Five-year-old Edon Williams aspires to become a qualified teacher, although lacking hands and feet.
By Indrawattie Natram
Edon playing tennis
Life is considered perfect when one is born with 10 fingers and 10 toes in the appropriate places. But imagine being born without arms to hold or grasp, or legs to walk or run. How would one manage one’s life?
Five-year-old Edon Williams is an adorable youngster with a spunky disposition, who likes to live life to the fullest. There is, however, one peculiar condition attached to this zestful life: he was born without either arms or legs.
Little Edon is a sight to behold — cute, brilliant, and as effervescent as any other child. Our first encounter evoked in me a maelstrom of mixed emotions; but Edon, who is from Upper Red Hill, Mabaruma, Barima River, Region One, taught me that life is worth living, regardless of the circumstances attending one’s entry into this world.
Edon spends most of his days at the Wesleyan church with Pastor Oprah Singh, who takes care of him, interacting with young children from the Charity neighbourhood.
I was struck by his demeanour when I approached him to conduct this interview. He was so polite and positive in introducing himself. “Good afternoon, my name is Edon Williams and I am five years old.”
Edon writing his name
This smart and plucky infant, who moves with assistance from his rear or upper thighs, then thanked me for visiting him, and asked me if I was from the Essequibo.
Edon has proven that his disabilities do not prevent him from enjoying life. Apart from basking in the adoring company of the other children at Charity, he revealed that he has dreams and aspirations like any other five-year-old, and wants to become a teacher. “I want to teach kids like myself, and I want to be able to get cheers, too,” he said.
Edon has an excellent memory and a creative mind; and given opportunity, he could eventually become an outstanding and qualified teacher. The ‘God-blessed child’ as he is referred to, has been living with Pastor Singh at Charity for the past six months. Edon says he likes it on the Essequibo Coast, since he is given better opportunities to travel and play with other children. He related that in the interior he doesn’t have access to school, and is forced to be in the cottage all the time.
Pastor Oprah Singh, who is now his caretaker, welcomed this interview and said that she always considered Edon a “Godblessed child”, never seeing him as any different from other children.
She related that she was on one of her usual missionary trips to the Region One district when she came across a very poor family living at Red Hill. She was shocked when she noticed a little baby lying in a hammock without arms and legs.
The pastor said that the medical term for Edon’s condition is Amelia. She said the absence of both arms is medically referred to as bilateral terminal transverse phocomelia. Pastor Singh said she then met Edon’s parents, Terry and Coleen, who welcomed her with open arms into their little thatched-roof home.
Later, when she moved from the interior, she got a signal saying, ‘You have to take care of this child and make him a better person.’ She then asked Edon’s parents for permission to adopt him, but they were reluctant to part with him.
However, Singh said, after a while, the parents agreed to let their fourth child be taken into her care. She pointed out that Edon still speaks to his parents on a regular basis.
Pastor Singh said that she just wanted Edon to grow up in a better and more educative environment, rather than in his parents’ cottage.
Presently, Edon is being home-schooled by the pastor, since, whenever he attends school, children and teachers are as much distracted by his condition as by his friendly and engaging personality.
The pastor, a frequent visitor to the United States, said Edon was ‘adopted’ by a Miriam Federicks from the United States, who was hoping to transform his life by taking him to New York to be fitted with prosthetics and undergo rehabilitative surgery.
The pastor said this is a challenge, since Edon is thus far unable to acquire a visa to travel to the U.S. to undergo the surgery. Singh said Edon’s adopted mother, Fredericks, along with World Harvest Missionaries, are tirelessly working to get Edon to the United States, so that he could be outfitted with the prosthetics, and rehabilitative treatment to maximize his life and unlock his potential could begin.
Edon is reportedly adapting well to his disability. He can write his name unassisted, and can play tennis and interact with anyone, since he is an intelligent boy.
He also knows verses from the Bible, which he recited from memory, and sang hymns while I was there. The pastor said Edon also leads prayers in church most times.
Edon’s only challenge is to use the washroom, but the pastor said she takes full responsibility for his welfare. When I asked Edon what gift he would want, he said, “I love clothes, nice ones.”
Edon’s story is that of a child who is determined not to let his limbless condition decide the quality of his future life.
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