PitterPat
08-12-03, 09:32 AM
Dear all: My name is Pat. I'm the sole support system for a dear friend of mine whose son was born 11 years ago....diagnosed a true hermaphrodite. You'll have to forgive my ignorance of the abbreviations and medical terminology used, but I'm learning. :)
I'm hoping to find some other intersex children for Josh to communicate with regularly..... well, and his mother could use a network of friends who are dealing with this.
You see, Josh has been raised in a very small rural town where the ole keep it a "deep dark shameful secret" has been the mode of operation. Josh' mom is trying her level best to understand his condition, but for 10 years now there's been no follow-up with medical professionals, etc. To make matters worse the boys "father" (and I use that term very loosely) is probably the worst part of this. He uses terms like freak and deformed when talking to Josh, and just recently convinced dear little Josh that he was an experiment and the only person on earth like this. Grrrrrrrrr You can imagine my disgust, especially after having spent an entire day with Josh visiting the pediatric surgeon and children's hospital, all the while trying to convince him that he was NOT a freak but an incredibly wonderful gift of God.
Anyway..... to help you feel more comfortable with this newby among you, my name is Pat and I'm an Episcopal priest's wife. I'm a mom of two college aged children, a potter, and wife. I've spent the past two years trying to assist Josh' mom with her legions of personal problems, but found that the one most important thing needing addressing was Josh' care and well being. He was falling way too far down on the list of priorities.
I hope you all won't mind me being on this forum.
With warmest regards and great respect, PitterPat
I'm hoping to find some other intersex children for Josh to communicate with regularly..... well, and his mother could use a network of friends who are dealing with this.
You see, Josh has been raised in a very small rural town where the ole keep it a "deep dark shameful secret" has been the mode of operation. Josh' mom is trying her level best to understand his condition, but for 10 years now there's been no follow-up with medical professionals, etc. To make matters worse the boys "father" (and I use that term very loosely) is probably the worst part of this. He uses terms like freak and deformed when talking to Josh, and just recently convinced dear little Josh that he was an experiment and the only person on earth like this. Grrrrrrrrr You can imagine my disgust, especially after having spent an entire day with Josh visiting the pediatric surgeon and children's hospital, all the while trying to convince him that he was NOT a freak but an incredibly wonderful gift of God.
Anyway..... to help you feel more comfortable with this newby among you, my name is Pat and I'm an Episcopal priest's wife. I'm a mom of two college aged children, a potter, and wife. I've spent the past two years trying to assist Josh' mom with her legions of personal problems, but found that the one most important thing needing addressing was Josh' care and well being. He was falling way too far down on the list of priorities.
I hope you all won't mind me being on this forum.
With warmest regards and great respect, PitterPat