Reaching the Light – The Story of a Special Needs Boy and His Sister
This is the story of a boy with cerebral palsy and his big sister, a team of therapists and a medical doctor, sacrifice, commitment, perseverance, changed lives, and of course, love.
The story takes place in Mongolia, a vast country where, outside the capital of Ulaanbaatar, special needs children receive almost no assistance from any trained developmental disability professional. A diagnosis might be correct – in this case, a boy with cerebral palsy – but treatment would likely be nil or completely incorrect. Everyone hopes for a quick fix – medicine, injections, surgery – but usually, none can be found.
The Boy and the Sacrifice
Bas-huu’s family lives in the far northwest of Mongolia, a two-day drive from the capital and, like many children with disabilities, he had received no useful help. Bas-huu’s sister Tungalag, with only one year left in medical school to become a doctor, made the sacrificial decision to quit for one year to find help for her brother.
Hearing about Reaching the Light, an organization based in Ulaanbaatar that provides physical, speech, and occupational therapy for special needs children, Tungalag approached the team with an unusual request: let her and her brother live at their developmental center for a 7-month concentrated period of time to work daily on rehabilitation. Although Reaching the Light’s center provides rooms for rural families who participate in their two-week intensive therapy sessions, no one had ever asked for this. The team agreed, taking into consideration Tungalag’s sacrifice to leave the university so close to the completion of her degree.
Commitment and Painfully Hard Work
Eleven-year-old Bas-huu couldn’t stand, walk, brush his teeth, clean his face and hands or read, and struggled with speech. No one doubted his intelligence, but he had difficulty communicating.
Dr. Duurenbayar (known as Dure), Reaching the Light’s medical doctor, remembers the first few times that Bas-huu was placed in a pediatric stander, a frame that supports the body in a standing position, used for children with cerebral palsy. “He couldn’t stand in the frame for even two minutes because he has involuntary movement and fluctuating muscle tone. His body would sweat and in a few minutes he would start to cry. The sister worked very hard every day to do the therapy with her brother. Day by day he began to stand longer on the stand and the muscles got strong and elongated. He started to have new skills and it was very encouraging, this boy and his sister.”
Daily the staff of therapists worked with Bas-huu on standing, walking, muscle strengthening, speech and even learning to read. Slowly, steadily he improved in all areas.
A Different Kind of Change
Brother and sister had been raised as Buddhists, but during her first year at university, Tungalag had become a Christian through a Korean pastor in the town. Reaching the Light, founded by Christians, held regular Bible studies and shared the gospel every Friday at the center.
Dr. Dure remembers those early meetings. “When we shared the gospel to the mothers, Bas-huu would say loudly, ‘You shouldn’t believe in Jesus!’ He didn’t like Jesus. His parents aren’t Christians. But some months later he started to believe. They brought him to church every Sunday, and he really liked it and started to read a children’s Bible by himself.”
Reaching the Light is one of four programs of Mongolia Asia Reach of which Otgonbayar (known as Oogii) is the Manager. Oogii shares the gospel with families at the center and sometimes joins Reaching the Light screening trips to rural locations to do the same. He met Tungalag and Bas-huu during their stay at the center in Ulaanbaatar.
“Bas-huu was so harsh against Christ,” Oogii remembers, “but then God worked in his heart and he listened. Even though he doesn’t speak much, he thinks many things inside. He’s very intelligent, and made conclusions in his heart, listening and listening every Friday as we shared the gospel. His mind turned and he chose to believe. God worked step by step.”
When asked why his heart changed, Bas-huu says simply, “Buddha requires a lot of things – money and other stuff. But Jesus is so different. He just requires faith and hope. Jesus only asks us to believe.”
Love Multiplied
Bas-huu returned home to live with his parents in the province of Uvs while his sister Tungalag returned to complete university. In June this year, Reaching the Light’s team of therapists flew Blue Sky Aviation (MAF in Mongolia) to Uvs province to screen new special needs children and follow up on those who have completed the therapy sessions in the capital.
When Bas-huu, now 13, walks through the door of the therapy room at the local hospital with his sister, he is greeted with hugs, joy and love from the Reaching the Light staff. Bas-huu’s walk is a bit unsteady, but he brags that he can walk at least five meters now, and proves it by crossing the length of the therapy room before losing balance. Dogi, Reaching the Light’s physical therapist, runs through some exercises with him, and Dr. Dure consults with brother and sister. All are pleased with the progress he is making.
“His reading speed is getting fast,” Dure observes. “He can walk by himself for longer distances, and his balance is improving. Also, he takes care of himself, brushing his teeth and cleaning his face and hands. Before the therapy his parents were doing everything for him, but now the family members understand that he needs to take care of himself as much as possible. I also heard from his sister that he is sharing the gospel with his parents and family members.”
Love permeates this family story and God even chose to add a little more. Oogii (the manager of Mongolia Asia Reach) and Tungalag became friends during her brother’s therapy at the center and fell in love. This August the couple married and, hopefully, as we say, all will live happily ever after.
