And God said, “I will send them without wings, so no one suspects that they are angels.
~unknown |
Double Your Donation for Michael! Today, in celebration of the mothers of Mountain Shadows, we share the story below of Carol Haskin, and her son, Michael – a story that proves to us there really are angels on earth – and right here at Mountain Shadows.
All this month, we are honoring our Mountain Shadows mothers. Sadly, there are few mothers, few parents, who are actively involved in the lives of their children living at Mountain Shadows. For the children who have no mothers, who have no families, Mountain Shadows is home.
Your support will help us continue to provide loving care for all of their needs.
And thanks to Portia Bibb’s generous pledge to match up to $10,000, your donation to the Mountain Shadows Foundation will be doubled!
If you make a one-time donation today of $150 or more, not only will your donation be doubled, you will also receive a FREE set of handmade cards, featuring artwork by our Mountain Shadows Outreach Services participants.
Please click here to have your donation DOUBLED today.
Click here to see the beautiful greeting cards handmade by our MSOS participants. |
by Sheryl Wilde “Oh, I feel so bad for him.” “I don’t think anybody’s ever said that to me about Michael,” says Carol Haskin, Michael’s mother and Mountain Shadows Board Member. “But I know people sometimes say it about the disabled. And I just feel like there is no reason to feel that way about Michael, or any disabled individuals. “I feel that Michael is in this world – his purpose in the world – is to allow other people to learn how to love, learn how to care. I say “to learn how to” because Michael is there, and he needs their support. I feel like that’s his purpose. That’s the purpose of the residents of Mountain Shadows.
“People have to be given the opportunity to grow, and to learn to care, and to learn how to love. I think that’s where Michael comes in. It gives them the opportunity.” |
“I remember how hard it was for my mom to think about placing Michael, to think about him not living at home,” says Kelly Ray, Carol’s daughter. “That was really, really a difficult decision. It was heartbreaking for her. Devastating. He’s her everything. “I think there’s a lot of guilt, and the feeling like nobody can take care of our children as well as we can. She was feeling guilty that she couldn’t take care of him physically as well as he needed to be.
“Having to let Michael go and trust other people to care for him – that was really, really hard. He is solely dependent on other people. You hope others are going to do what you would do, but you also know nobody else would love him the way you do.
“It was a hard decision for my mother to place him at Mountain Shadows, but it was selfless on her part.” |
“Michael doesn’t walk or talk or sit by himself,” says Carol. “He needs help with everything. But, through Mountain Shadows, he has been able to do so much. He’s gone places he would never have been able to go. He’s had a lot of experiences we just wouldn’t have been able to give him. “Mountain Shadows takes him everywhere. They take him to Disneyland. They take him to Sea World. He’s gone sit-skiing. He went to Camp Able. All those things would not have been possible for us to give him.
“If Michael would have stayed at home, he would have been the only child at home with my husband, Randy, and me. He likes to be around other people. He’s always got to have someone around. He likes having the company. He’s the baby of five children. And I have 7 brothers and sisters. When we get together as a family, there’s quite a crowd. He always loved that.” |
“One of my favorite memories is Circus Day at Mountain Shadows,” adds Kelly. “Every year, I would take my two boys to Circus Day, from the time they were babies, all the way up to middle school.
“They would go to Circus Day at Uncle Mike’s house at Mountain Shadows, and they loved it. They loved all the games. There was the Chinese dragon. They loved being there with the other kids and Mountain Shadows residents.
“I look at what a gift it was for my boys growing up in that atmosphere. They’re not scared of people who look different or act different than they do. They’re very accepting of all people.
“I think a lot of that came from being around Michael all the time. When they were little, they would sit on his lap. They just loved Uncle Mike. I think it was such a gift to be able to give my children, growing up, to really be able to accept and honor people for who they are, no matter how different they look or act. “Mountain Shadows Circus Days with the kids were some of the best days really. I miss Circus Days so much.” |
“Michael is such a unique and special part of our family,” adds Kelly. “He was always the one who brought us together in a way of really learning to live selflessly.
“He helped us recognize that we are all part of a family. We all have a different part to play and we’re all interdependent on one another. I think he taught us that from a very young age, even with his disabilities, there was so much he was able to give us.
“I think, from Michael, we learned how to find joy in the small things. We would see how joyful he would get at the sound of a voice. He would help us to see things that I think a lot of times get overlooked, or get taken for granted.” |
“Michael’s laugh makes him special,” says Carol. “When he starts laughing, everybody starts laughing. He’s usually a pretty happy guy. He just brings a lot of joy and happiness to people around him.
“And Michael just loves to play the piano. He loves it. We had a piano at home when he was young and he always loved it. It was pretty much one of the only times I would see him use both of his hands. I have several cousins that are piano players. When they came to visit, he would love to sit at the piano with them. Now he has his keyboard at Mountain Shadows. He loves to play his keyboard.” |
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Adds Kelly, “I think what makes Michael special is just his pure love. There is just something so pure about him. He’s untainted by this world. He continues to persevere, to defy the odds, and to remain happy and joyful in life. In the midst of what we would consider not a normal life, there is just such a pure joy in him.” |
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“As for my mom, she turned everything into something good,” says Kelly. “She was just so good at always teaching us to see the good in things. And I think Michael has made my mom stronger than she expected she could be. Their relationship is so close. “Michael lights up when my mom comes in the room. She makes him feel so loved and comforted and safe. He’s her baby.” |
“There is none better than my mom,” says Kelly. “We, as a family, have all known we are loved. We are accepted. We are capable. We are special. We all know that because of how she demonstrated that to each of us in our own way. She helped us all become the best that we could be. The best version of ourselves. There’s none better than my mom.
“If there was a superwoman incarnate, that would be my mom. She is selfless beyond words. She is strong. She is everything I ever needed her to be, to all of us in such unique ways. She’s always present. She works harder than anyone I know. She just has more love to give than you think humanly possible. She’s taught me everything about how to love well, how to forgive well, how to stay strong, how to persevere, and what it looks like to give endlessly.
“As a mom, I feel like she was the greatest example and role model for me. I try to emulate what I saw her do because that is the type of mom I want to be.
“I don’t know if there’s any way to express just how thankful and grateful I am for my mom, for Michael, for Mountain Shadows, for our family. I feel blessed to be a part of all of it.
“I would like to say thank you to my mom, thank you to Michael for all he’s taught me, thank you to Mountain Shadows that has supported our family in ways that are hard to express, and in ways we never expected. I am just thankful and grateful for everything.” |
Says Carol, “Michael has brought to me the realization of what love is. Love isn’t dependent on anything you do, or anything you say. Love is just there. He’s widened my world. I couldn’t imagine our family without him. “I think as a mother, the biggest thing he’s taught me is unconditional love. You love regardless of who they are, what they do, or what happens.
“What they can and can’t do – that has nothing to do with love. Michael has taught me what love really is and how to love better. He’s just been a blessing to our family. Everybody is a better person for having interacted with him.
“It has just been a blessing to be a part of Michael’s life – and to be a part of the Mountain Shadows Family.
“Mountain Shadows has opened me up to how many good and caring people there are in the world. It’s given me a lot of faith, and a lot of hope, that there are a lot of good people out there, even though we don’t hear about it on the news.” |
To Michael: The day you were born, the angels whispered,
“She is going to love him until the day she dies.” It has been said that angels are the guardians of hope and wonder, the keepers of magic and dreams. While we may not see their wings, we believe there are angels among us – in the guise of Carol and Michael Haskin.
And the purity of their love, without boundaries or conditions, is a shining testament to this truth. And God said,
“I will send them without wings, so no one suspects that they are angels. ~unknown From our entire Mountain Shadows Family, Happy Mother’s Day, Carol! |
In honor of Michael and his mother, Carol, and in celebration of all our Mountain Shadows Mothers, Portia Bibb will match up to $10,000 in donations to the Mountain Shadows Foundation!
While Michael and Carol are blessed to have each other, many of our residents have no parents, no families – other than our Mountain Shadows Family. Your support will help us continue to provide loving care to all of our residents. You can be an Angel Without Wings, today, and have your Mother’s Day gift DOUBLED: $25 → $50 $50 → $100 $75 → $150
$100 → $200 $500 → $1,000 Double another amount
If you make a one-time donation today of $150 or more, not only will your donation be doubled, you will also receive a FREE set of handmade cards, featuring artwork by our Mountain Shadows Outreach Services participants.
As a Mountain Shadows Family, we can be the guardians of hope and wonder, the keepers of magic and dreams for our residents. Donate now and you can receive a tax deduction for this year! Your gift will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $10,000.
On Mother’s Day, and all days, the Mountain Shadows Foundation funds activities which add meaning and richness to our residents’ lives. Click on the link below to have your donation doubled today: Please click here to double your donation today! Click here to see the beautiful greeting cards handmade by our MSOS participants. Please share this story with your family, friends and co-workers to help grow our Mountain Shadows Family! | The Mountain Shadows Foundation –
Because We CARE |
Thanks to YOUR SUPPORT, the Mountain Shadows CARE program provides recreational and social experiences to residents and participants adding meaning and richness to their lives. It’s easy for you to help us continue to provide activities like this – activities that improve the quality of our residents’ lives in fulfillment of their dreams. Here are some ways you can help ensure these crucial activities can continue for years to come: - Make a one-time donation today by clicking on the donate button below.
- Make a monthly or annual contribution.
- Leave a Legacy Gift.
To learn more about the Mountain Shadows Foundation Legacy Society, to include us in your estate plan, or to let us know if you have already designated Mountain Shadows to receive a legacy gift, please contact Mandy Huiras, Director of Development at: mhuiras@mtnshadows.org, or visit our website by clicking here:
Learn More About the Mountain Shadows Foundation Legacy Society
Please share this story with your family, friends and co-workers to help grow our Mountain Shadows Family! |
Mandy Huiras
Mountain Shadows Foundation Director of Development
Contact Mandy today to learn more about the Mountain Shadows Foundation and how you can continue to make a difference in the lives of our residents:
mhuiras@mtnshadows.org |
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