It's hard to know what to do when your child has not spoken for over three years.
It reached the point where Tracy and Julian Austria had almost given up hope of hearing
their daughters laugh.
Except, on one visit to a donkey sanctuary, their life changed.
Tracy and Julian, from the City of Birmingham in England, were no doubt excited when they
welcomed twins that summer in 2010.
However, Tracy and her family soon came to worry when things did not go according to
plan.
Amber and Hope were born prematurely at 26 weeks.
As a baby they were so small & fragile, but now they're experts in their condition.
Likewise, Hope's strength grew with them every day.
However, her sister, Amber had trouble breathing on assisted.
As a result, surgeons felt it was necessary to perform an emergency tracheotomy.
During the procedure, doctors inserted a pipe into ambers throat to enable her to breathe.
However, while the operation did save her life and also had a negative side effect,
the tube cut off the flow of air to the Todd's vocal cords, leaving her mute.
And there were more setbacks ahead for little Amber.
Doctors diagnosed her with cerebral palsy when she was just two years old, this meant
she struggled to build up muscle affecting her mobility.
“She struggled to sit up and showed no signs of crawling till very late on,” Amber’s
dad, Julian revealed to the Dodo website in April, 2017.
A friend mentioned the donkey sanctuary to Tracy, Amber’s mother and told her the donkeys
can give therapy to additional needs children.
So, he decided to try, the donkey sanctuary changes the lives of mutuals from around the
world.
Not only does the organization rescue donkeys, it also provides an animal-based assisted
therapy program for those with disabilities.
However, Amber’s parents could have never predicted the profound effect its work would
have on their daughter.
For her sessions, therapists paired Amber with a donkey called Shocks.
Poor shocks had been given a rough start in life.
His former owner had abused him and left him for dead.
Consequently, he was still coming out of his shell when Amber turned up.
However, Amber and shocks hit it off right away.
Despite the fact they were both new to animal therapy.
“It was fairly immediate to see they had a bond together.
They were both so gentle with each other.”
Julian revealed “Shocks would lower his head to her and
would allow her to hold him around his neck.
It was scary for us as parents, as he was so big compared to little Amber, but they
really seemed smitten!”
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Now, back to the story.
Due to Amber cerebral palsy, doctors didn't know if she would ever be able to walk.
However, a procedure soon meant that this was a possibility.
So, with Shock’s at her side, the little girl pushed herself to become more active.
And soon to her parent's amazement, she was taking her first step.
“When I'd first seen Amber in an incubator several hours after she'd been born, she was
black and bruised wrapped in bubble wrap.
She didn't look like a baby at all.
She was so tiny.”
Mom, Tracy told the Birmingham mail in February, 2016.
So, to see her taking her first steps was a lovely moment, but Amber’s recovery didn't
end there.
Her parents were naturally keen to see if she had a voice hiding somewhere.
Now that their little girl was strong enough.
So, her mom carefully covered a tracheotomy while her dad sang her song.
It was then that the doting parents heard their little girl laughed for the very first.
“We'd never heard her at all.”
Tracy said, “we had no idea if her vocal cords were paralyzed!
It was such a relief to know she had a voice.”
Amber speech therapist was thrilled when Tracy and Julian told them what had happened.
Moreover, she decided to fit the toddler with a speaking valve.
This apparently would enable her to talk for the very first time.
Now all the family needed was a way of getting Amber to speak.
So, they took her to see her best friend Shocks.
However, words failed to follow as a result for a bit of encouragement.
Tracy asked Amber- “if she loved her donkey?”
and that's when she put her arms around him and whispered, “I love you Shockey!”
For her parents, it was a moment they'd never forget.
“We were delighted.”
Julian told the Dodo.
“It was such a proud moment and of course, a massive relief to know that she could speak.”
Amber is now five and thanks in part to Shocks as confident as ever.
She's at school and learning how to manage your tracheotomy.
“Mentally, she's really good, she's really brainy.”
Tracy told the Birmingham mail.
“She can control her speaking valve so she can switch it off if she needs more air during
PE or to clear her throat.”
However, even though she's now at school, Amber hasn't forgotten her pals Shocks.
“She gets to go in the arena with him and groom him and cuddle him.”
Julian revealed to the Dodo.
They still value their time together and they still love their cuddles.
Meanwhile, Amber and Shock's amazing story has been made into a book, Amber's Donkey
from 2015.
The book reveals how both the animal and the little girl helped each other.
While Shocks helped Amber find her voice, she helped him find his way in the world.
And because of that, they will surely always be a big part of each other's lives.
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