The View from Four Foot Two

Judi Markowitz’s first child, Lindsay, was born with Marshall-Smith Syndrome in 1979. She can still hear the doctor’s words when she shut her eyes at night. She did not completely understand them at the time. She does now. Denial has coalesced into reality with a brutal vengeance. It affected her life and the life of every person she has ever known and loved.

This year, Judi decided it was time to share a mother’s story to celebrate the miracle of Lindsay and, hopefully, to allow every mother of a normal child never to take their miracles for granted.

Dateline Detroit: Parking Lot Encounters of the Third Kind

There is a wise saying by Mahatma Gandhi that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. It appears that many people have forgotten this important concept— especially while in a parking lot.

For decades we have observed some of the most absurd parking behaviors. Driving around a parking lot to find an appropriate space is our usual routine. There are never enough parking places for disabled individuals, and they are generally taken—often illegally…

Dateline Detroit: Mom’s in the OR, but its not a movie!

She walked into the room wearing stiletto heels adorned with decorative studs. Her dress was fashionable, too. I admired her style. She had a smile that was endearing, and she exuded confidence. I immediately recalled how I had liked this woman the moment we met in her office a decade ago. Then, just as now, Felicia Ivascu had made us feel at ease, and this was due to her upbeat personality. We knew she cared, as this was evidenced in her approach. These are important qualities in an individual, but they are especially important for a surgeon.

We first met Dr. Ivascu in 2012, right before our daughter Lindsay had her first hip replacement surgery…

Dateline Detroit: Riding the Covid Rollercoaster

Covid came crashing through our door a few weeks ago . He was unwelcome, and I truly did not expect him at this point in the game. Everyone else in the family had contracted Covid at varying times in the past few years, and we considered ourselves the lucky ones. I thought we had dodged the bullet and squeaked by this this foul intruder. I was wrong.

From the onset of the pandemic, our family followed all the precautionary measures to remain safe. We wore masks, stayed away from large crowds, washed our hands constantly, and were vigilant due to the health issues of our daughter, Lindsay…

The Gawkers, The Talkers, the Smilers, and the
Do-Gooders

Having a disabled child has brought me face-to-face with every imaginable type of social behavior. Over the years, though, I have come to realize that there are basically just four groups of people, all of whom reveal their true natures when encountering an individual with special needs. I call them the gawkers, the talkers, the smilers, and the do-gooders…

The Pandemic and It’s Unique Challenges for My Disabled Daughter

On March 13th, 2020, my adult daughter, Lindsay, became a hostage of coronavirus. For someone with special needs, this date marked an imprisonment that had far reaching effects. Lindsay’s day program, New Gateways, in Waterford, Mich., closed along with every other program in the state that serves the developmentally challenged community.

Covid had tentacles that were tearing at the delicate fabric of Lindsay’s world. How do you explain this absurdity to your daughter who is severely mentally and physically challenged?

Phoenix’s Life with Marshall-Smith Syndrome

“Hi, I’m Phoenix and when I was only 2 months old I was diagnosed with Marshall Smith Syndrome. Not a lot of information was out there about my syndrome, so my mom and dad relied on finding information from other parents of Marshall Smith Syndrome kids.

My parents created this channel to provide a resource beyond medical jargon etc, to help other parents in search of hope. We are sharing our journey so that they can see there is a lot of living to do even with such an extremely rare and unpredictable syndrome. Thank you for stopping in, welcome to my story.”