Day One:
Preview:
Lisa Sexton: God has called mothers, especially mothers with kids who have a special need. He has called them to do an incredible, incredible task, and it’s our time to say, “I will do that. I want to serve the Lord and He has called me to do this.”
John Fuller: That’s a passionate comment from Lisa Sexton, one of our guests today on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, and this is going to be an inspirational conversation about overcoming challenges and the determination it takes when you have a child with special needs.
Jim Daly: John, it’s a special moment for any couple as they prepare for a baby, but it can also be a time of concern when there’s a diagnosis that indicates special needs. Uh, but we’re going to share a story full of hope today, and if you’re a parent with a heavy burden about your child, stick with us because I think this will really encourage you.
John: In the studio, we had Lisa Sexton and, uh, we’re gonna hear her dramatic story of her son, Tyler. He’s with us as well, and had a journey of living with cerebral palsy and, uh, all the surgeries and the challenges and the joys along the way. They’ve co-authored a book about that journey, it’s called No Such Thing as Can’t. We do have that here at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Let’s go ahead and listen in to today’s episode of Focus on the Family.
Jim: Lisa, I want to go back. I’ve got a big smile on my face ’cause I know what people are about to hear, and, uh, I’m smiling and, uh, it’s kind right from the heart. But take us back 27 years, uh, when you were newly married, I believe you weren’t married very long, you weren’t working on the family yet.
Lisa: No.
Jim: God does throw us surprises and, uh, tell us what happened 27 years ago.
Lisa: We had, um, we had not planned to start a family, so it wasn’t one of those things where I came home from the doctor and my husband picked me up and twirled me around and said, “We’re gonna have a baby.” You know, we were devastated. We were too young. We didn’t have a savings account. We didn’t have things set for children, so we just weren’t ready. But of course, um, we needed to get ready because there was a little boy on the way, and at 28 weeks, Tyler was born. And at that time, um, when he was born, they wheeled him in to our room in an incubator, and they said, “We are going to take him to a hospital four hours away, and his lungs will collapse when we go up into the helicopter, and if he dies in flight, we’ll let you know right away.” I could not hold him. They let me put my hand right through a little hole in the side of the incubator, and I was allowed to touch his hand for about 30 seconds.
Jim: And that was it, at that moment.
Lisa: And that was it. They whisked him away and he was gone.
Jim: Uh, Lisa, talk about that moment. Uh, one of our boys struggled when he was born as well, and there’s a lot of fear and there’s a lot of apprehension, a lot of tears at that time. Did you have any idea what Tyler was dealing with as a newborn baby boy? And what were you feeling in your heart as a mother?
Lisa: Well, you feel… One thing you feel is hopeless and the other thing you feel is guilty because you just think, “What did I do? I didn’t want this baby. We weren’t prepared for this baby. Maybe I’m not, uh, gonna be a good mother.” Maybe I, your mind begins to wander and the devil attacks you right there. I mean, you, your faith is kind of crumbled. You don’t know how to pray. We got a call from the neonatal unit a few hours later, and they said, the doctor told me, quote unquote, he said, “He probably will not make it through the night, and I will leave the respirator on so his body does not get stiff, and you can hold him”-
Jim: Oh my goodness.
Lisa: “… for the first and last time before you bury him.”
Jim: Wow. I mean, that is so blunt and so coarse. That’s hard to hear.
Lisa: And you wonder, you’re always told as a child, “Don’t ask why to God.” And I disagree with that. I’ve learned to say why? Now, I don’t always get my answers, but it has allowed me to have a relationship with Him. I don’t necessarily, um, when I’m asking why I am saying, I need you, I, you know, it’s a tough thing for mothers to watch their children go through something. That this little, tiny little boy laid up there and, and I would watch men and women drop to their knees in the neonatal unit as they would lose a child and just sob. And you just think, “When are we next?” You’re exhausted.
Jim: Just anticipating that it could happen. Uh, you and your husband, Kevin, you were only married a short period of time at this point. Um, you, you didn’t have years of wisdom as a couple. Um, so often, uh, when this happens to a young couple, they have a child who is born with some difficulty, um, it can rip the marriage apart. Um, how did you and Kevin, uh, manage that? How did you, how did you move forward as a married couple with the weight of caring for this child and all of the facets of that? How did you keep it together?
Lisa: I think first of all, we were both believers when we got married. And I think that’s really important because we didn’t make a commitment through the good and the rich and all of those things. We made a commitment through the bad, the poor and the sick. And Kevin is a man of honor and I often say I get a lot of credit. I got to be the mom sitting by the hospital bed and looking like mother of the year through all 16 surgeries. And oh, you know, how wonderful. What you didn’t see is my husband going to work every day and making sure that those hospital bills were paid and that the insurance was covered. Every night, would walk in tired and spend the night at the hospital. So I think one way that we really kept our marriage strong, and it’s not that it hasn’t had its ups and downs, it’s we needed each other. We held onto each other.
Jim: So you leaned into each other.
Lisa: We had to, we had, we were desperate. Nobody knew how I felt except for him. And he, nobody could understand him except for me. It was our burden.
Jim: Ah, you moved along, uh, over those very difficult months. And then at 18 months, when Tyler hit that mark, uh, you learned some difficult news from the diagnosis. What happened?
Lisa: They took a scan of his brain and they called us in and said, “Your son has cerebral palsy.” And we said, “What is it?” We had no idea what it was.
Jim: Right.
Lisa: And they explained that Tyler would be in a wheelchair the rest of his life, that he would be mentally and physically disabled, and that he was going, he’s gonna be very, very tight, spastic. And that he would wear braces. He would go through many surgeries, and just not to expect a lot from our child.
Jim: When you heard that news for you and Kevin, what was that night like when you got home? What did you talk about as a couple and, and I would think that environment, you think of your first child, you have all these dreams of what could be, and, uh, what does that dialogue sound like between a husband and wife?
Lisa: I’ll never forget it, Kevin was working second shift at the time. So I took Tyler home by myself and I closed every blind in my house. I closed every curtain and, um, I mourned for about two days.
Jim: Just cried.
Lisa: And what I cried about was I needed to mourn that I lost the normal baby.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Lisa: That my life was not gonna be a white picket fence with a pretty house and going to the baseball diamond like we had dreamed. In Tyler’s room, we had basketball and baseball and all those things ’cause my husband’s very athletic, and my husband wouldn’t have this little boy to go and put on a baseball team and to coach like all dads dream of. And, um, so I mourned, and after those two days, I opened every curtain and I opened my heart, and I went up and got Tyler out of his crib and he sat on my lap and I said, “You know, you are going to be the cutest, sweetest, smartest, most darling little boy with cerebral palsy, and I’m gonna be proud of you.”
Jim: Oh.
Lisa: And I chose to get up and praise God that day.
Jim: And that, uh, boy, I’m sorry I’m choked up. But that tone that you set as mom and I’m sure, um, your husband Kevin as well, what a great environment. Uh, Tyler, let’s bring you in. We’ve been talking about you. It’s probably a little uncomfortable to sit here and hear all that, but man, from your earliest memories, take us back. What do you recall about your mom and dad in your home?
Dr. Tyler Sexton: Oh, man. It’s just been incredible. And we retell these stories every time. I still can’t believe how good God has been and just how, uh, people say no and God says yes. And that’s really what it’s been. And, and as a child, I just remember from the beginning, at first, I remember my, uh, parents right there at every surgery. I knew my mom was always there ’cause her tears would fall on my face before and after each surgery.
Jim: Wow.
Tyler: They wheel me out, and then I would be waking up and there she would be in some of these difficult times. But then as I got older, one of the things I always applaud my parents for and thank God every day, is that they dared me to dream. Uh, there were things that if I wanted to be a basketball player, they said, “Sure, uh, you know, you’re gonna do it. You’re gonna have the nicest, uh, shoes you can do, and you may not be able to run back and forth, we’re gonna play half court.” Or, you know, “Hey, if he wants to try certain things, we’re gonna try to make that happen and, and make it as good as we possibly can and enjoy what we can.” And so they, they dared me to dream, uh, and reach for the moon. And that’s really what’s been impacted on me the entire, my entire life because it’s allowed me to say, “You know what? I can do this.”
Jim: Uh, and I want to, I’m not gonna spoil that. In a minute, we’re gonna talk about the rest of your life and where you’re at today.
Tyler: Right.
Jim: Because I think it is an amazing God’s story-
John: Mm-hmm.
Jim: … of what’s happened. But I don’t wanna, uh-
Tyler: Right.
Jim: … kind of tip my hand to that yet. Uh, Lisa, let’s talk about that moment, the title of your book, God Bless These Little Legs, and what Tyler is expressing there, talk about how you would pray over your boy.
Lisa: A lot of times, uh, we would pray as a family, and then Tyler and I had a lot of time in the hospital together alone. And when you’re in the hospital for 30 days, everybody comes running to see you, the first couple, and then it’s like, oh, no, it’s a long stay. So we had to learn to kind of do things on our own. And so we would have prayer times where Tyler really learned at a young age just to talk to the Lord.
Jim: Oh.
Lisa: Just to… It didn’t need to be this beautiful, elaborate prayer. It didn’t need to be, um, this thing where some people are so intimidated to pray, and I used to be, and I’m not anymore because I’m talking to my Father.
Jim: Yeah.
Lisa: And Tyler, that one thing that I love about prayer is that’s the one thing that Tyler learned. When we would sit around a table or we would sit down at a family meeting, or we would have devotional time every morning and have a prayer time, our kids, our daughter Emily and, and Tyler, they both learned how to pray and to have a Father in heaven that cared. And they were able to begin that relationship with Him at a young age.
Jim: What a great gift. And Tyler, I’m sure even as a boy, you remember that. That perhaps is the most important thing we can teach our children is-
Tyler: Oh, absolutely.
Jim: … to have a relationship with God and to pray to Him.
Tyler: Absolutely. And to learn quickly that He does care. And, um, that I’m perfect in His sight. And to say that He listens, uh, to even the simplest of desires, you know, from caring about… Sometimes we wonder, does God really care about, um, what’s going on today? And I tell you guys, He really does, from the simplest of how’s a meeting gonna go to, uh, a conversation you have to have, or whatever it is, He really does. And I learned that you can ask Him for the simplest of things and He’s gonna answer those prayers.
Lisa: That’s right.
Tyler: And, and in some ways, you know, for me, it was about, “Lord, can I learn how to, um, clean myself up after I used the bathroom without falling off the toilet?”
Jim: Mm.
Tyler: It was a small miracle. And that was an answer to prayer. And so I learned how to, to look at these small miracles and ask God for the small things that would end up eventually leading to bigger things.
Jim: We need to paint that picture because people are hearing your voice and they’re not able to, uh, think about or see what you have to live with every day because of your situation. Describe for us, especially as a child, what was occurring physically.
Lisa: Tyler, when he, um, was a little guy, his legs were very, very skinny. And Tyler, every morning of his life, he had this little tiny body with no muscle mass. We would sit him on a chair and he would wear these things called DAFOs, and they were plastic braces on these tiny little legs. We’d pull up the socks all the way to the knees, and we’d put the braces on from the tip of his toes underneath his feet, all the way up to the calves. I would Velcro him in. And we had to buy shoes that were a couple sizes too big so that they’d fit over the braces. And I would put the shoes on and I would tie them up. And every morning of his life, I would squeeze his knees together and I would kiss and I would say, “God bless those little legs today.”
Jim: How much pain was there in that regard? Describe for us again, just physically what you were encountering.
Tyler: Well, I, I think it’s hard to express. I mean, there are days constantly you live in pain. As a child, I would wake up spastic, uh, my legs would quiver. Um, sometimes, uh, my knees would give out. Some days, I couldn’t get outta bed. I would try, uh, as I learned how to walk and become more independent, having to use a walker and then graduating it up. I would always wanna try to keep up with the other kids. So I would say, “I, I can do this. I can keep up.” And I wanted to try to portray that I am normal. Uh, and, you know, everybody’s handicapped. Mine, the world can see, but we’re all struggling with something. And so that’s something that I want people to realize that though mine is physical, I can do this and be with you as a child. So I would try to push myself in these ways. And some days, couldn’t get outta bed the next day. I used to fall four to six times a day. I broke a lot of my bones from falling, from the knees to the wrists, to the fingers, uh, from falling and having to get back up. And a, a lot of bruises, a lot of broken bones, and a lot of tears. You know, I walk with a, with a gate that throws the hips out, the knees touch together. They used to call me a penguin. Uh, they used to call me a variety of different names as a child. I was never picked first for any sport. Um, I had to show people that being different didn’t mean you didn’t need to approach, uh, me, uh, as a kid. And so it was an interesting component of that. But, and then of course, you still live in pain, you know, to this day. And, and of course, things have, other avenues and things like Gunner, my service dog, have learned to help. Uh, but there’s always days of pain.
Lisa: Tyler would have physical therapy, you gotta remember, five days a week because his muscles are so tight that if you notice, if you sit down on the floor and you stretch your legs out, your toes point to the ceiling. Tyler’s toes lay on the floor because he’s so tight that the muscles just pull his, his toes straight to the floor.
Jim: So i- like a ballerina laying on her back.
Lisa: Like a ballerina.
John: Mm-hmm.
Lisa: All the time.
Jim: Right.
Lisa: But you can imagine the lower half of your body being that tight, pulling on you a hundred percent of the time. And then you have a therapist doing it the opposite way. So, the pain.
John: You’re listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, and today, our guests are Lisa and Tyler Sexton. And they’ve written a book that captures this incredible journey that they’re sharing with us. And the new title is No Such Thing as Can’t. Of course we have that here at Focus. And I’ll also encourage you to get a CD or download of this entire conversation to share maybe with a parent who needs a little hope, uh, a lifeline of sorts. Um, you’re gonna find the resources at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.
Jim: Tyler, let me take you back to something you said because we all grow up, um, with I think a degree of a lack of self-confidence. Um-
Tyler: Sure.
Jim: … particularly boys. You talk about sports when you’re not picked. Um, help us feel what that was like. I mean, being called names and being ridiculed at times, how did you get through that as a six, seven, 10-year-old boy to take those kind of darts and manage it?
Tyler: You know, it’s funny because I remember one time, um, I came home from school and I told mom one day, um, I was in art class and was talking to a boy. He was asking me about my legs and these kinda things. And I said, you know, um, “God may be this way. I have a disability,” these kind of things. And I got to tell him about Jesus. And I learned at an early age, it’s not about me, it’s about Jesus. And I remember telling mom, I said, “I know why God had me have CP, is so I could tell other people about Christ.” I specifically remember in fourth grade, I was out in a, in the yard with all the kids, uh, doing physical education, right? And so they make us all do jumping jacks. And I was doing my jumping jacks and there was a substitute PE teacher there. And all of a sudden, I was doing my jumping jacks, clumsy attempts as they were, uh, he shouted out, he said, “Kid, you’re in fourth grade. That’s the best you can do? Quit clowning around.” That was the best-
John: Mm.
Jim: Ah.
Tyler: … that I could do.
Jim: This was your teacher, the substitute.
Tyler: Substitute teacher.
John: Wow.
Tyler: You know. And so, uh, early on, I learned how to, um, you know, I didn’t eloquently know it as best as I do now, but I learned how to, uh, that I couldn’t let my circumstances define my attitude.
Jim: Ah.
Tyler: And so, and that really was what it was. I was gonna have a great day, and I learned to count my blessings early. If I couldn’t fall, uh, then I couldn’t walk. If I didn’t get made fun of the way that I’m walking, I wouldn’t be walking. So I’ve learned to count my blessings and there are way too many to count. And that’s really what it has been for me. And, um, it’s just been incredible.
John: Mm. But you’re speaking right there to something I’m living presently as a parent, Tyler, I have a special needs son. And you know, around third, fourth grade, he’s becoming acutely aware that he’s different and he desperately wants to blend in. And he’s asked questions like, “Well, can God heal me?” Did you have those moments? Bec- what you’re talking about is something many of us don’t ever get.
Tyler: I’m actually very glad you asked. There was a time after actually that moment happened in, uh, in the park when they had me do jumping jacks, where I came home and I told my mom, I didn’t wanna be me anymore.
John: Mm-hmm.
Tyler: I said, “I don’t wanna do this anymore. I don’t want cerebral palsy. I don’t wanna live in pain. I don’t wanna be made fun of.” And all of a sudden, she takes me into my room, sits me on my bed, and she starts throwing everything outta my room, from my clothes to my Nintendo. And, you know, everybody loves Nintendo even now, let’s be honest. And so threw everything out, and I just started to cry. The one person that I, you know, trusted more in this world than anything else, she threw it all. And she kept saying, “What can’t I take away from you?” I said, “I don’t know.” She kept throwing everything. I said, “What can I take away from you?” “I don’t know. You’ve taken everything.” She said, “No, I haven’t.” My room was bare. There was nothing on the walls, just my sheets on the bed, literally. And she said, “What can I take away from you?” I said, “You’ve taken everything.” She said, “No, I haven’t.” She said, “I can’t take who God made you and the spirit He gave you,” that I was alive and I was me, and I was a blessing. And ever since that moment, it’s just really been an incredible adventure. And I’ve learned early, you know, there’s a lot of things I’d rather walk with a limp in Christ than a strut in the world.
Jim: Ah.
Tyler: I’ve learned that.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Tyler: And it’s kept me humble and I’ve learned, um, when 80% of your back’s on a gurney as a child, you learn to trust something greater. And Jesus Christ is that something greater for me. And as we talk further, only because of Christ do I sit in front of you for so many reasons.
Jim: Oh, Tyler, I mean, you are bringing it. I mean-
Tyler: It’s just the truth.
Jim: … you’re saying exactly what we should all be doing, whether we can walk normally or not.
Tyler: Right.
Jim: Um, Lisa, where did you find the wisdom to come up with something like that as a mother, to say, “Okay, I’ve got to draw a spiritual truth here.” What a brilliant way to tell your little boy what he means in God’s eyes. I mean, where did you find that wisdom?
Lisa: You know, I, um, when you were talking about your son, you know, I’m no different than anyone else. I am not smarter. I am not wiser. I’m really not. But the one thing that I believe with all of my heart, and when you say, can God heal him, you know, “Daddy, can God heal me?”
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Lisa: I believe that in a snap of a finger, God could’ve healed Tyler-
Tyler: Yes.
Lisa: … in His power. But I believe in His wisdom, He chose not to, because I wouldn’t be who I am today. And Tyler wouldn’t be who he is. We wouldn’t be the family that we are, we wouldn’t be close. We wouldn’t be as connected to the Lord.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Lisa: Um, sometimes I think we get into legalism instead of relationships.
Jim: Uh-huh.
Lisa: And so for me, the wisdom was that God didn’t heal Tyler and that we chose to be able to walk this journey with Him.
John: As he was sharing that story, y- you were back there. I mean, your memory was vivid. I was watching your reaction as he talked about that. Was that just God saying, “Here’s what I want you to do?” Did that just happen? I mean, how did you figure out-
Lisa: Well, you-
John: … that it would be good to empty the room right here?
Lisa: You feel awful be- doing these things. But, um, you know, when Tyler was five years old, his physical therapist who had earned the right to give me advice and to tell me when I was wrong, she was with us for years, she made a deal with me, and she said, “This little boy,” he walks with the little walker and the walker would kind of go behind him and it was on wheels. And Tyler began to walk and he had his braces on. And she said, “Lisa, if I can get him to where he can lean down and pick up an Easter egg, we’ll tie a basket to his walker, and it is time for you to take him out of a bubble and take him to the park and let him be with normal kids.”
Jim: Ah.
Lisa: And when you talk about wisdom, it wasn’t always my wisdom. It was other people praying for us, giving me advice, telling me, encouraging me. And so Michelle began to explain to me that he needed to be with kids his own age. “You gotta get him out of a bubble.” So sure enough, Tyler worked really hard. He wanted to go to the Easter egg hunt. So she got great therapy out of him. And you have to remember, it took months to be able to do this. It wasn’t just one day teaching him, it was therapy after therapy. So one afternoon, we went to North City Park and I lined my child up with all the others. And our daughter, Emily, was all dressed for Easter and they had matching outfits, and the gun went off, and all the kids began to run. And there was my little boy hobbling down, a beautiful grassy field all by himself, way back. And I was mad. I had sunglasses on and I was angry. And I thought, “This is exactly… You people have so much advice for me. You tell me all these things to do, but I’m the one that’s gonna take this little boy home with no eggs. And explain to him why he’s different.” And I began to journey down that little path, and I caught up with Tyler and my eyes were filled with tears. And I looked down and I went to tell him how sorry I am. And he looked at me and Tyler would talk real Dutchy when he was little. And he said, “Look at all the eggs in my Easter basket.” And I said, “Oh my word. How did you get all of those?” He said, “Oh, the kids are running so fast that the eggs are popping out of the baskets, and I’m picking ’em up.”
John: (laughs)
Jim: (laughs)
Lisa: That day in the park, I knelt down, and this is what the Holy Spirit told me without a doubt in my mind. He said, “You give this little boy to me and his basket will be full of blessings. So many, they won’t fit.”
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Lisa: “You have to turn him over to me. It’s not about taking him out of a bubble for, to be with other kids. It’s about taking him out of a bubble so that I can use this little boy in the way I need to use him.”
John: Mm-hmm.
Jim: My goodness.
Lisa: And I got up from that day in the park and I thought, “I will do my best to not take this little boy and put him in a bubble ever again.” That God had a special plan and purpose for him. And I think that’s where the wisdom came from, where I knew that he had something different.
John: Well, what Lisa Sexton expressed there is so common for all of us as parents. We wanna be, uh, really overprotective of our kids. But, uh, she and her son, Dr. Tyler Sexton, will have much more to share next time.
Jim: This is such a powerful discussion that is helping people. And every day here at Focus on the Family, our goal is to put an arm around you if you’re struggling in marriage or parenting. And we have caring Christian counselors who are available to walk through that difficult situation, whatever it may be, and also provide you with resources and biblical guidance. Thank you for your financial support, uh, and your prayer cover as we do ministry here. If you believe in what we’re doing at Focus on the Family, uh, can you help support us? Uh, it doesn’t get done without your prayers obviously, and your financial support.
John: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Please, uh, make a generous contribution today, and we’ll say thank you for joining the support team by sending you a copy of Lisa and Tyler’s book, No Such Thing as Can’t. And our number is 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY. Or you can donate and get the book at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. On behalf of the entire team, thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
