Big D :: Personal Narrative Disabilites Papers

Big D A couple weeks ago, exactly four days after Christmas, I woke up thinking about my uncle Dennis. I loved him very much, but I have never woken up thinking about him. After a few minutes, I realized that three years ago, exactly four days after Christmas, was the day he died. My uncle Dennis was an unforgettable man. He had sparkling blue eyes and a sweet smile. When he laughed everyone else in the room couldn't help but join him. That's not what made him unforgettable, though. Dennis was tall, around 380 pounds, and anoxic; he had brain damage. He never learned to cook, ride a bike, or properly operate an appliance. He required 24-hour a day care from the time he was born until the day he died at age 40. This is not an exaggeration. If Dennis was awake and no one was around to stop him, he consistently caused trouble. Forty years ago, fetal heart monitors were not routinely used in the labor room. Today, a heart monitor aids in the detection of problems such as a pinched umbilical cord, which what caused Dennis's brain damage at birth. Because the pinched cord was not detected, a cesarean section was not performed, and Dennis entered the world mentally retarded because not enough oxygen reached his brain during the birthing process. The small part of the world he entered was Milwaukee. My grandparents had a house which has since been torn down and replaced by projects. In the early fifties about 60% of the residents were black. A large portion of the rest were immigrants. My grandparents were from northern Wisconsin. My grandfather was then working as a boilermaker engineer in a tannery downtown. In addition to staying with Dennis, my grandmother stayed at home with my Uncle Mike, 3; my mother, 2; and my Uncle Tom, 1. Four more children would soon follow. The youngest, Patrick, had Downs' Syndrome. Eleven cousins lived just down the block. A house of prostitution was across the street. Saturday was laundry day. The three older children would eventually be hired as babysitters for Dennis. On Saturdays they would keep an eye on Dennis and play in the backyard while my grandmother did the week's wash. At the end of the day the three young nannies got to split a dime between them at the grocery store on the corner.