We had a strange and wonderful thing happen this evening. When we got home from an outing, we noticed we had a message on our phone. It was from Ben’s living facility, so I called them right back. They said the reason they called was that Ben wanted to talk to us (he has lived there for 47 years and we have called him many times, but he has NEVER called us). I asked how they knew he wanted to call us, and they said that he kept taking the phone out of their hands when other clients were calling their parents. THAT IS A FIRST! Ben is almost non- verbal at the age of 59. He has had seizures that have affected his communication…so we knew he would exchange very few words. The staff fellow said he was resting in his bed, but he was not asleep, and he thought it would be good for us to talk with him. He handed Ben the phone and Ben said, “Hi!” I told him we loved and missed him and as soon as my leg got better, we would come and see him. Then, since I have always talked to him like I would anyone else, I said, “Is there anything you would like to tell me Ben?” There was silence, and the staff fellow said that Ben had handed the phone back to him. He said they were helping the clients to call home on Saturdays and Sundays, and they would put Ben’s name on the list.

All this was SO helpful and exciting because we have not gotten to visit Ben and take him anywhere for about 15 months now. We went last October to visit, and that was a VERY sad time. His living unit had been quarantined several times with Covid 19…so we couldn’t take him out to eat, and since he can’t talk with us, it was HARD. SO…him taking the initiative to get the staff to call us was a miracle indeed! Nothing is the same as it used to be. We are getting older and have more physical problems, and we get concerned about what will happen when we’re no longer able to go and actually see to his needs. God has managed it so far, and we’ll just have to trust Him to continue in the future. Anyway…what a blessing to hear Ben’s voice and for him to hear ours. Thank you Lord!