Name: Miriam Spies
Location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

My name is Miriam Spies. I was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec at the C.H.U. I was born at 7:00pm. My birth date is March 4, 1988. I had a tough time being born. They tried to get me out with forceps. Then they used suction. When I was born I wasn't breathing right away and they whisked me away to another room. They put me in a box with tubes in me. When I cried no sound came out. So people saw me but they didn't hear me. My Dad felt sad. I had a seizure and so they kept me in the intensive care nursery for about ten days.

Even when I was little I smiled a lot. At least that's what Mom and Dad tell me. I grew bigger like other babies but I was very floppy. That's the word my Dad uses. My Mom said, "There's something wrong." My Dad said, "She had a hard time being born. Just give her time." Finally they took me to a doctor. He checked me all over and thought that I was on a normal track, but maybe slow. He told my Mom and Dad to check back after a few months. When I saw him the second time he decided I was too floppy and that's when I started to see lots of therapists. I saw physiotherapists and occupational therapists and speech therapists. They told my Mom and Dad that I had a condition that is called cerebral palsy. They gave me a CAT scan to check my brain. It didn't show anything. My Mom also took me to see an osteopath. She used to massage my head. So, you see, I met a lot of people and they were all trying to help me.

When I was 2 I got my first braces. My Mom still has them in her cedar chest. About the same time I got a walker to help me move around. I also had a special table with a big board. They strapped me in place and I was standing and leaning at the same time. It helped me move my hands for drawing lines.

When I was born I lived in Ayer's Cliff. I went to Beulah United Church, but I didn't get baptized there. Once a year all the churches where Mom and Dad were ministers had a service and picnic on Lake Massawippi. They asked a friend of theirs to come to that service and baptize me. Her name is Rev. Jane Aikman. So I was baptized outside by a lake.

Mom and Dad couldn't think of someone to be my godmother so I didn't have one for a long time. When I was older I realized that my brother and sister each had a godmother. So I asked if I could have one too. My Mom and Dad said I could choose. It had to be someone who went to church. I picked Nancy Sanders. She is a minister, too. I will write more about her later in my story.

My next door neighbor was Mrs. and Mr. Brown. They were nice! Mr. Brown died. Mrs. Brown is 81 now! Nancy was my babysitter for a few years. My Mom was the minister at the church. My Mom and Dad met in Africa.

When I was three, my family and I moved from Quebec to Ancaster, Ontario. My Dad was the minister at Bowman and Bethesda United Churches. My Mom went back to school and I started nursery school! Every afternoon my Mom or Dad put me on a school bus that had car seats. We practiced walking and other things.

This was the time I got my first puppy. Pepper couldn't see out of one eye. He was medium-sized, black and not very rough. He liked my sister a lot. I used to take him for walks with my Mom and Dad. I would hold on to his leash and my Mom would push my stroller.

When I was four years old, I started day care. That's w where I met my best friend and my second best friend. Sylvia, one of the teachers, took me in a wheel chair every day to practice wheeling myself. At day care we had a nap everyday. I never slept except one time the teachers caught me sleeping and took a picture! We had lunch from the cafeteria. I used to go help get the food sometimes. Then we went outside. There was a slide and I had knee pads so when I fell I didn't hurt my knees because I fall a lot. When I didn't go to sleep I read some books.

I was five when I started Kindergarten but I still went to day care the days when I didn't go to kindergarten. My teacher was Mrs. Jones. My helper was Miss Thomas. Christine was in my class. We had a nap everyday but I didn't sleep. We had little blankets and pillows. I learned to read and print letters.

In grade one, my helper was Mrs. H and my teacher was Mrs. Howe. I didn't like Mrs. Howe very much, but she was okay! I had a speech therapist named Rebecca. She came every Thursday. We played games and I practiced sounds.

This was about the time that I picked out my godmother. My sister and brother didn't get to pick out who they wanted to be their godmother, but I did. I picked Nancy Sanders. She lives in Toronto. She's really, really funny. She takes me out to movies and takes me to her house. I write letters to her on the computer and she writes back. I see her about once every two or three months.

In the Summer I went to P.E.I. I stayed there for five days. It was fun! There was a pool and a swing and a slide right behind our campsite. Nell's godmother stayed with us for a few days. We had a tour of Green Gables. Somebody was pretending be Anne and we went into the forest and she thought there were ghosts.

Then we went to Cape Breton Island. We stayed in a campsite near Louisbourg. It was really funny because in the morning some man said on the speaker, "Come on down. Eggs a flippin', bacon's a-fryin'. The first ten ladies get a free rose." Then we went around the Cabot Trail and we found a great beach for swimming in the ocean. The waves were too big for me. So I stayed in a stream that had water that looked like tea and played on the beach. When we were in Cheticamp my Mom and my sister and I went on a boat looking for whales, but we didn't see any. After that we went to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and I made a kite and then I flew it. After that we stayed near Halifax and got to go to a movie and to do some shopping. We took a tour of the Annapolis Valley. Then we went to stay near Lunenburg.

In Grade Two my teacher was Mrs. Mochrie and my helper was Mrs. H. It was a Grade Two and Grade One class. My best friend in the class was Ashley Kinson and I liked it there. Rebecca was still my speech therapist. She came every Friday.

That summer we went to Alberta to see my Grandma and Grandpa. It took us five days to drive there. We took Sean Smith with us. He was Jeremy's friend. We stayed at my Grandma's and Grandpa's. We saw my aunts and uncles and cousins. We took a little trip into the mountains. We swam in the hot springs at Radium and we visited Fort Steele. We stayed there for about two weeks and then we went home.

In Grade Three my teacher was Mrs. Mochrie and my helper was Mrs. Sari. In October I got a "Yes I Can Award". Mrs. Sari, Mrs. H., Mrs. Howe, Mrs. Downs, Mrs. Milligan and Mrs. Mochrie were all there along with my Mom and Dad. We had a huge supper. Then they called my name and I went up and got the award. Then in the assembly at the school Mrs. Mochrie told everyone that Christine and I both got a "Yes I Can Award."

On Halloween I dressed up as a Care Bear that my sister's friend's mom sewed. It was pink. It was called Brave Heart, I think. On Halloween night I went with Brittany and we went down Meadowlands. That was the best year. I got tons of candy. We went to her house after and we sorted the candy out. Then me and my Mom went home.

In November on Remembrance Day I fell down the stairs and had to go to the hospital. I had to stay in hospital for a few days. My Mom and Dad took turns staying with me until I went home. I ate jello most of the time and I went to the schoolroom and did some work. After that I saw a gardening show. Kayla came to see me and gave me a bean bag monkey and a card. Chelsey came to see me and gave me a card. I got a big, long letter from my class. That made me feel a lot better. I got flowers from the Staff at Grange. My brother and sister came to see me one time. I got out on a Friday morning.

On Christmas Eve we went to a barn service. There were a lot of people. There were little pigs. My brother was Joseph. We had it in Raymond's barn. My Dad didn't expect that many people.

After the service we had supper and then we went to another church service and I sang in the choir. In the morning, I woke up and opened my presents. I got a locket, a few books, a bag, the game, "Don't Wake Daddy", a puzzle, a book shelf and clothes.

On New Year's Eve, we stayed up till midnight! We played Monopoly for a couple of hours. I didn't win. Then we went downstairs and watched the building blow up and then we had a drink of sparkling apple juice. Then we went to bed.

In February I had my birthday party. I had a sleep-over. Seven people came but only five slept over. We played a game, then had pizza and pop and cake. After that, we made bracelets. We opened the presents. I got a bunny and a lamb and a little dog. I also got clothes and books and two movies. Later we went downstairs and watched Alaska and then we went into my room and had a spelling bee. We went to bed but we didn't sleep. Christine woke up in the night and said, "I'm scared of the dark" so she climbed in my bed and she said again, "You go over there, I go here." So she slept in my bed. She had a good sleep but the rest of us didn't. Chelsey got up and said, "This is the worst party." Finally some of us got to sleep. My Dad had to come down twice, my Mom had to go down once to tell us to be quiet. That was my best party ever!

Later my Godmother came over to celebrate my birthday. She gave me a game ` called 13 Dead End Drive.

On March the 7th my sister had a party. We went to see a movie called Martin's Room. It was wonderful!

On Easter my Grandma and Grandpa came over. They came to church. I sang in the choir. They stayed for lunch. My Grandma gave me a ladybug necklace, some panty hose and a Pocahontas shirt.

On Sunday, May 4th we went to a Blue Jay baseball game with our church. It was be fun. Grade 4 my teacher was Ms. Gordan and my helper was Mrs. Sari.. Grade 5 my teacher is Mr. Kojekako, but I call him Mr. K and my helper is Mrs. Sari..

When I grow up I want to be an author. I've written three stories. One is five pages, one is fourteen pages and the one at school is two pages. I want to write mostly chapter books and some picture books. I started writing stories when I was eight, I think. And I really like to write stories for kids.

By: Miriam Spies

My email address is diane.blanchard@sympatico.ca