Jeff s life was
one of mystery and faith combined. He spent the first twelve years of
his life locked in the mystery of autism with no communication. Then one
day he saw a TV show on facilitated communication and immediately wanted
to know more about it. This communication method unlocked his world. He
was able to go from a Trainable Mentally Impaired room to regular high
school classes. Communication and home work remained a challenge for him,
but he was able to prove how bright he really was.
One of his first requests after learning facilitated communication
was to be baptized in our church. Although we all felt terrible that this
bright funny young man remained in silence all those years, he had spent
that time developing such a close walk with his Lord. He had not really
been in silence at all, but been with the best friend he could ever have!
The biggest tragedy of Jeff’s life was that he could
not control the autism. He thought once he could communicate he would
be "normal" and then one day he realized that who he felt like
inside was not who anyone else saw on the outside. His two goals in life
were to share Christ's love with all around him and to find a way to cure
the autism he hated so much. His brain tissue donation was his last act
at trying to meet that goal. We are so grateful for the dignity and respect
this site shows to all those bravely trying to bring about his goal. |