LilMtnCbn
01-02-2004, 07:00 AM
http://www.wfaa.com/localnews/stories/010204dnmetlucy.8a593.html
A year since leaving Taiwan, Lucy 'has fit into our lives'
Girl's small size is no match for her big heart, family and friends say
09:21 PM CST on Thursday, January 1, 2004
By ESTHER WU / The Dallas Morning News
KELLER – To see Lucy Rapp walk into Enrique's restaurant in Keller, you'd
think she owned the place.
She headed straight to the kitchen to see her buddy Joe Caberillo, who welcomed
her with, "Hola, Lucy. ¿Como estas?"
"Bien, bien," the 10-year-old said as she reached up to give the waiter a
high-five.
An offer to give him her new hand-held video game was interrupted by bursts of
laughter as she pulled it away when he reached for it.
"You too funny," she said to her friend.
What might have seemed a typical prank among adolescents was really a milestone
for Lucy, a dwarf who was abandoned shortly after birth in Taiwan.
Her adoptive parents, Wes and Sandy Rapp, also dwarfs, brought her to live in
their rural Southlake home a year ago. They said they wanted to offer her a
better life.
"We know firsthand what she will have to face in life because we've been
through it," Mrs. Rapp said.
The last year has been a life-altering experience for the new family.
Upon arrival, Lucy was so homesick that the mention of the people who raised
her at her orphanage brought tears to her eyes.
She was limited to a few English words – "OK," "bye-bye," and "telephone."
Now, she's trilingual.
"She's changed so much since she's been here," Mr. Rapp said. "I can't even
imagine what her future will be like."
"When she first came here, she wouldn't talk to anyone," said Debbie Dewil, a
waitress at Enrique's. "Today, she has taken everyone's heart."
Rocky beginning
But things weren't always so rosy. When the couple brought their new daughter
home Dec. 19, 2002, it wasn't exactly the homecoming they expected.
"Lucy didn't enjoy Christmas much," said Mr. Rapp. "And understandably so. Here
she was in a new home with new parents – that she probably didn't expect. And
she couldn't even speak the language."
Mr. Rapp said Lucy opened a few presents, but she couldn't get through it.
"It was just too much for her," he said.
Mrs. Rapp said Lucy "just about lost it when her former caregivers in Taiwan
called to wish her a Merry Christmas" last year.
Mother and daughter also had difficulties bonding at first.
Mrs. Rapp, a computer graphics designer for L3 Communications, a flight
simulation company in Arlington, believes that Lucy was angry at her.
"I'm sure I was not the mother Lucy expected," Mrs. Rapp said. "She had seen
photos of Wes and me before the adoption, but I don't think Lucy understood our
size until she saw us in person for the first time at the orphanage."
Although the beginning was rocky, today the family has a close and loving
relationship. Mrs. Rapp says Lucy is very much a "daddy's girl" who loves to
accompany her father when he is on the road.
Mr. Rapp, a truck driver for Ellison Trucking in Lewisville, also takes Lucy to
Kennedale Speedway Park, where he occasionally competes. Lucy, he said, loves
to keep tabs on her favorite racers.
Lucy was very much loved at the Catholic Orphanage where the Rapps found her.
"The nuns there thought of her as their own, and they had almost as difficult a
time letting her go as she had leaving," Mrs. Rapp said.
"While it is wonderful to know she was so well cared for, it made it all the
more difficult for Lucy to adjust to her new life here."
Center of attention
In fact, a Taiwan television station has been following Lucy's adoption and her
new life in Southlake. So last week, when Lucy's friends gathered at Enrique's
to celebrate her one-year anniversary in the United States, several reporters
were there to document the occasion.
Though it's obvious that Lucy enjoys being the center of attention, she also
easily tires of it.
"That's when she shuts down," said Mrs. Rapp, when her daughter refused to
answer questions from reporters. Like other 10-year-olds, she will tune people
out and ignore them when she's tired.
"I'm not entirely sure Lucy has necessarily 'blossomed' this last year," Mrs.
Rapp said. "I think Lucy has always been outgoing. She just wasn't ready to let
her guard down at first."
Cara Acker, whose daughter Victoria is Lucy's best friend, agreed.
"When we first met Lucy, she was shy and hardly spoke at all," said Mrs. Acker,
who helped organized Lucy's anniversary party.
"Look at her now," she said as Lucy and Victoria huddled together and
conspired.
Both girls are in Kim Barker's third-grade class at Keller-Harvel Elementary in
Keller. The two are inseparable.
"We have slumber parties and stay up all night just talking," Victoria said.
"She's one of the family," Mrs. Acker said.
No special treatment
The Rapps have asked friends not to treat their daughter differently. Mrs. Rapp
accompanied Lucy on her first day of school at Keller-Harvel and spoke to
students about Lucy's condition and answered questions.
There may have been a few stares at first, but Lucy is now just one of the
kids, Mrs. Baker said.
"Mrs. Rapp was very careful to explain what we should and should not do for
Lucy. She was very clear that, aside from her step stools and desk, we were not
to give Lucy any special treatment."
That included being disciplined when Mrs. Baker caught Lucy showing off in her
motorized scooter. "She was going backwards very fast down the hall," Mrs.
Baker said.
Lucy, who uses the scooter to get across the large campus, lost her driving
privileges for two days.
"The best thing I can do for Lucy is to teach her to be independent, to teach
her to be self-reliant and how to accept her differences," said Mrs. Rapp. "We
want folks to treat her like they would any other 10-year-old. We won't always
be around to protect her."
Mr. Rapp recalled that last year Lucy wouldn't say much. "This year when we
took her Christmas shopping it was 'I want this, I want that ...' just like any
other kid," he said.
Lucy isn't the only one who has changed.
"Since Lucy's been with us," I feel more complete, Mr. Rapp said.
Mrs. Rapp agreed. "I'm amazed as how well Lucy has fit into our lives. She just
goes with the flow. It's almost as if she's always been with us."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
A year since leaving Taiwan, Lucy 'has fit into our lives'
Girl's small size is no match for her big heart, family and friends say
09:21 PM CST on Thursday, January 1, 2004
By ESTHER WU / The Dallas Morning News
KELLER – To see Lucy Rapp walk into Enrique's restaurant in Keller, you'd
think she owned the place.
She headed straight to the kitchen to see her buddy Joe Caberillo, who welcomed
her with, "Hola, Lucy. ¿Como estas?"
"Bien, bien," the 10-year-old said as she reached up to give the waiter a
high-five.
An offer to give him her new hand-held video game was interrupted by bursts of
laughter as she pulled it away when he reached for it.
"You too funny," she said to her friend.
What might have seemed a typical prank among adolescents was really a milestone
for Lucy, a dwarf who was abandoned shortly after birth in Taiwan.
Her adoptive parents, Wes and Sandy Rapp, also dwarfs, brought her to live in
their rural Southlake home a year ago. They said they wanted to offer her a
better life.
"We know firsthand what she will have to face in life because we've been
through it," Mrs. Rapp said.
The last year has been a life-altering experience for the new family.
Upon arrival, Lucy was so homesick that the mention of the people who raised
her at her orphanage brought tears to her eyes.
She was limited to a few English words – "OK," "bye-bye," and "telephone."
Now, she's trilingual.
"She's changed so much since she's been here," Mr. Rapp said. "I can't even
imagine what her future will be like."
"When she first came here, she wouldn't talk to anyone," said Debbie Dewil, a
waitress at Enrique's. "Today, she has taken everyone's heart."
Rocky beginning
But things weren't always so rosy. When the couple brought their new daughter
home Dec. 19, 2002, it wasn't exactly the homecoming they expected.
"Lucy didn't enjoy Christmas much," said Mr. Rapp. "And understandably so. Here
she was in a new home with new parents – that she probably didn't expect. And
she couldn't even speak the language."
Mr. Rapp said Lucy opened a few presents, but she couldn't get through it.
"It was just too much for her," he said.
Mrs. Rapp said Lucy "just about lost it when her former caregivers in Taiwan
called to wish her a Merry Christmas" last year.
Mother and daughter also had difficulties bonding at first.
Mrs. Rapp, a computer graphics designer for L3 Communications, a flight
simulation company in Arlington, believes that Lucy was angry at her.
"I'm sure I was not the mother Lucy expected," Mrs. Rapp said. "She had seen
photos of Wes and me before the adoption, but I don't think Lucy understood our
size until she saw us in person for the first time at the orphanage."
Although the beginning was rocky, today the family has a close and loving
relationship. Mrs. Rapp says Lucy is very much a "daddy's girl" who loves to
accompany her father when he is on the road.
Mr. Rapp, a truck driver for Ellison Trucking in Lewisville, also takes Lucy to
Kennedale Speedway Park, where he occasionally competes. Lucy, he said, loves
to keep tabs on her favorite racers.
Lucy was very much loved at the Catholic Orphanage where the Rapps found her.
"The nuns there thought of her as their own, and they had almost as difficult a
time letting her go as she had leaving," Mrs. Rapp said.
"While it is wonderful to know she was so well cared for, it made it all the
more difficult for Lucy to adjust to her new life here."
Center of attention
In fact, a Taiwan television station has been following Lucy's adoption and her
new life in Southlake. So last week, when Lucy's friends gathered at Enrique's
to celebrate her one-year anniversary in the United States, several reporters
were there to document the occasion.
Though it's obvious that Lucy enjoys being the center of attention, she also
easily tires of it.
"That's when she shuts down," said Mrs. Rapp, when her daughter refused to
answer questions from reporters. Like other 10-year-olds, she will tune people
out and ignore them when she's tired.
"I'm not entirely sure Lucy has necessarily 'blossomed' this last year," Mrs.
Rapp said. "I think Lucy has always been outgoing. She just wasn't ready to let
her guard down at first."
Cara Acker, whose daughter Victoria is Lucy's best friend, agreed.
"When we first met Lucy, she was shy and hardly spoke at all," said Mrs. Acker,
who helped organized Lucy's anniversary party.
"Look at her now," she said as Lucy and Victoria huddled together and
conspired.
Both girls are in Kim Barker's third-grade class at Keller-Harvel Elementary in
Keller. The two are inseparable.
"We have slumber parties and stay up all night just talking," Victoria said.
"She's one of the family," Mrs. Acker said.
No special treatment
The Rapps have asked friends not to treat their daughter differently. Mrs. Rapp
accompanied Lucy on her first day of school at Keller-Harvel and spoke to
students about Lucy's condition and answered questions.
There may have been a few stares at first, but Lucy is now just one of the
kids, Mrs. Baker said.
"Mrs. Rapp was very careful to explain what we should and should not do for
Lucy. She was very clear that, aside from her step stools and desk, we were not
to give Lucy any special treatment."
That included being disciplined when Mrs. Baker caught Lucy showing off in her
motorized scooter. "She was going backwards very fast down the hall," Mrs.
Baker said.
Lucy, who uses the scooter to get across the large campus, lost her driving
privileges for two days.
"The best thing I can do for Lucy is to teach her to be independent, to teach
her to be self-reliant and how to accept her differences," said Mrs. Rapp. "We
want folks to treat her like they would any other 10-year-old. We won't always
be around to protect her."
Mr. Rapp recalled that last year Lucy wouldn't say much. "This year when we
took her Christmas shopping it was 'I want this, I want that ...' just like any
other kid," he said.
Lucy isn't the only one who has changed.
"Since Lucy's been with us," I feel more complete, Mr. Rapp said.
Mrs. Rapp agreed. "I'm amazed as how well Lucy has fit into our lives. She just
goes with the flow. It's almost as if she's always been with us."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
