Jimmy and Nikki: The mother who carries her disabled son on her shoulders | Gramellini coffee

I was reading on Corriere.it The story of a woman from Torre del Greco who allegedly threw her two-year-old son into the sea Because he was afraid of mental retardation, when his finger (accidentally?) touched the swipe key and on the screen. A picture of a woman with a boy on her shoulders appeared.

A moment ago I didn’t know it existed, but now I can’t get it out of my head.

he is called NikkiThe Australian was Jimmy When he was still in high school. Two months later, he found his son He could neither see nor speak nor walk. She raised him alone, but it would be fair to say that they grew up together, wedded to each other in a symbiotic relationship. Nikki has given up on the dreams of youth except for one adventurous trip.

He took Jimmy on his back, literally, and crossed rivers with him, climbed mountains, and through forests. The most important discovery was made within her: she believed that she was carrying a burden on her shoulders and instead this son proved to be the wellspring that made her invulnerable to the whims of wealth. It’s easy to write about, it should be more complicated to live in it.

Jimmy communicates only in two voices, “yay” when he’s happy and “ahh when he’s upset”, for example every time his mom opens his mouth so he can brush his teeth. He does not speak, but smiles a lot, more than we talk.

Here, I loved the idea of ​​starting the new year with Nikki’s shoulders and Jimmy’s smile.

Caff di Gramellini is waiting for you here, from Tuesday to Saturday. Those who subscribe to Corriere also have PrimaOra, the newsletter that allows you to start your day in the best possible way. You can read it here.

Who has not yet signed up? Here you can find ways to do itaccess to all site content, all newsletters and podcasts, and the newspaper’s historical archive.