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“Accepting that Safari is a Special Needs Child has not Been Easy” -Tata Nimmo

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 Last we heard from Tata Nimmo, she was introducing herself to us, and also introducing her six-year old nephew Safari. Safari is the firstborn child of Tata Nimmo’s twin sister, and the sisters –having grown up very close, still enjoy the same kind of relationship today –enough to make Tata Nimmo feel as though Safari is her own child too. Tata Nimmo talked about Safari’s diagnosis with Cerebral Palsy (CP) at the age of two years, the lessons learnt and pieces of advice on the same.

Read: “New Mums, Don’t Ignore those Delayed Milestones” -Tata Nimmo.

 Today, Tata Nimmo talks about the fears they felt after finding out they were raising a child with special needs, and the struggle to accept that this condition is a lifelong one; one that that they would have to learn to cope with. Safari is now six years old.

 When Safari was four years-old, we got a new addition to the family –his baby sister Maua –who is quite a cheeky little mouse at two years old. They are best of friends -well most of the times.

Watching Maua grow and develop into the beautiful girl that she is continues to bring back memories of Safari at the same age. At two years old, his speech was only comprehensible to we his family, and we often we had to explain to people what he was saying, with most looking at us funny, wondering why a big boy like him still talked ‘gibberish’, or why he had to walk between his mother and I, or why we still carried him on our backs.

We only explained to those that had time to listen. Some people were sympathetic, while others took their time to share with us stories of people they know who had children whose condition was worse, at times laced with horrid tales of mothers hiding such children in their homes. We heard of many such stories in the neighborhood and at the hospital where we would take Safari for his therapy sessions. But for those who understood his condition, they applauded us for taking him with us and not hiding him in the house.

Amid all this, we were struggling to accept that his Cerebral Palsy was going to be with him; with us, for the rest of his life. It was slowly sinking that it was not something Safari would outgrow, and there was no miracle cure anywhere. We just had to face life for the reality that it was. It certainly wasn’t easy for his mum. There she was, a single mum, with a special needs child. She had no choice but to be strong, somehow.

Tata Nimmo and Safari enjoying a game of tug-of-war during an outing.
Tata Nimmo and Safari enjoying a game of tug-of-war during an outing.

Interestingly, from our interactions with other mums of children with Cerebral Palsy, we have noticed that many are single mums –most having been abandoned after diagnosis. The few men I have spotted in school meetings, therapy sessions or CP-related activities are to be lauded because many find it hard to deal with the issues surrounding raising a child with special needs. I can tell you for sure that without the necessary support, raising a child with disability can be one difficult journey.

Safari’s mum has a strong supportive network around her, from our mum, myself and our kid sister. We all continue to play a big role in supporting her, something we have done ever since he was born. From babysitting, to taking him for therapy, to outings, to helping him with his homework (he is in an integrated school), to financial support; we have all done our best to be there.

When it comes to school, there have been challenges too. We have had to change schools and have sit-downs with teachers and children who play with him to try and include him in their activities and not stigmatize or isolate him.

But to be honest, the journey to ‘acceptance’ is a bumpy one. It has its joys and setbacks and I don’t know if one ever gets to that point of being ‘okay’. You simply just handle it one day at a time as you allow yourself to celebrate every milestone.

Safari.
Safari.

My advise to parents of special needs children?

Make the child feel as part of the family and allow him to live as normal a life as he/she can. Take your child to outings, yes people will stare, but then again they always do, and that should not deter you.

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Maryanne W. Waweru is a Kenyan mum raising her two sons in Nairobi. A journalist, Maryanne is passionate about telling stories and hopes that through her writing, her readers learn something new, feel encouraged, inspired, and appreciative of what they have in their lives. Maryanne's writing focuses on motherhood, women and lifestyle. "Telling stories is the only thing I know how to do," she says.

5 COMMENTS

  1. This is an interesting story. I am proud of Tata and her family in bringing up Safari. and what a beautiful name I must say.
    Many a times parents with kids who have celebral palsy and with children battling other diseases face so much when raising their child. All they need is the support and love from those around them.
    Women should have each others backs like Tata and her twin. With this kind of attitude the world will be a better place to live in

    • Very true Ruth. We all have these dreams about our children -from when they’re in our womb, and so when life doesn’t pan out as we had imagined, it can hit us hard. But it’s not the end of the world, we just have to adopt a positive attitude and make the best of life. And having that strong support network cannot be overemphasised.

  2. […] In the next article she wrote, Tata Nimmo took us through the emotions that she and the family went through after learning that Safari was a special needs child; struggling to deal with the news, and accepting that there was no miracle cure somewhere… Safari’s condition was a lifetime one, one that they would have to manage for the rest of his life. She told us that experience in this article titled: ‘Accepting that Safari is a Special Needs Child has not been Easy’. […]

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