Patterico's Pontifications

11/23/2007

A Miracle in Phoenix

Filed under: Real Life — DRJ @ 12:19 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Together, Luis and Sylvia Viniegra and Luis, Edgardo and Edmundo Rodriguez have overcome a terrible situation:

“Two twin boys who were found four years ago in improvised, cockroach-infested cages at their Phoenix home have managed to turn their lives around in a miraculous way. The 9-year-olds and their older brother spent Thanksgiving counting their blessings. The twins, Edgardo and Edmundo, and their older brother Luis emerged from a dark nightmare to a happy fairytale, thanks to the kindness of one special couple.

The twins had spent most of their life caged in a crib. They couldn’t speak and were labeled “feral children.” Officers discovered the twins in late August, 2003, after Luis told an off-duty police officer about their squalid living conditions.

“We cried and said, ‘We wish we could help them,'” Luis Viniegra recalled. Luis and Sylvia Viniegra were in the process of becoming certified foster parents when they saw the “caged twins” story on the news. A few months later they got the call to care for all three brothers.

With the boys’ biological parents imprisoned for child abuse, the boys and the Viniegras have become a family – a family of heroes:

“My wife and I said what they need is a lot of love and nurturing,” Viniegra said. “I said, ‘let’s roll up our sleeves, change diapers, potty train and teach them language.'” The couple admitted they had no idea what they were getting into.
They said the challenges at times seemed insurmountable. But with Sylvia’s skills as a retired teacher and the pair’s determination, the boys are now going to school and striving.

“One of our boys who had no language skills is winning spelling bees,” Viniegra said. “The smaller boy is a fantastic artist. The oldest is reading at graduate school level.”

A year ago, the couple came to a crossroads. They would have to release the boys so a family could adopt them or make them permanent members of their own family. Last Saturday, on National Adoption Day, the boys’ last name changed from Rodriguez to Viniegra.”

The Viniegras credit the help and support of many people they call their ‘guardian angels.’ I think Luis, Edgardo, and Edmundo know who the real angels are.

— DRJ

19 Responses to “A Miracle in Phoenix”

  1. DRJ, ordinarily your posts are insightful and bring out points most people either miss or don’t devote the time and energy to understand, but sometimes I find your grammar incomprehensible. Can you edit your first sentence? I couldn’t understand it and I had to go to the article itself to find out who and what you are referring to.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  2. Stories like this define humanity and make you proud to belong to it.

    (And I had no trouble understanding the first sentence or any other part of the post.)

    nk (09a321)

  3. Christoph,

    Can you give me an example of how you would write the first sentence? That might help me understand why it’s confusing.

    DRJ (973069)

  4. What a wonderful and fitting story for a Thanksgiving holiday. Without intending to sound schmaltzy, it personifies the acts of selflessness that make others want to become better people. At least it does for me.

    Dana (a1f2e9)

  5. This is a story of America and what REAL Americans are made of. Too bad some people can’t understand it.

    PCD (b7be44)

  6. Those are special people. God bless them.

    Pablo (99243e)

  7. The power of love over blood.

    The Viniegras are these boys’ “real” parents.

    thanks for the story

    Darleen (187edc)

  8. Together, Luis and Sylvia Viniegra and Luis, Edgardo and Edmundo Rodriguez have overcome a terrible situation:
    … is confusing.

    Together, Luis and Sylvia Viniegra
    , and Luis, Edgardo, and Edmundo Rodriguez have overcome a terrible situation:
    … is the simplest way to rewrite it.

    Together, Luis and Sylvia Viniegra, and their adopted children, Luis, Edgardo, and Edmundo Rodriguez, have overcome a terrible situation:
    … is even clearer.

    “Luis and Sylvia Viniegra and Luis”
    … is especially ambiguous.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  9. Forgive the placement of bold text. It’s meaningless. I simply meant to provide contrast with my comments below, but placed the end tags at the wrong place. They should have been at the end of each respective sentence.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  10. Phoenix foster parents, Luis and Sylvia Viniegra, together with three young brothers named Luis, Edgardo, and Edmundo Rodriquez have triumphed over a terrible situation.

    Honorable mention? No? Maybe some happy girthday leftovers, then?

    allan (d3b63b)

  11. Well done, allan.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  12. This is the kind of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put.

    nk (09a321)

  13. nk, as I said I was able to figure it out, later, by reading the article… yet the sentence as written is unclear. It’s not the end of the world — heck, I began with a compliment. However, if you won’t “put” with it, what strategy do you have for deterring me from saying when I find something to be vague and difficult to follow?

    Swords or pistols?

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  14. We’ll exchange chili recipes.

    nk (09a321)

  15. nk –

    If a man has a chili recipe, he’ll be happy to share ..

    If a man has an an award-winnin’ chili recipe, only on his deathbed will he reveal it …

    And if a man has no chili recipe, there is no need to humiliate him like this ….

    Adriane (09d132)

  16. Thank you for posting this story. My wife and I have been foster parents for the past four and one-half years. I write about it on my blog. Foster parents are regarded by the liberals in the media and child welfare administrators as the lowest rung of the child welfare totem pole, so it is great to read something positive.

    Bob Agard (86e219)

  17. Bob Agard,

    You and your wife deserve thanks for being foster parents.

    DRJ (973069)

  18. BA– like any other important job, you only get notice when something horribly wrong happens.

    The folks with a brain know y’all are good people.

    Foxfier (97deae)

  19. I enjoyed your site and will visit often, thanks.

    Homemade Dog Food (a89519)


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