcome differences like Ralph’s. They always had faith that Ralph could become a disciple and they have had high expectations for their son.
Monica has fought for her boy and believed in him. She is a courageous woman who is not afraid to stand up for her convictions. These are some of the things she shared…
“I am filled with tears of joy and gratitude to witness my son go into the waters of baptism.
Isaiah 49:15-16--"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See I have engraved you on the palm of my hands, your walls are ever before me.”
Fifteen years ago I felt forgotten by God when my son Ralph was born with a chromosome disorder called Down’s Syndrome.
Two years after my marriage I got pregnant and had a baby boy. I was so excited and happy. In the second week my son became ill and serious and had to be admitted in the hospital in Nepal. His birth weight was 1.9 kg, a weak and fragile child. It was at that time that the doctors told us that our son was "ABNORMAL". My heart sank, I was numb, I couldn’t think or feel anything. The doctors and nurses wouln’t really take care of him in the hospital because they told us, "He is a waste to society so let him die".
He also had a hole (less than half a centimeter) in his heart and would need surgery when he turned five. Ralph's disorder was a shock. The whole world fell apart. I lost my trust and faith in God.
The shock of reality led me to read an article written by my friend Gail who also has a child with Down’s Syndrome. Through her experience she understood that there is no such thing as "NORMAL". EVERYONE HAD HIS OR HER PROBLEMS AND THE ACCURATE DEFINITION OF NORMAL WAS "RIGHTEOUS".
THIS CHANGED ME COMPLETELY . I decided to look at life from a spiritual perspective and God restored my faith. My husband David and I decided to fight for Ralph and give him "OUR BEST". We decided not to run away from God because we believed God is at work and He is in control of our life.
I can say for sure that the last fifteen years of my life with Ralph have been "NO ORDINARY LIFE". It is an "EXTRAORDINARY LIFE" because he has taught me and brought me closer to understanding my purpose on earth as a mother, to embrace the good and the bad and enjoy this journey which is life less perfect but more meaningful!
I have experienced powerful moments of God's unconditional love, hope, kindness, peace, and joy and learnt to celebrate being different, to press on in the face of adversity and to honor "LIFE" (it doesn’t matter how many chromosomes one has!)
I have understood why God gave him that extra chromosome--- its that extra chromosome that makes him an EXTRA-ORDINARY CHAMPION, AN EXTRA-ORDINARY PERSON, GOING THE EXTRA MILE TO OFFER AND EXPRESS HIS LOVE WITH A GENTLE EMBRACE, A WARM HUG AND A UNIQUE SPECIAL SMILE. {THANKYOU RALPH I WILL TREASURE IT ALWAYS!}
Ralph does everything with complete joy and ease and sincerity even when it comes to confessing his sins and repenting and loving God.
My son, whom I thought would not speak, walk, run or understand, is today standing in front of all his friends and elders to take the pledge to WALK, SPEAK, RUN AND LIVE FOR JESUS HIS CREATOR AND MAKE HIM THE LORD AND SAVIOUR OF HIS LIFE. IT IS TRULY A MIRACLE.”
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