A Mother’s Story

Have you ever been in a situation where a complete stranger walks up to you and says something you will never forget?

It was 1957 and my husband and I had just moved to Madison, Indiana. I was strolling down Main Street one afternoon with my oldest of five children. Our Bobby Kelly was 7 months old and dressed in his little sun suit with rosy cheeks, bright blue eyes and golden hair shining in the bright sunlight.  An elderly lady approached us and looked down at our Bobby Kelly and then raised her head to meet me and said: “Honey, this child is an angel!” The way she said those words went right through me. It was about two years later when Bobby Kelly started having seizures.  That’s when our long journey began. First doctors in Madison, then specialists in Louisville and Riley Hospital in Indianapolis and finally even the Mayo Clinic.  We were young, broke and scared, but we wanted to do everything we could for our son.  Sadly, in spite of everything, Bobby Kelly just got worse.

When he reached 14 years old, we felt we had no choice but to send our precious child to Muskattatuck.  There can’t be a parent in the world who would want to put his child in an institution!   It took years to get over the grief and guilt associated with that decision, but we finally realized it was our only choice – both for the sake of our family and for Bobby, who we could not longer be cared for in our own home. 

In time, we knew this was our best choice and that Bobby was in the best place he could be.  But then…Muskattatuck closed! What in the world could we do with Bobby and what about all of the other children housed there who couldn’t function on their own? We began to look around the community and we were introduced to a home in a nearby town, but after visiting it several times, I knew I couldn’t put our Bobby there. My mother’s instinct told me no! But just as we were giving up hope we got a call that changed our lives. Muskattuck told us about Volunteers of America and their small group home called Morgan Trail.

It was a day to remember as my daughter and I drove up the driveway in the nearby town of Jeffersonville, Indiana. The neighborhood was a nice, neat community and the house was lovely and well kept, with a big back yard.  It looked like home, to us!

Bobby Kelly went to Morgan Trail in April of 2004 to live with two other boys in need, but that wasn’t the end of our plight, because Bobby turned into a complete monster almost the moment he entered the door at Morgan Trail. He was destructive to himself, the house and his kind Volunteers of America caregivers. Every day we waited for that phone call from Volunteers of America saying: “We give up…We can’t care for your son”

But the call never came because the staff at Volunteers of America was determined to succeed. They [did so] with kindness, patience, determination, professionalism and lots of LOVE. Over the weeks and months, Bobby began to heal–-not just physically, but emotionally too. Volunteers of America didn’t just provide our Bobby Kelly with a place to live, they gave him a home: an inviting place to celebrate holidays and birthdays and a place where each person is treated with value and worth. I know the staff at Volunteers of America is always there for our Bobby Kelly. They are more than just a team of professional caregivers. They are a family and I thank the Dear Lord for them every day!

I think the best way I can express the difference Volunteers of America has made in the life of Bobby Kelly is by sharing what I know he would say to Volunteers of America if he could speak in his own words. As his mother, I know that he would say something like this:

“In the beginning, I wondered if I would ever make it through. There were periods of anger, sadness, pain and grief; times when I wondered: Why me? But one day, there was a glimpse of light, and then another. The clouds began to break apart, and I started to see beyond them.  The times when I felt happy and safe began to outnumber the times when I felt sad and frightened. New friendships were formed; feelings of trust and resolution began to replace past feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt. I seemed to emerge from the darkness into the light with a new sense of empowerment.”

Thank you, Volunteers of America! Our angel is safe and happy because of you.