COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Realizing that she couldn’t support her child anymore, Javid’s mother brought him to the hospital and left him in the care of the staff there.  “That was the last time I ever saw her, but I did have the support of my grandmother while in the hospital,” he said. While he received treatment, he was asked if he might be interested in being adopted by an American family. The International Mission of Hope was an American adoption service that was stationed in Calcutta and had assisted in many successful placements. “My grandmother assumed that I was to go to a very rich country where I would get all the care I needed.” 

Jackie of Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota had worked with the Mission before and had adopted another Indian child through their services. When contacted and asked if she might be interested in adopting Javid, she agreed. It took nearly a month to arrange all paperwork, but Javid arrived in Minnesota shortly thereafter. However, his healing journey was just beginning. He was hospitalized at Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul many times for various corrective surgeries. Perhaps it was in this process that Javid built the resilience and faith needed to move forward in his journey home.

Javid was homeschooled at the Moose Lake School with several other children. He was able to learn English as a second language as well as sign language. At age seven, he was enrolled in public school.  At this point, he was still struggling with his health and language and was moved into special education. “We fought so many battles with the school district, Jackie said. “He was basically given busy work for long periods of time.” At this point in her life, Jackie was running her family farm and juggling the duties of attending to seven adopted children. 

A year later, Jackie married a man from Montana and she moved the family to Sheridan, Montana. Life in Montana was rustic and yet adventurous. They lived on a remote ranch that covered nearly 20 acres.  She remembers how Javid would take his wheelchair onto logging roads and setting out for adventure. Javid was now a young, impressionable man and still acclimating to the many changes he had already experienced in life. When he was given some questionable advice, he decided to emancipate himself at the age of 17. He immediately moved out and was given a home in a nursing facility.  “It was very, very hard. I kept thinking of my Mom and my decision. It wasn’t home,” Javid recollects.

The group home that he was assigned to provided minimal care and support, and he was traumatized by sexual and financial exploitation while there. An investigation was initiated by the State of Montana, and Javid was moved to a new city.  Life got better in Helena, Montana. Javid received services and support through Family Outreach of Montana, including his own apartment for the first time. “I enjoyed my first real apartment, and I felt that I was getting the services that I really needed. It was the best time of my life.  I was going places and had a good caregiver, they were providing quality care,” he said. Javid was named to the Board of Directors for Queen City Estates, an agency that provides accessible efficiency and housing for persons with disabilities. Javid was also enjoying his first ever job at Helena Industries.

Staffing changed at Family Outreach, and Javid began to struggle with his wound care once again.  Eventually, his health deteriorated and he was sent to a nursing home. “This became one of the worst times of my life. I was so depressed and full of anxiety and had no one to reach out to. They really didn’t know what to do with me. I just wanted to close my eyes and not wake up,” he said. 

“I had one last fight in me, so I picked up the phone and called my mom to tell her I wanted to come home.” It had been nearly three years since he had seen her, and she had since moved back to Minnesota. However, his mother didn’t hesitate to answer the call and bring him home.

Due to his poor health, Javid was moved to Eveleth Nursing Home before being able to move back into his family home. Both he and his mother began researching options that were similar to the services he enjoyed at Family Outreach. “Of course, I wanted to be closer to my mom, and I wanted to live in a small community. I was touched by the person-centered philosophy of RSI, and I wanted more for my life,” Javid said. Javid was home, and he was allowed to move about in his new community of Cook, Minnesota. However, his wounds grew worse and he once again had surgery that left him confined to his bed.

Though the cycle of wound care continues, Javid remains resolute. “I am in the right place, and I now have the right people in my life,” he said. Community is important for Javid. Upon meeting him, it is clear that he is a people person and his smile will light up a room. Javid still dreams of skiing again for Courage Kenny and meets regularly with his friends from Northwoods Arts, who come to his home and help him with his painting. His dream is to share his journey with others and become more involved in advocacy for persons with disabilities.  He is always looking forward, always looking beyond the world of disability, and eager to share his abilities and joy with others.