Disabled duck inspires
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - For more than two years, Laura Backman has cared for a
little one with a neurological disorder - feeding her, changing her diapers,
helping to teach her to move with a walker.
Now that baby is getting around with her own webbed feet.
Lemon, a Pekin duck, has been physically disabled since she hatched in the
kindergarten class Backman used to teach in Portsmouth.
Backman, 39, has now turned Lemon's life story into an illustrated children's
book, "Lemon the Duck," to teach tolerance and inspire hope in children,
disabled or not.
After Lemon hatched, her balance problems were immediately apparent. She
couldn't walk on her own - and she still can't, because of a neurological
problem her veterinarian suspects could have been caused by temperature or
humidity problems during incubation, or by viruses or other infectious agents
getting through the shell.
The handful of other chicks hatched in the kindergarten class incubator all
went to pre-arranged homes, but Backman agreed to take on Lemon and all the
tender care she would require.
"That's one of the things I'm trying to give her, is a ducky life, even though
she can't live outside with the ducks," Backman says. "I know it probably
sounds like I'm obsessed with her. And I am. But it's a good obsession."
Backman said she's always loved children's books and thought Lemon's life was
worthy of print. Her publisher agreed.
"We just thought it was a fantastic inspiration story, what she's done with
this duck," says Meghan Nolan, editorial director at Lobster Press, a Canadian
kids' book publishing company that put Lemon's story in print. "The messages
were really nice for kids, about acceptance and embracing difference."
The book - Backman's first - describes the true story of how children come to
understand Lemon's disability and rally around her, devising ways to help and
taking turns feeding her.
By the end of the book, Lemon mucks around in the grass with other ducks thanks
to a feeding harness. Backman's character - called Ms. Lake in the book - tells
her students Lemon will always need them.
"I think we need her, too," says one student as he hugs Lemon.
In real life, Lemon is cuddly, sociable and never shy. Her disability is
obvious: When Lemon attempts a movement, her neck twists around until the
bottom of her beak is facing skyward and the tuft of white feathers on her
crown is pinned to her breast. Sometimes she gets herself untangled. More
often, Backman gently pries loose her head.
But Lemon goes right back to eating or pushing herself around in a specially
designed walker. The "Lemobile" is about a foot-and-a-half-square contraption
made of white PVC piping, a sling and smooth-rolling wheels. Lemon kicks her
feet, wags her tailfeathers and propels herself forward or in circles.
"She's very feisty. She has a real zest for life," Backman says in an interview
as Lemon quacks contentedly in the family's airy, waterfront home in Portsmouth.
Because Lemon can't control her bodily functions, she has to wear diapers that
Backman changes six times a day. Backman bathes her every morning and carts her
almost everywhere she goes. Lemon has been with Backman to dentist appointments
and relative's sonograms.
Backman was introduced to ducks by her father, who kept them as pets when she
was a child. He developed multiple scleroris, and she and her family had to
help him with every need.
"My dad couldn't do anything for himself, but we didn't let that stop him from
having a full life," Backman said.
In her book, Backman names one of the kids Richard, after her father, who died
about a year before Lemon hatched.
A couple veterinarians Backman consulted questioned Lemon's quality of life and
implied she might consider euthanization. But that was never an option for
Backman, in part because she was assured Lemon isn't in pain.
"She really does spoil and love this duck, and she's a happy little duck," said
Kimberly Link, president of the Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary in Connecticut.
Link's organization is receiving some of the proceeds from Backman's book, as
is the Rhode Island Multiple Sclerosis Society.
About 10,000 copies of the book are currently in print. It costs $19.95 and can
be ordered online through Lemon's website, www.lemontheduck.com, or through
traditional online booksellers.
Baker Books, in Dartmouth, Mass., recently hosted Lemon and Backman for a book
reading.
"Lemon is to die for," said Gretchen Baker-Smith, who helps run children's
events at the store. "She's very tolerant of kids, and lots of people having
her, and being in the middle of pandemonium."
Lemon only rarely quacked, which made kids jump.
"Kids are used to being at the local park here," Baker-Smith said. "You can see
the ducks and the geese. Some of them are really, really aggressive. I think
some of them were thinking that's how she was going to be, but she wasn't."
Since Pekin ducks can live a decade or longer, Lemon could have more years of
book readings - a sequel is in the works - entertaining school kids and having
her beak and feet rubbed, which she loves.
"She's very happy," Backman says. "Every morning she just wants to go, go, go."
This is a true story
huggles
Pat in OK
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