�   �  � MY MIRACLE BOY Roger Leroy Snell � Roger was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia on April 14, 1953. He had an eye problem at birth, wherein his eyes would be mattered continously, and had to be irrigated several times daily and an antibiotic cream applied. The family physician said it would clear up by the time he reached 10 months old. It did finally clear up leaving him with weak eye sight. Had to start wearing glasses prior to attending school. Roger had a normal childhood taking all the bicycle wrecks in stride. Once he was riding his bike down a grade in front of our home, when his brother Bobby followed behind him. Bobby lost control and crashed into Roger, throwing him off the bicycle into the dirt-based road, and landing on his right elbow. We didn�t know it was dislocated until it was too late to do anything about it. It grew in this dislocated position, and remains so to this day. � He was a quiet boy, ( a loner), and didn�t run around with other boys when he reached his teens. He would walk up the road and sit on a railroad crossing switch box and listen to his radio. He began working at a roadside store called �Garden Fresh Market� just prior to graduation from High School. He had purchased a Suzuki Motorcycle and was so proud of it. Each time he took a ride on it, he would wipe the dust from it and shine it all up. Roger was a faithful church goer, (as was the whole family), and it was after church on November 12, 1972, that his dad told him to change into some old clothes, and he would assist him in replacing a Universal joint in his (Roger�s) 1964 Ford. His dad always told our sons that if they were going to drive, they needed to learn something about the automobile, so they could fix and do their own repairs as needed. We were having Revival at our church at this time, and Roger wanted to start driving his car and park the Suzuki for the winter, but his car needed a universal joint repair. After the job was completed, Roger said he was going for a last spin on his Suzuki before parking it for the winter, then he would get cleaned up for church that evening. This was approximately 3:30 or 4:00PM on Sunday evening. � At around 4:00 PM our phone rang, and yes, You guessed it! Roger had been in a terrible accident. It was a most serious accident, wherein his head took the blunt of it all. He suffered an open frontal Skull Fracture with his brain exposed. His left eye was forced from it�s socket and laying somewhere on his face. He had multiple facial fractures, and many other injuries to his head and brain. A team of six Neurosurgeons informed my husband and me that there was little hope that Roger would make it, and IF he made it through the night, and lived 72 hours, he might live BUT, he would be a vegetable due to the extensive Brain Damage. � My husband, Bob, wasn�t a Christian at the time, but he expressed more faith than I at that time. Bob kept saying, �He�s going to be alright, you just wait and see.� I was hysterical, and couldn�t think of anything at the time except that our son was in critical condition and may not make it. We were advised by the Chief of Neurosurgeons to call the family together at this time. That was 29 years ago. It was a long road to his recovery. He�s had repeated surgeries over the years. BUT PRAISE GOD ROGER IS NO VEGETABLE. I won�t go into details about all the trips back and forth to Doctors, But I made up my mind that I would be the one to Care for my son. He will NOT go into a Nursing Home as long as I had breath in my body. My husband and I decided to get Roger into a Long Term Continuous Care Facility just long enough for me to finish my schooling. At 42, I started taking courses at our local Business College as a Certified Nursing Assistant.. After graduation, I applied for a job in our local Hospital and was hired. I worked there for a year at the hospital, and took a leave of absence to further my Education in the Medical Field. � In 1974 I applied for LPN Schooling and was accepted. After graduation, I went on all my days off, to visit Roger high in the mountains of West Virginia. I would travel the long lonely road up into the mountains so tired I could hardly keep awake. I almost went off the road several times, But God and my guardian Angel were with me. It broke my heart seeing him lie there with tubes in him everywhere. The tracheotomy tube was the most frightening of them all. I felt so much relief when it was removed. The gavage tube remained in place for quite some time. Each time I visited Roger, I worked endlessly with him, teaching him different skills, for example, How to hold a spoon in his hand, where to place the spoon, and what it was for. The brain injury left Roger MUTE, so I wrote notes and used a few hand gestures to communicate with him. (I don�t know sign language). � I only worked at the hospital for a month after graduating from Nursing School. I figured I had enough nursing skills, knowledge, and qualifications to be able to care for Roger. So with that in mind, I decided to quit my job at the hospital and put my nursing skills to action. In October of 1977, I drove the long trip up the mountains for the last time. I had the Chief of Staff at the facility to release Roger into my care. Of course, the Doctor knew I would be qualified to do this. So to make a longer story shorter, I brought Roger home that day in October of 1977, and have given him round the clock care ever since. I�ve had people say to me, �Isn�t Roger a great burden for you?� And this is what I tell them.. �Roger is a great blessing to me. He is my responsibility. God gave him to me, and God will give me the strength to do all that is necessary for his care.� He is a great inspiration to me. Although blind in one eye he is very faithful in his Bible reading. That�s the first thing he does, when I get him up for the day. And he will read it several times a day. He likes to play �Solitair� and watches very little TV. He really likes to do the Search Word Puzzles best of all. About two years ago, Roger went totally deaf, caused by a certain Antibiotic he was taking, But all in all Roger is my Miracle Boy!! � �  � �  � � � � �   � Visit My Other Pages Below [ Home ] [ Personal ] [ Testimony ] [ My Miracle Son ] [ Waneta's Links ] [ My Nursing Profession ] [ My Mother ] [ My Husband ] [ The Prayer Room [ Index Of Poems! ] [ E-Mail Waneta ] My Daughters' Sites [ Sarah ] [ Dottie ] [ Jannie ] And my granddaughter: [ Heather ]  
� �   � Roger's Page Updated 02-21-01 � Copyright: Waneta L. Snell�All Rights Reserved 2001 |