God Had to Be Fair

We always knew our daughter Kendall was going be a performer of some sort. She entertained people in our small town by putting on shows on our front porch when she was only three or four. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and beautiful, she sang like a little angel and mesmerizedeveryone.

When Kendall was five, we began to notice that she was blinking a lot and clearing her throat frequently. We had her tested for allergies, but the doctor said she wasn't allergic to anything at all. After the problem worsened, we took her to our local children's hospital where she was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome.

It was pretty devastating because other children constantly made fun of her, and sadly, even a teacher teased her. When the tics were especially bad, Kendall had to wear a neck brace. She only had one or two friends, but that was okay because they were -- and continue to be -- real, the kind who stick by her, no matter what. Through all this, Kendall continued to sing and entertain. Remarkably, her tics disappeared when she sang.

We took our daughter from doctor to doctor, but all they did was give her medication that just made it worse, so we decided to go the natural route. Through chiropractic therapy, changes in her diet, and other natural treatments, the tics gradually lessened.

In 2005 when Kendall was sixteen, we thought she was pretty much out of the woods -- or at least heading in that direction. However, as if Tourette's Syndrome wasn't enough for a beautiful young girl to deal with, a freak accident happened.

At a birthday party, Kendall hopped on a friend for a piggyback ride. He bent lower than she expected, and she jumped higher than he expected. Kendall flew over his back and landed on the cement floor -- on her neck. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital where she spent the next week, paralyzed from the neck down. Ironically, her biggest concern wasn't whether she would walk again, but whether she would be able to audition for American Idol.

Doctors said Kendall had central cord syndrome. The pain was excruciating and required morphine to control it. Sometimes it was so unbearable she had to bite down on a toothbrush to take her mind off it. As the days dragged on, feeling returned to her left side, but she was still paralyzed on the right. We didn't know for sure how much of her movement would ever come back.

I believe Kendall wanted the American Idol audition so much that she willed herself to move again. One of her friends brought a microphone to the hospital and put it on her bed. Every day, Kendall tried hard to pick it up with her right hand. It was more important for her to pick up that mic than a spoon or fork.

Sometimes we all cried because of the pain we witnessed. But on the day Kendall walked into the stadium to audition for American Idol -- a mere three months after her accident -- we cried tears of joy. And our tears turned into shouts when she was given a golden ticket to Hollywood.

As a parent, you always think your child is the best ever -- that's just what parents do. But after seeing Kendall perform, I know she's one of the best, even though she didn't make it into the Top 24.

Kendall is eighteen now, living every day to its fullest. She's recorded a CD with some of John Mellencamp's band members. She's also on CMT's Music City Madness for an original song and video, and is having some good success. I'm absolutely sure she's going to make it big some day. Kendall just puts it all in God's hands.

When she was a little girl trying hard to be strong, she looked up at me, her big eyes brimming with tears, and asked me why she had to have Tourette's Syndrome. My heart ached to make the world right for my child. But I looked right back at her and told her the truth as I see it.

"Kendall, God gave you a pure heart, an angelic voice, a strong mind, and a beautiful presence. With all of that, he had to make it fair for everyone else."

1 mesmerized

v.使入迷( mesmerize的過去式和過去分詞 )

參考例句：

The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾駛而過的一輛輛車迷住了。 來自《現(xiàn)代英漢綜合大詞典》

My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14歲的女兒完全被電影《泰坦尼克號(hào)》迷住了。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)

2 allergies

n.[醫(yī)]過敏癥;[口]厭惡，反感;(對(duì)食物、花粉、蟲咬等的)過敏癥( allergy的名詞復(fù)數(shù) );變態(tài)反應(yīng)，變應(yīng)性

參考例句：

Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物過敏會(huì)引發(fā)很多不同的癥狀。 來自辭典例句

Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 現(xiàn)在讓我們來看看最常見的變態(tài)反應(yīng)的一種--枯草熱。 來自辭典例句

3 allergic

adj.過敏的，變態(tài)的

參考例句：

Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾麗斯對(duì)貓的皮毛過敏。

Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.許多人對(duì)空氣傳播的污染物過敏，比如花粉。

4 syndrome

n.綜合病癥;并存特性

參考例句：

The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 該研究所表示,引起這種綜合癥的是一種尚未確認(rèn)的病毒。

Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 結(jié)果表明有11個(gè)胎兒患有唐氏綜合征。

5 devastating

adj.毀滅性的，令人震驚的，強(qiáng)有力的

參考例句：

It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.這是20年來破壞性最大的風(fēng)暴。

Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情確實(shí)會(huì)對(duì)婚姻造成毀滅性的影響。

6 brace

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括號(hào); v. 繃緊,頂住,(為困難或壞事)做準(zhǔn)備

參考例句：

My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女兒得戴牙套以矯正牙齒。

You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些壞消息,你最好做好準(zhǔn)備。

7 remarkably

ad.不同尋常地，相當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

參考例句：

I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我認(rèn)為她在那種情況下非?？酥啤?/p>

He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康復(fù)得相當(dāng)快。

8 decided

adj.決定了的，堅(jiān)決的;明顯的，明確的

參考例句：

This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.這使他們比對(duì)手具有明顯的優(yōu)勢(shì)。

There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英國(guó)人和中國(guó)人打招呼的方式有很明顯的區(qū)別。

9 lessened

減少的，減弱的

參考例句：

Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演講辭通過翻譯的嘴說出來，多少削弱了演講的力量。

The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 隨著遷往郊外的風(fēng)行，住在城內(nèi)的中產(chǎn)家庭減少了。

10 hopped

跳上[下]( hop的過去式和過去分詞 ); 單足蹦跳; 齊足(或雙足)跳行; 摘葎草花

參考例句：

He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽車想開向市區(qū)。

He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳進(jìn)汽車，向市區(qū)開去。

11 bent

n.愛好，癖好;adj.彎的;決心的，一心的

參考例句：

He was fully bent upon the project.他一心撲在這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃上。

We bent over backward to help them.我們盡了最大努力幫助他們。

12 audition

n.(對(duì)志愿藝人等的)面試(指試讀、試唱等)

參考例句：

I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去試音，可并不指望會(huì)給我個(gè)角色演出。

At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他們說他太小，但后來他們叫他去試聽。

13 idol

n.偶像，紅人，寵兒

參考例句：

As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作為獨(dú)子，他是父母的寵兒。

Blind worship of this idol must be ended.對(duì)這個(gè)偶像的盲目崇拜應(yīng)該結(jié)束了。

14 unbearable

adj.不能容忍的;忍受不住的

參考例句：

It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是處于焦慮不安的情況中是受不了的。

The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越覺得無法忍受。

15 mere

adj.純粹的;僅僅，只不過

參考例句：

That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不過是重復(fù)了你以前講的話。

It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去純粹是浪費(fèi)時(shí)間。