Raven's Story
Hello, my name is Raven and I am 4 years old. I have always loved princesses and fairy tales about princesses. I guess you would say my story is like Cinderella’s.
I was born to a mother and father that had an addiction to methamphetamines. My Daddy was unable to be at the hospital when I was born because he was purchasing drugs for his next high although my birthdate had been planned for two weeks. My Mommy told my aunt when I was born that she knew I would have a better life if I was adopted by another family. She just did’t know how to tell my older sisters and brother.
I lived with my Mommy and Daddy for the first 9 months of my life. My older sisters, 10 and 9 years old, took care of my six year old brother and me most of the time. My older sisters loved school. They loved school so much that both of them would dress themselves and my little brother even when my Mommy and Daddy were asleep.
My Daddy got very sick when I was a six months old. He was in the hospital with a staph infection by using dirty needles. My Daddy now rides in a wheelchair because the staph infection damaged his spine and nervous system.
One day, when I was 9 months old, the Department of Family and Children Services people came and took us away from our parents. At first we lived with several of my aunts and uncles. My Grandfather and Grammy have always made sure we had clothes, shoes and medical attention. My siblings and I were very sad because we were not all together. Two and half years ago my Uncle Tim (my Mommy’s twin brother) and Aunt Shea (MY Shea Shea is what I call her) told all of us we could live altogether with them and their children, Brett and Bree. We now have eight people in our family. We are all very busy...and very happy.
My oldest sister, Morgan is 14 and a freshman at Sonoraville High School. She is in Honors Algebra and Physics with a High “B” average and on the JV and Varsity Volleyball team.
Meleigha is 13 and a 7th grader at Sonoraville Middle School. She runs track and is on the school basketball team. My parents were told when we lived with them that Meleigha had a learning disability. She was recently inducted in the Junior Honor Society.
My brother Austin is 10 and a 4th grader at Red Bud Elementary. He plays baseball, basketball and football. He loves car racing. He and Uncle Tim go to the races on Saturday nights. He is in the AAA Club every 9 weeks. You have to have a good attitude, high academics and good attendance to be a member of this club. Last year he received the REACH award given by the teachers for making the most progress in academics.
I just started to Pre-K this year at Red Bud. I love to dance. I take dance lessons and play basketball. I was just crowned Wee Miss Dalton. I was a real princess with a crown for a day. Also, I won for having the prettiest smile. The biggest reason for my smile is the love that I have been shown by Uncle Tim, My Shea Shea, Brett, Bree, Morgan, Meleigha and Austin.
I want every little girl and boy to reach for their dream and have a fairytale ending.
Please help stop the cycle of addiction. With your help there is hope.