One of the things that has been hard for me to accept is that there has never been any real clear diagnosis for Stephen.  As a newborn he seemed fine, physically there was nothing that seemed unusual.  But once we were home for a few days it became apparent that something wasn’t right.  Stephen wouldn’t nurse, he would cry and scream.  I felt so helpless.

The months went on and I began to wonder, sometimes thinking that it must be something wrong with me as a mother.  By the time he was 14 or 15 months old we could see that he was slow learning to walk and talk.

In those days we used to have what they called the ‘guidance clinics’ (the equivalent of the health unit today) and I can remember these old British doctors that would check him over, just looking and poking and asking questions without saying much in return.  Their only advice was that we should consider putting him in an institution.

By the time Stephen was old enough for school there still wasn’t much more information on what his disability was and in some of the reports they simply spoke of him as being retarded.  That word didn’t have the same stigma then as it does today, but even so it was hard to hear of our child being referred to that way.

For a time were bussing Stephen to school in Picture Butte.  He enjoyed going although in those early years he was often tired and would get very upset when he was frustrated or overwhelmed. Eventually we moved to Lethbridge and Stephen attended the special classes at George McKillop, Westminster and LCI before going on to Transitions Program at LCC.

Stephen has experienced a lot of success in his life as an athlete.  I think he was about seven when we enrolled him in the swimming offered through George McKillop School and later he got into bowling and track & field.  He has won close to 200 medals from different sports competitions and has travelled all over Canada for regional and national events.  He is now in his forties and is still competing and winning through Special Olympics.

Being involved in sports has allowed Stephen to challenge himself physically as well as learning to have the discipline of training, to be a good sport no matter what, and make new friends wherever he goes.  He has many close friends in Lethbridge and works at having an active connection with his bible study group and music classes.

Overall I feel that having Stephen in our family brought more good than not. He has always been even-tempered and easy to get along with others.  He helps with many of the jobs around the house that are too much for me on my own.  Having him is here also helps to give my life a routine and purpose.  Since Stephen’s dad is gone now, Stephen is wonderful company and a support for me.

The managers and staff at Safeway, where Stephen has worked for the last two years, really appreciate him too.  He is hardworking and friendly with everyone, customers and staff alike.  His manager always says they wish they had more just like him.  Having Stephen in our lives has been a blessing in many ways.  He has been a role model to all of us, and because of him we have had opportunities to face adversity and come out better for it.