ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996 TAG: 9604260083
SECTION: PARENTS' GUIDE PAGE: PG-11 EDITION: METRO
``This is probably the worst thing I've ever done, because it's so heart-breaking,'' said Becky Hasenbeck, ``but it's just as rewarding, at that same time.''
Hasenbeck was referring to her four years' involvement in foster parenting, a commitment that expanded her and husband, Ron's, family to include two adopted toddlers, along with their biological teen-age girls.
``It's so hard to see what these children have gone through,'' she continued. She was referring, in particular, to her son, Samuel, multiple-handicapped because he was a ``shaken'' baby.
The Hasenbecks' accepted Sam as a foster child when he was 2 months old. When they picked him up at the hospital, he was blind, deaf, had a seizure disorder, and cried almost constantly.
``He was so pitiful-looking,'' Becky said. ``I couldn't imagine anyone harming such a little baby. I thought, dear Lord, please give him sight or hearing. How could we get through to him?''
Sam, now 31/2, has remarkably acute hearing, though developmentally he is at the level of a 4-month-old. He has come a long way, much farther than doctors ever expected he would.
From the beginning of Sam's entry into their home, the Hasenbecks' made their daughters aware of the extra attention their parents would need to focus on Sam. ``They grew so attached to him so quickly,'' Becky said.
Sam's biological sister, 2-year-old Hope, came into the Hasenbecks' lives when she was only 2 days old. She was spared an infancy which very probably would have included similar abuse.
``I'll probably take on more foster children. It's my weakness,'' Becky said in her usual cheerful tone, ``but I thought I'd wait until Hope is a little older. This is a hand full, right now.''
LENGTH: Short : 39 linesby CNB