John Michael (Mikie) Scott
An Inspiration To Us

by Jerry & Marlene Scott

Our first child Jerry Jr. was 13 days away from his first birthday when our life changed for us, 49 years ago on Nov 8th, 1959. Mikie was born.

Jerry took 30 hours to be born and, Mikie took 8 hours to come into this world. OK, very good so far, but Mikie seemed to sleep a lot more and he was more difficult to feed; then again all babies are different, aren't they?

Then seizures began and came frequently, once maybe twice a day. Now it was time to go to the doctor. One x-ray of his skull was all our doctor needed to see. Mikie's brain was too small and did not fill his skull and there was not the usual soft spot in the skull. Further testing was not necessary.

His brain was well shaped but had not grown, then the real shocker came. The doctor said "He would only live as a vegetable and it would be a miracle if he lived until he was 12 years of age."

Not knowing the Savior at that time we were just going to take it day by day, until we saw an evangelist/faith healer on TV. We went to one of his meetings as Mikie was not sitting up, turning over or doing any of the things our first son had done.

Miracle time! After being prayed over, in a short period of time, he began to sit up, then crawling and holding his own spoon to eat. Having another x-ray taken we found that his brain had filled his skull, but his skull had already fused together, not allowing further growth.

Forty nine years ago the medical world had no solution to offer us except to put him in an institution. That was not an option for us; we would take care of him for the next 12 years even until his death.

In Marlene's words "I was angry with God and I was very vocal with Him, even to say, 'If this is what God is like, I don't need Him'". Her lesson came one day as she was feeding Mikie and watching TV. News. A story of a child who had been rescued from a home where he had been kept in a basement like some kind of an animal.

God spoke to her heart saying "What if I had sent Mikie to that family?" She realized then that Mikie was not a bad joke, but a blessing. God had trusted us with the care of one of His very special children.

If we had done as the doctor had suggested, most likely he would have died by the age of 12 or sooner.

The miracle was not totally in Mikie, God had to change us. Twelve years after he was born, we were born again.

What Mikie needed was godly parents to provide godly love and care.

It has not been easy. As he grew older he became more hyperactive and difficult to handle, banging his head against the wall, banging his teeth against whatever was available, and chewing on his hand until it would bleed. All that we tried to do was to no avail. Not one agency could or would offer any assistance. They didn't take children like him, too difficult to handle.

This continued until we moved to Florida.

When he was 27 years old God sent an angel in disguise. She worked with a Florida state agency and was willing to work with Mikie after seeing him on her first visit to our home. He did not like having a stranger in our home and he showed his anger to her. She only saw the eyes of one crying out for help and not the bad behavior.

She set up a program for Mikie that started with making contact with a program worker for just 15 minutes a day at our home. The minutes turned into hours with short trips to the mall, then the hospital, then swimming, the movies and overnights at a timeout respite home, all in due time.

He has been a part of the Sunshine Specials Class under the leadership of our beloved Joyce Heaton, and until a year ago he and Marlene were able to be part of my discipleship Sunday school class and he was accepted and loved by all.

Mikie began stumbling over his own feet as Marlene walked him to the car to come to Sunday school. Marlene is not strong enough to keep him and her from falling, so both are not able to come to church, unless I am there to help. Difficult to do when I am at the church by 7:00 a.m. and don't get home until noon.

Our life lesson has been, that when you are angry with God, tell Him. After all, He already knows you and your situation. He will continue to love you and show you His ways. We will understand the reason why He sent Mikie into our lives when we get to Heaven.

God has brought us to this church to be inspired and encouraged by you. You have fulfilled God's desire for us. God bless and keep you as you surrender your will to Him. He will light your path.