Some of you that I talk to regularly, know that I have a 15 year old cousin that suffers from a seizure disorder. Although he has been through much testing, the doctors have never established why. Anyway, because of the seizures, he has the learning ability of a child around the age of maybe 6 at the most. To me he is my heart and there is nothing I would not do for him if it's humanly possible. He takes several different medicines to try to control the seizures and they normally do a pretty good job of it. However the medications all have different effects on him....one being that it makes him very aggressive. I will admit he is spoiled. I will also admit that he knows right from wrong. But at the same time, he IS mentally challenged.
When he is around his family, as he was today at a wedding reception, he is wonderfully happy. Dancing, laughing and just being a child. What he doesn't like is when it is time to go home. He just likes to be around a lot of people. When his dad told him it was time to go, my cousin got pretty aggressive and attempted to hit his dad in the head. Was he wrong? Of course he was!!! Should he have been disciplined? Of course he should have!!!! Just as any other child, I believe spankings are needed on the rear end. Anyway, His dad proceeded to take him out of the building and I just happened to be outside smoking when all of this was going on. When they got out, the dad popped the son in the back of the head and told him not to ever try to hit him in the head again. Well, by then my blood was boiling. But I sat there. The son, being hit, again, hit back. The next thing I know, the dad has the son in a head lock and is practically dragging him to the car with the child screaming. I went in to tell his mother (my aunt) because I was trying to handle this in what I thought was the correct manner. His Mom told me to mind my business. That the son had been very bad that day and had obviously done something to cause this all to happen. She told me that I was neither a mother or father to any child including hers. My comment to her was, well don't call me crying the next time he has a seizure when you allow your husband to beat him in the head and drag him around in a head lock. By the time I got back out the child and the dad were gone.
This whole thing has broken my heart, bc as I said, this child is a part of my heart. I can't stop crying just thinking about what may have been going through his head.
My plans are that on Monday morning, I will be calling the appropriate people and I will be reporting the dad for child abuse. I can't sit here knowing this happened and not do anything. I know that when I do this, most of my family (well the ones I haven't pissed off in someway or another already) will disown me. That is fine. I just don't know what to do. I know that they take care of him in all other ways. But just seeing this today has crushed me. Am I overreacting? I just don't know which way to go now.
