blind triplets
( Continued)
Donna Lee and Gail practice
speech by feeling each other's vocal
cords as they chatter playfully.
W 1
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W --5
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The triplets must play in total darkness, but
neighbors have provided a home designed
without sharp corners and other hazards.
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.
Children learn to eat by imitating what they
see, but the Petraglias had to teach their triplets
by manipulating their jaws manually.
precaution, I went to school with them in the be
ginning, but soon this became my regular routine,
too. During their school hours I busied myself in
another classroom, helping other blind children.
-Sometimes I also worked in the office.
The discovery of this world outside their own
home brought about a remarkable change in the
triplets. Now they progressed rapidly, and soon
they were able to perform helpful little chores,
as well as take care of their own needs.
Every night when I knelt at my bedside to say
my prayers I asked for the miracle of sight for
my babies. And then, perhaps as a compromise,
I'd ask God to make life a little easier for them
in some way. In June, 1957, God's wonderful
answer came through our front door in the person
of Vincent D. Austin, a Bronx newspaperman.
While we sat listening, spellbound, Mr. Austin
told us that the Bronx Junior Chamber of Com
merce, at his suggestion, had selected the Petra
glia triplets as their project for the year. They
were launching a campaign to build a new home
for us. There would be a play yard for the triplets,
and the house would be designed with safety fea
tures to make their daily routine less difficult. It
sounded like a dream. We always had hoped for a
home of our own one day, but it seemed so far off
we had to wonder if it would ever happen.
In rapid succession, a land site was donated,
plans were drawn, and the construction was be
gun. The workers labored on their own time and
all the materials needed were donated. When the
house was completed, the Bronx merchants joined
together to furnish it in minute detail. A brand
new station wagon was even placed in the garage.
Our dream house had eight rooms and a large
its ff j. SgS--C -a
play yard fully equipped with safe playground
equipment and toys. Sliding doors were used
throughout the house; sharp edges were avoided
everywhere; and a play room was installed next
to the kitchen,' so I could perform my chores and
still observe the triplets at play. The furnishings
also were selected with a stress on convenience.
When we moved into our new home in April, the
children were happier than I've ever seen
them. Gail and Donna Lee examined their own in
dividual bedrooms with utmost care, running their
hands over almost every. object in the room. Little
Stevie moved. his sensitive fingers over all the
chrome parts of our new station wagon and ex
claimed, "Boy, what a car this is!"
. God has many ways of teaching us. Our lesson
came through tragedy tragedy that I thought we
could never overcome. And yet it enabled us to
experience one of God's choicest blessings man's
love for his fellow man. Few people have the good
fortune to sample this in such abundance.
Thanks to the generosity of all the contributors,
our home is actually in the luxury class. It is a
beautiful, low, rambling ranch style in brick, with
a snow white roof. But the ingredient that makes
it truly beautiful is human kindness. That will
make it stand as a monument to man's goodness.
We had wondered what means we could have of
showing our gratitude to those who gave so gener
ously of their time, energy, anc goods. But per
haps little Stevie expressed the feeling that was in
our hearts when, at the dedication ceremony, he
cried out:
"God bless you all."
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Family Weekly, July It, 195$