Are you a hero???
By LadyMarissa
@LadyMarissa (12148)
United States
October 12, 2008 8:00pm CST
I was watching Extreme Makeover with Ty Pennington today. He & his group had redone a house for a woman who adopted an infant with AIDS 18 years ago. A few years later she adopted another young child with AIDS plus she also adopted his brother so they wouldn't have to be separated. Then she turned around & got pregnant & had her own child. They also did a rebuild on a camp for children with AIDS. The lady who had adopted the children with AIDS spoke of receiving phone calls in the middle of the night threatening to kill all of them if they didn't move somewhere else. They were banned from swimming pools. They were asked not to return to church. This lady NEVER gave up on her children. Doctors told her when she adopted the first little boy that he'd never live past 5. He is now 20. Now that she has 3 of the 4 boys old enough to be somewhat self sufficient, she is going back to school to become a nurse. Do you think that you could go against most of a town to raise & provide for 2 children with AIDS or any other problem that were not biologically yours??? Could you be some child's hero???
I so admire the HERO inside this woman!!! 
3 people like this
9 responses
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
Being your OWN hero is NOT good enough!!! It's when you learn to SHARE of yourself that you truly become a hero!!!
3 people like this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
16 Oct 08
There may be a hero hiding in everyone of us. However, I stand by what I said Being your OWN hero is NOT good enough!!! It's when you learn to SHARE of yourself that you truly become a hero!!! I find it youthful arrogance to say I'm a hero because I have learned me. That is WASTED. You are NOT a hero until you've learned to share it with those who need it!!!Sing along with Mariah...naw. My inner hero saves itself for real musicians like Foreigner!!!
Do I want a foot rub??? No thank you!!! I want back the faith & trust I had in my friend. Not silly games.
I miss my friend
The one my heart and soul confided in
The one I felt the safest with
The one who knew just what to say to make me laugh again
And let the light back in
I miss my friend
I WANT THE FREAKIN PIC!!!
NO MORE...NO LESS!!!
2 people like this
@goddessjes (788)
• Philippines
13 Oct 08
hi LadyMarissa.
wow, that is really giving a heart. very humanitarian. i think i couldn't do or stand firmly with what our hero here has done. of course, it's always, safety and acceptance first. it takes a big heart and a commitment to raise the children. but if god gives me two gifts, i would ask for the same kindness and commitment.
one desire to help can change a life. and look at the boy he's now 20 years old. if the woman didn't believe in this child, he would have been gone even before reaching 5 years old.
and it's sad that there are some uneducated, self-serving, inconsiderate
people who would leave threats to a unit that is trying to be a normal family. i pity the children of these people. may the heavens touch their souls. why on earth will you stop a person from going to church just because he/she has a condition? what has the world become just because of the will to survive. 
people who would leave threats to a unit that is trying to be a normal family. i pity the children of these people. may the heavens touch their souls. why on earth will you stop a person from going to church just because he/she has a condition? what has the world become just because of the will to survive. 3 people like this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
Actually, the church part bothered me the most also!!! How can we expect the average person to act human when God's children have NO tolerance?
2 people like this
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
13 Oct 08
Yes I could go against a town to provide for those two children, a fight everyday indeed but someone needs to protect them against the ignorance. It is very sad that some people are like this and it is lack of education that causes them to think you can contract the disease just by living hear someone or having casual contact. There really is no reason for this, HIV/AIDS has been around long enough for people to learn how one can get it and pass it to another person. She is a hero.
2 people like this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
Yes, there is plenty of AIDS awareness now. This woman started this 18 years ago when there was nothing but fear. Plus I just realized that I didn't mention that the 3 adopted boys are a different race than their mother. This should NOT make a difference & she didn't mention it, but I'm sure the race card was thrown in for good measure somewhere along the way!!! I find her to be a very BRAVE woman!!! I don't remember them mentioning it, but she is currently a single mother to boot.
2 people like this
@Bethany1202 (3431)
• United States
13 Oct 08
That's very honorable. I don't know that I could have done the same thing! That woman has a HUGE heart and it's wonderful. I'm glad she got an extreme home makeover and they built the AIDS camp to help the kids. I definitely don't think I, personally, am a hero -- but this lady most definitely is!
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
She doesn't feel she's a hero either...those 3 adopted boys think she IS definitely their hero!!! YES, she has a TREMENDOUS heart & she's never once whined as to how she's a single Mother that never received any support from anybody. She has raised those children with pride & honor!!!
2 people like this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
13 Oct 08
Hi ladyMarissa,
She is not only a hero but an angel, I reall y admire this wonderful lady and that is why she was blessed with having her very child, bless her.
Tamara
2 people like this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
I didn't think of that Tamara. She didn't get pregnant with her own child until she had helped the other 3. I know many a Mother who would have done this for their OWN child, but for an adopted child I'm not so sure!!! I am quite sure that most of the people I know would NOT adopt 2 sick children as it would be an inconvenience to them!!!
2 people like this
@camomom (7535)
• United States
13 Oct 08
I would hope I would be strong enough to do it. I have my own kids now so I wouldn't do it now because I'd want to be able to give the ill children more attention. I think the way these people are treated is wrong. It's not the childrens fault that they are sick. I'm sure they took all the precautions neccessary so that no one in the pools would get it. It's very wrong of the church to turn them away, they're supposed to be accepting of everyone. Would GOD want them to treat these people like that??? I THINK NOT!!! If I did not have my own birth children and could afford to take in these children I think I'd give it a try. They deserve to be loved just like the "healthy" children.
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
13 Oct 08
I would tell those horrible people to stick it where the sun don't shine! Up their rear ends, in other words. I would fight for my children, a mother always will. She's a hero, sure, but she's doing what every other mother would. I'm so glad those children got her for a mother!
2 people like this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
YES, EVERY Mother is a Hero!!! This woman is being a Hero for 3 children who are not biologically hers & I forgot to mention that they are also a different race. I'm just as sure that AIDS was NOT the only problem she encountered. Yet she has stood by these children & given them the BEST life they could possibly have. They were VERY FORTUNATE when they ALL met her!!! 
2 people like this
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
13 Oct 08
One thing that I have learned in life is to be true to myself. I would fight for my right to take care of my kids. I can be quite a force when you cross me on things like that. I do not think of it as being a hero, just being a good human. Not to say that she is not a hero, but for me, I would not look at myself as a hero if I had to be in the same place as her.
I am lucky because I have a family and friends who would back me to the umpteenth degree on this.
She is definitely an earth angel and an inspiration to all!
2 people like this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
13 Oct 08
To me a true hero is someone who is just being a good human. She does NOT see herself as a hero, which just proves to me she is one!!! Good humans who do NOT seek glory are the biggest heroes of them ALL. I can see me calling you a hero too as you are a Good Human who does NOT seek glory!!! Given the same opportunity, you would have done the same thing!!!I don't look at our sports figures as heroes even though many can actually have a heroes heart!!! A hero goes out of their way to what is right NO matter the consequences to themselves. Giving is as automatic to them as breathing!!! A lot of average people have heroes hearts!!! YES, earth angel is another good description of her & her actions!!!
2 people like this
@31momthatworks (6)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Wow! Tough question.... As a single parent to my own two kids I know that it is a tough job. That being said I think that it takes a special kind of person to take in kids that hve special needs, weather it be medicaly, mentaly or physicaly. I do think that I could do it. I love kids, all kids. I think that if it was my kids that needed someone I would hope that a special someone would take them and treat them like their own. The world is harsh enough for kids why not try and make it a little better. I believe that what goes around comes around. Help a child and when they are able they too will help others, this isn't a bad way to be but it is something that has been lost.
1 person likes this
