Marie Killilea (1913–1991)

Do any of you remember the character named Geri who was on the Facts of life TV show back in the 1980s? Do you remember that she had Cerebral Palsy? For those of you who remember that show, I mention this, so you have some idea what this book is about.

This is the story of Karen Killilea who was born in 1940 with cerebral palsy. Her parents were told by the doctors and other medical specialist to put her in an institution and forget about her. Marie and James Killilea refused to do that.

They spent many many hours giving Karen the physiotherapy and occupational therapy that Karen needed in order for her to learn to speak clearly, to read and write, to walk (albeit with crutches) and to look after her own bodily needs (such as going to the bathroom).

This book also covers all the hard work that Marie did on pushing for a National Cerebral Palsy group (cerebralpalsyguidance dot com) that could sponsor research and push for legislation for those children born with physical and mental handicaps.

The Killilea family are Irish Catholics so there is some mention of religion. Mostly related to Karen's first communion, first confession and her confirmation. I just skipped over those parts.

I had first read this book more than 30 years ago back in the 1980s, before I left home, so this was a long overdue re-read for me. There is also a sequel called With Love From Karen. I may be reading that soon as well.… (mer)

SPOILER

This is the sequel to the best selling memoir Karen that was written in the 1950s. Karen was born with Cerebral palsy and grew up in an Irish catholic family. She learnt to walk with cruches and leg braces, but those were always painful and so she eventually chose to return to using the wheelchair. The wheelchair gave her more freedom and no more pain.

Karen had been educated at home with a tutor because no school would accept her. Their excuse was usually something like, she cant walk so she cannot keep up with the other children. When she turned 12 years the family moved from Rye NY to Larchmont NY, just down the road and slightly closer to NYC. There the Good Counsel Catholic church and diocese accepted Karen as a student and she finally was able to go to school.

Today Karen lives in NY state and works as a recptionist for a Catholic retreat. She will turn 80 years old this year (2020). Karens parents passed away in the 1990s. One of Karens older siblings has also passed but there still 2 sisters and 1 brother living in the USA.

There were one chapter I skipped over. It described a catholic church mass in details and had far too much latin in it. This second book was written by Karens mother Marie, in response to all the questions that She received about "what happened next to Karen?"… (mer)

This is one of those classic books that deserves a 5 star review. For the inspiring story that it is, for the superb writing, the humor, grit, honesty and the history behind it as well. Marie Killilea tells the story of her daughter Karen, who was born with cerebral palsy in the early 1940's, a time when PT and OT services were virtually non-existent. The story includes anecdotes, conversations, struggles, and also a parallel story of how Mrs. Killilea helped found the National United Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Delightful and inspiring. This was my second reading of the book. I'm reading the sequel now for the first time!… (mer)