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Kayla was born September 12th, 1988. When we left the hospital her tear ducts weren't
draining and they said, you know, by three months if it's not cleared up take her to
an eye doctor. So at three months I took to her to just regular eye doctor in our local
town. That doctor said, well, her issue is she can't see past her nose, she needs glasses.
So, at three months old, we put Kayla in glasses. Cutest little thing, had this cute little
baby with these big ol' glasses. Anyway, so at six months old, I noticed that, that she
wasn't using her eyes as much as she had. So I heard about an ophthalmologist, a pediatric
ophthalmologist that works just with kids. I went there, it was me, my husband and my
oldest daughter. After the doctor came in and brought out this really thick magnifying
glass and we had to hold her down and she looked in her eye ball. And the doctor left
again. When the doctor came back in, she told me I needed to have my six-year-old leave
and go out to the waiting room. So we did that and we were sitting around thinking this
is weird, I can't figure out why we had to do that. So the doctor comes in and she's
sitting there and she's...It sounded like she was speaking in a foreign language. She's
just going on and on about, you know, she has this and whatever, whatever. And I had
no idea what, what she was talking about. So I took it to the extreme and I said, "So
what are you saying? Is my daughter blind?" And she said, "Yes! And with this condition
all kinds of brain defects can happen. She can have seizures, she can have mental retardation,
she can have a life threatening condition. We've got to get her checked into a hospital
as soon as possible because this could be really, really bad." And at that point she
then handed me the bill for the day -- and walked out. I've got a six-year-old in the
waiting room, I'm holding a six-month old baby, we have a two-hour drive home, and I
still have to pay my bill. All I can imagine is, Is my daughter going to die when we're
driving home? It changed my life. This is Julio Regalado Junior. He is pretty
much a very happy guy. He loves music a lot, like Johnny Cash. The live videos, musical
videos, everything that is musical, Julio enjoys that. He loves his family very much
because he shows it, he hugs and kisses. He [was] born on October 24, '89. When he came
we were excited about it, that we have another child, he is a middle child. We have a lot
of joy to have Julio coming into our lives. Everything was going fine until my husband
left the hospital for a little while so I was alone in my room by myself. And a doctor
came to let us know that Julio wasn't going to last a week. So, for me, being in the room
by myself, I cry so bad I just couldn't even call my husband because I needed to call him
to let him know, but I just cry and cry until I call him and I say you have to come because
they let us know that Julio wasn't going to last a week and I was, like, mourning him.
And we cry, and I think that was very sad in our lives, a part that we don't like to
remember, but it's something that we have to remember. When we have a child with special
needs we please let you know that needs more sensitivity. Don't let us know that he won't
last because he lasts. He'll be 23 in October, and I know of a lot of parents that go through
the same thing. That was too much for us to take, and like I said, I'm sharing my story
because he didn't last a week, he lasts until God decides that he will last. So, we're happy
to have Julio, he's been a blessing to have; a lot of work, but a blessing. And I know
a lot of parents will appreciate it. Be sensitive; be sensitive when they come with special needs
or disabilities.