Erin Joy loved this swing, so the staff was very ornery about letting her use it. First they blocked it up. When we asked that it be available again, as it was before, they filled the entire room with storage. Many people were mean or neglectful, but she got over each malignant action.
Erin's nickname was Joy, so nurses were always delighted discover it was also her baptismal name. When her four upper teeth had to be pulled from the nerves being exposed, she cried, the dental assistant hid in the closet and cried, and I cried. Erin was crying too, but she gave me a little smile to cheer me up.
She was as weak as any child could be and as smart. She listened and knew the implication of every word. We switched to Latin and she took that as a bad sign too. Because crying set off seizures, we did our best to encourage smiling and laughing. She laughed so easily at disasters and pranks that Midland nurses set up events to hear her laugh, such as "scaring a nurse" with a black rubber spider.
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| Erin loved to smile and laugh, and she adored her mother. If I held Erin, she needed to be looking at Christina at the same time. |
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| Erin ate fitfully but grew like a weed. Her sister Bethany ate very well and stayed tiny. They were deeply loved by many and gave back even more. |
Like all children, Erin never let go of a joke. Every funny event could be repeated and enjoyed with her laughing about it.
Fake anger made her laugh, but actual rage made her shake with laughter. Once a nurse dropped a large, three-ringed notebook, and all the medical records slid out and scattered across the floor. The nurse shouted a bad word and Erin's laughter came out of her room. Erin loved to hear that story repeated. Try to scowl and complain when it makes a child laugh.
Erin was never precisely diagnosed, and the Cleveland Clinic threw away her records. She gave people so much happiness, without being able to turn over, crawl, walk, or speak. She never lacked in humor. When I held her and read the paper, she slowly dug her fingernails into my arm until it really hurt. "You did that on purpose!" She laughed. That required supreme concentration, but it was fun for her.
The Midland Daily News sent a photographer to take a picture of Erin at the hospital. The idea was to pose her holding her teddy bear. Nothing worked until we said, "Erin, don't you dare hold that bear." She grinned and pulled the bear tight.
