Did you get a chance to see the segment on Oprah featuring the 7 year old with schizophrenia? Neither did I. It wasn't something I really wanted to see, but when I visited her site this morning to see what would be on this week (I have to plot tv viewing because of the tower) and choose which days I would tune it. I watched all of the clips of the little girl and then decided to read the blog concerning her disease. It is scary. I don't doubt these people have been through a lot and believe their child has this disease, I'm not even going to question that because I am not in their shoes and you have to just believe what you believe and deal with it. I just wonder how many new parents will start looking at their children differently. People tend to jump on the band wagon for whatever new disease comes up. Even though this childhood schizophrenia has been around since 1964 you know once it is on Oprah it is new to the world. I am so glad I am not in the rearing babies anymore. Many of the little girl's early behaviors, sleep habits and intelligence mimicked things I went through with the girls. This little girl would have me questioning the sanity of my children. There is a thin line between genius and insanity (my dad was tested and sat precariously on the line) and true children have imaginary friends and strange habits, where is the line drawn? When do we decide a child has any kind of mental disease? ADD, autism, hyperactivity with whatever...you know where two or three agree there is either a problem or a solution.
Karra and Mhia had 'friends'. Everyone in the family knew them because the children talked about them often. Karra's familiar was named Teddi. One day Karra went so far as to give us directions to this 'little girl's' house and when we followed the directions, it turned out someone knew a person of that name that had died years previously. Karra always talked of the ghosts and spirits. From the age of 4-7, Karra had many unexplained illnesses that would pop up, confound the doctors and then disappear. Things with her heart (pain, erratic beats), kidneys (they thought it was going into failure), stomach (wouldn't eat anything for a week @ a time and would end up in hospital). For a few years Karra would have these episodes where she was so mean and short tempered we only called her Hannah. It was as if she was a different person and then she turned back to herself. . Karra talks all of the time, nonstop sometimes, but with clarity. We are often amazed at the number of topics she can speak about in a matter of minutes. Some of them are so thought provoking or funny you can't answer her before she is on another subject. She definitely keeps your mind popping.
When Mhia was a baby until four years old we called her The Beast. She was as pretty as she could be and if anyone made as if to stoop to her level we would have to warn them to watch their face. Her hands would snake out quickly to scratch. Mhia's familiar was named Charly and was always around. At four years old she was talking to me and I asked her if Charly ever told her to do bad things. Mhia stood up in this Shirley Temple attitude, hands folded sweetly in front of her and said "Oh, no Mommy, Charly is good." I was like what??? Please believe me, I went to church to have my child delivered from this demon. You would have to believe in the spirit of God in order for this to work. The father in the blog does not believe in faith healing and so medication would be their deliverer. A few weeks afterward I asked Mhia about her friend and she said she saw Charly disappear in a puff of smoke. She also said she saw the spirit attached to another little girl when we were walking in the mall. After that Mhia was nothing like the little girl she used to be. The mean little spirit is gone and she is so sweet.
When it comes to Gillean, I don't know. She has always been quiet and very determined. When her mind is set nothing changes it. She never talked about unseen friends. If she did have one it must have been a brick wall.
I believe spirits, demons or whatever you want to call them can get into a person. If there is a God (and there is) there is a devil. I also believe if we sit and entertain them they will hang around and wreck havoc.
4 comments:
Well that is some heavy stuff. I didn't see Oprah but it does seem to reason if there are angels then demons exist as well. We Catholics have known knew of demonic possession as is in the bible and use the tool of exorcism. BUT that said how do you know when it is mental illness or something else?
That's the scary part. The two seem to be so entangled that we tend to follow whichever diagnosis that soothes our mind. I don't know. One would have to ask....would I prefer my child crazy or demon possessed? Most would probably fall into the mental area because it is accepted easier.
Many times I would wonder if Karra was out of her mind or just fooling us. She was just so blatantly smart and smart mouthed she would make you want to slap her. Mhia's entire demeanor (when questioned about Charly) changed so quick I knew it wasn't of God. Which I guess is the answer. God will let you know.
I watched the Oprah episode and, as soon as it was over, I hugged Gabi. When I saw the promos, I was concerned that I would also doubt Gabi's "stability." However, when you watch the full episode, you see exactly how mentally disturbed Jani is and it's clear that she is totally unlike any other child - no matter how rambunctious or imaginative.
I wonder, too, about the line between evil spirits and mental illness. But, I must say that, when I think about the innocence of children, I have a hard time imagining an "evil" spirit inhabiting such a special thing. According to the parents and home video, Jani exhibited problems from birth. I think mental illness is the answer.
Some people say that drugs, like acid, etc. can cause drug-induced mental illnesses like schizophrenia. But, I wonder if that is more the "evils" we've allowed to take over our body. When you take drugs, become addicted to drugs, I think you allow your body to be managed by otehr forces, and leave yourself open to the evil spirits on the earth. Just my opinion...
But, I think Jani's mental illness is real.
The possession of evil spirits or spirits of any kind on a child is def. hard to accept, but it makes you wonder. With all of the mental illness or the propensity to be homosexual would make you think. We are taught God calls this an abomination and yet people say they have known from childhood what sex they preferred or basically God made a mistake. Could a spirit have attached itself to this person? I believe a child should be prayed over from the time it enters the mother's womb. How much better to start praying before becoming pregnant. I don't believe God makes us ill, but it has to come from somewhere. The little girl's illness is probably real, but I would fall to God for her healing along with the knowledge He has provided to the doctors.
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