Monday, December 06, 1999
Mom needs a safe place to sleep for her daughter
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Terri Kidd and daughter Caitlin, 4, sleep together on an air bed on the floor.
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Terri Kidd has learned to handle the many challenges that are the result of her brown-haired, brown-eyed daughter's brain damage.
And there are many challenges for 4-year-old Caitlin: Special education classes. Frequent doctor visits and hospitalizations. Special therapy and powerful medicines.
Mrs. Kidd has even learned how to deal with the unpredictable and worsening seizures that grip 4-year-old Caitlin up to 20 times a day, some of blank-stare lapses and some of them so physical that Caitlin bangs her head on furniture, pulls her hair, screams uncontrollably and runs into walls.
“I have to sleep with her in order to keep her safe,” Ms. Kidd says. “But the hardest thing is dealing every day with knowing that she was normal ... ”
Until 8 months, Caitlin was like every other infant on the verge of toddlerhood — healthy, active, exploring the world, babbling. Then she came down with viral meningitis, an infection that caused severe brain damage and left her with seizures, delayed development, personality changes and sleep disturbances. At 4, she has the developmental skills of about a 14-month-old.
Ms. Kidd's wish is for a specially padded, protective Vail bed for Caitlin, who may wake up with seizures five times a night. Terri now sleeps with Caitlin on an air mattress on the living room floor of their Loveland home. The new bed would allow everyone in the family to get a good night's sleep and keep Caitlin protected during her seizures.
Ms. Kidd, who is divorced, works part-time as a scheduling coordinator at Bethesda North Hospital and is going to school part-time to learn computer programming. She also has two older children, 16-year-old Daron and 15-year-old Sara. Caitlin's benefits through a Social Security disability program won't pay for the bed.
“It's difficult trying to know what her future is going to be,” Ms. Kidd says. “There's no way anyone can predict what will happen when someone has brain damage.”
Introduction to the Wish List
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How the Wish List works
Their wishes came true: 1998 recipients
Equipment could ease communication for palsy patients
Single father of two ill children needs appliances, furniture
Computer would offer gift of voice
Mom needs a safe place to sleep for her daughter
Blind college student needs devices, special software
Home needs to be wheelchair equipped
Hospital bed can add to independence
Lift chair can make standing easier
Ky. man's smile might shine more brightly
Scooter would give Avondale man new freedom
Computer could help mother helpo her children
Reading machine would open world
