When playtime rolls around, Chance
Armstrong prefers painting far and above any toys or other
activities. At two years of age, he recently had his first art
exhibit at City Arts in Wichita, Kansas. With the proceeds, he and
his single mother aim for a noteworthy goal—earning
enough that Chance can enroll in Dolphin Therapy in Florida.
Said therapy has proven to be quite beneficial for children with
special needs, but it is costly.
********
Chance was named before his birth…not
knowing how fitting it would be. Born after only 28 weeks of
gestation, Chance faced the grim possibility of not surviving—as did
his mother. When preeclampsia struck, their fate rested in the hands
of God.
Mom remained in intensive care for 10
anxiety-ridden days while her tiny son struggled to live.
After three months in Neonatal Intensive Care the very fragile
infant went home, but each day that passed was filled with
uncertainty. The doctors had been straightforward about Chance’s
future. He faced the probability of numerous health problems: mental
retardation, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, and cystic
fibrosis, to name only a few. Soon, two additional obstacles were
thrown in his path—the need for kidney and heart surgery.
Inexplicably, Change dodged all of these maladies!
Chance keeps a hectic schedule with
various physical therapy appointments—a total of seven each week.
Visits with his doctors are all too frequent. After being told he
would never crawl, he does crawl, even though he lags behind others
his age. His vocabulary is limited but continues to grow. When I
last saw Chance he was giving high fives like they were going out of
style! With this little boy’s determination and progress to date,
hopes are high for all he is yet to achieve. Despite the monumental
challenges that have been encountered thus far, Chance fills his
mom’s life with love, light and joy.
**********
What makes finger painting (and sometimes
toes) so stimulating to this youngster? Is it the slick feel of the
paint or is he intrigued with color? Is it both? Even though he has
not yet learned his colors, Mom can now decipher which one he is
asking for; he is quite finicky about which hues go into each design
he produces. They’ve spent countless hours creating works of art and
have developed a system that works seamlessly. Chance giggles and
his bright eyes dance with every new masterpiece, and he only stops
when Mom says it’s bath time. Each art session leaves him smeared
and smudged—sporting a rainbow of colors from head to toe, a near
duplicate of the canvas just completed. And, Mom doesn’t fare much
better!
When being interviewed before the art
exhibit, Mom made a beautiful statement about her son: Many
people go their entire lifetime without ever meeting one of their
heroes; I am truly blessed and honored that my hero calls me mama!
Will Chance one day become a famous
artist? Only time will tell…but his work is inspiring. It can be
viewed on his very own web site:
www.loveofchance.com
City Arts deserves a huge thank you for their
efforts in assisting this young fellow with his
goal…dolphin therapy.
©2008 Kathleene S. Baker
Lnstrlady@aol.com
www.txyellowrose.com
