Carly’s Voice Read Free Page A

of kids had tubes put in their ears. It was as common
     as diaper rash. Just by looking at her, however, we knew that Carly had deeper issues
     than goopy ear canals.
    While Taryn’s skin had smoothed into creamy baby softness, Carly’s often had a ruddy,
     chapped look. Taryn’s eyes seemed to giggle almost from birth, while Carly often wore
     a dozy gaze. And while Taryn was making headway at crawling, pulling herself up, and
     achieving all the other milestones of a toddler, Carly languished on her back. The
     biggest difference between the girls, however, was their personality. Taryn was happy
     and peaceful; Carly cried incessantly, earning her the nickname Cryly.
    Our pediatrician did not seem particularly alarmed, but after the experience we had
     had with Matthew, Tammy and I were on full alert. We were referred to a physiotherapist
     at the Hospital for Sick Children, the first of what would become a legion of specialists.
     When it was clear that one appointment per week would not get Carly moving, Tammy
     enrolled her in a private clinic. Three times a week Tammy brought Carly to physical
     therapy, where they would tediously coax Carly from lying to sitting, and from sitting
     to butt-shuffling across the floor.
    Excerpt from progress report, Play and Learn Integrated Nursery Program, January 4,
     1996:
    J. Spitz, Coordinator
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
    At 10 months of age Carly has shown some delays in her language, gross motor, auditory
     attention and memory, self-help and socialization skills. Frequent ear infections
     with fluid in the middle ear may certainly have impacted her language and auditory
     attention and memory skills. She appears to have some generalized low tone which may
     be impacting upon her gross motor skills at this time. Therapy input seems to be appropriately
     managed through the two therapists seeing Carly at this time. This gives Carly intensive
     focus on motor development at this time. Carly and her mother have begun the weekly
     parent and child program at Play and Learn. Through this program we can target specific
     skills through a play approach. As well, home visits can commence at the family’s
     convenience to provide other suggestions of activities that will enhance Carly’s development.
     She will be reassessed in six months.
    Just after Taryn’s and Carly’s first birthday, we had to acknowledge that Tammy’s
     obstetrician had been right. We needed a bigger house. Our dining room, which hadn’t
     been used for eating since the girls arrived, was filled with toys and scooters. Our
     kitchen, barely large enough to be described as “eat-in,” required that we eat dinner
     in shifts. And the two small bathrooms were always a traffic jam.
    With three children instead of the planned two, we scrapped the idea of sending Matthew
     to private school and in the winter of 1996 found a house in a leafy section of the
     city near excellent publicschools, parks, and stores. If not exactly a dream home, given our budget (which we
     overshot), it was more house than we had hoped for, and compared with our cramped
     quarters, it was a mansion. Four bedrooms, a den on the main floor, and a finished
     basement for a playroom. No more tripping over fire trucks and sit-on turtles with
     wheels. “They’ll carry me out of here in a body bag,” I told Tammy.
    This was to be our house for life. I sought a measure of serenity in a home to counterbalance
     my rapid-fire job and rough-and-tumble family. Despite the awareness that Carly and
     Taryn were developing on diverging paths, I was confident we were starting something
     new and exciting. I had recently changed jobs, joining a hot new ad agency that had
     recently opened in Toronto. I was given a significant role in running a large portion
     of the agency’s flagship beer account. With my newly enlarged family and a house in
     a great neighborhood with good schools, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.
    But as the