Molly Johnson was born in 1996 and diagnosed at birth with Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch Syndrome. Her parents first child Elliott was born in 1993 with the same condition and passed away at 9 months of age. Molly lived a very full life of 11 ½ years and passed away in her sleep. Her life touched so many people in a very profound way. Molly was never able to walk, she was never able to talk, never able to do many of the normal things that children do. But she lived an incredibly full and happy life.
Families with special needs children often have to make many sacrifices to ensure that these children live their lives to the fullest. Siblings often will make their own sacrifices for their brother or sister who is handicapped. Parents struggle to balance their time, love and attention between a child whose needs can often be very intense and their other children whose needs are just as important in their own way. A special needs child can give a family a sense of closeness and bonding love that is hard to explain but easily felt by each member of the family. As any family of a special needs child will tell you, that child is life’s greatest blessing.