Premium paper and color photos edition, with dust jacket.
Heather had never felt the warmth of the sun, seen a field of wild flowers, or smelled bacon and eggs sizzling in a skillet. She knew the pain of needles and surgery, but not the comfort of a mother's love, bedtime stories, and good-night kisses. Nor did she know the pleasure of a father's romping playfulness and gentle teasing.
Destined for a life in an institution, she was thought to be deaf, blind, and retarded. She was fed through a tube in her tummy and breathed through a hole in her neck. She did not even know how to move her fingers. In a fleeting moment, our eyes met, and her soul captured mine.
Once home, I woke my husband and said we should adopt her. He protested. He thought the idea was absurd. Once he met her, he changed his mind.
The book is about how we struggled to adopt little Heather, how we searched for a surgeon to restore her voice. Miraculous airway reconstructive surgery gives Heather the gifts of voice and swimming. Without it, she never could have talked or swam with the dolphins.
Heather not only survives, she thrives. Meeting Heather transformed our lives in ways never envisioned, plunging us into despair and showering us with rainbows. Like life, some dreams come true, some do not. In a poignant twist, as a teenager, Heather cares for her adoptive father, when he falls ill.
The story takes place in Florida. It has a happy ending. The grown-up Voiceless Child travels to the island country of St. Kitts for nursing school, falls in love, and even has a daughter of her own. Little Lilly was also born too early, too small, and is a valiant fighter like her mom.
