Nino: Angel Brother, A Miracle of God

By Lucia (Nittolo) Hunter

This angel brother was given and protected by God.

Children with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome of the twenty-first pair. We all have twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, but these special individuals have three of the twenty-first chromosomes, instead of just two. This

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Oct 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685569488

Lucia (Nittolo) Hunter

The author is a first-generation Italian born in America as well as the first in her family to complete college. She grew up with her Down-syndrome brother and Italian-speaking, devoted-but uneducated-parents. She and her brother developed a strong bond in childhood that remained for a lifetime.Her role as sister changed, and she became her brother's advocate and later, as the years went by, a caregiver. Together with her mom and friends, she provided her brother with a full life in spite of his mental and physical limitations. She writes this book from personal experience.

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Nino

Angel Brother, a Miracle of God

Lucia (Nittolo) Hunter

Nino, Angel Brother, a Miracle of God

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2022 by Lucia Nittolo Hunter

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-68556-947-1

E-ISBN: 978-1-68556-948-8

This work is dedicated to my angel brother,

Antonino (Anthony) Salvatore Nicola Mario Nittolo,

also known simply as Nino.

He was a miracle of God to our parents and me.

So greatly missed is he, my sweet cutie-pie.

Until we meet again!

May 6, 2021

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank the following:

Mom and Dad—for their loyal and faithful love and affection.

Mom, who instructed me on the values of responsibility and devotion to Nino’s well-being.

Our extended families, who added such joy and celebration and gave support to Mom, Nino, and me in times of need.

Day programs, which gave Nino new opportunities for growth and development.

My husband, Richard, and our contractor friend, Larry, who added the male role model to Nino’s experience.

My college and work friends, who gave their love and support to Nino, Mom, and me.

Paulina Emily, who devoted eight years of her life to assisting me in Nino’s care during my time of great loss and need.

Finally, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose mercy and protection and love made Nino’s life possible and gave me the strength to carry on through the trials that came our way.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Birth and Childhood in Little Italy

The Miracle

Musical Gift

Six-Month Journey of Illness (1953 to 1954)

The Dream and the Tears

2. Living in the Cellar

Mom and Dad Provided

Looking at Each Other Upside Down

Going to the Races

Playing School

Performing on Stage

Nine-Year Mark

When I Failed Mom’s Expectations, Nino Was My Consolation

Nino Liked to Explore

Coming Down the Stairs by Himself

Our First Extended Family

Ride to Taunton Was Daunting

The Swimming Pool

3. Young Adulthood

New Experiences

Day Programs—an Option for Nino

4. Life Changes

Beginning of Losses and Our Second Extended Family

Career with No Summers Off

Nino Asserts Himself

The Three of Us

A Moment in Nino’s Thirty-Second Birthday (1981)

Nino’s Health

The Escape and the Frightening Search for Nino

Goofy Ganna Joins the Family

5. New Worlds to See

6. Ambulation Troubles: No Pets

7. Nino’s Spiritual Awareness

Born Again

God No Like

What Was That Pastor?

TV Ministers

8. A Newcomer to the Family

Nino Walks Me down the Aisle

The Four of Us

Nino Retires from Day Programs

9. More Changes in Life’s Journey

Unwelcomed Changes

A Broken Ankle, Really?

A Significant Loss

Time for Surprises

Another Valley, God Help Us!

Wedding Bells, Then Death Knells

Doctor Visits and a Scare

Richard’s Son Meets Nino

More Losses and the Routine Changes

10. Just the Two of Us

11. Paulina Emily

Answered Prayer

Nino’s Ability for Mobility Decreases

Workload Increases, a Stressful Blessing

12. Birthday Celebration with a Theme

13. Just the Two of Us Again

You and Me

Lazy Cutie-Pie Nino

July 2014: Chinese Food, Oh, Chinese Food

Bursting Into Song

Going on a Date

Spelling the Nino Way

The Pledge of Allegiance

Making Comparisons to TV Personalities

Morning Routine

Nino’s Thank-You

A Million Dollars

Hide-and-Seek

14. God Uses the Weak to Confound the Mighty

15. Coming Out of Hibernation

16. Time to Fly Away, My Angel

Epilogue

Till We Meet Again, My Sweet Brother, Nino

My Soul Is Well, but I’m Heartsick

Oh, Beat Again, My Heart!

He Heals the Brokenhearted and Binds up Their Wounds (Psalm 147:3, NKJV)

In Memory: First-Year Anniversary

Sorrow So Deep

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

Postscript

About the Author

Introduction

This story is about a boy who was born with Down syndrome and later, when he was just three years into life, just beginning to walk and play as a toddler, was further impacted by an illness that almost took his life. The illness added a physical disability affecting his motor skills. For most educated and professional people, it appeared that this boy would not have a productive or meaningful life. But these people were wrong. They did not consider the mighty hand of God and the love of the boy’s parents as important factors for this child.

This is the story of Nino and his life with his uneducated Italian immigrant parents—a family that was held together by faith and love for this boy. And it also involves his younger sister, who ended up being Nino’s lifelong companion and caregiver. She is the one who narrates the story of her sweet brother and how he impacted her life with endless love, smiles, and hugs. And sometimes, he was also the cause of her worries, concerns, and tears. She, however, would not have it any other way if given a choice: Nino was special. And she knows she would not be the person she is today if it were not for Nino.

God had a plan for Nino, just as He has plans for all of us. He makes us unique. I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14, KJV). God knew what He was doing when He made Nino, who was no mistake by any means. Nino became the glue that would keep this family together. He would be the source of joy for his mother and sister as they cared for him. Through his sister, Nino’s world would be expanded where he would experience things that would have been impossible if she were not in his life. But what he added to her life cannot be measured by worldly standards either.

This is the story of Nino, an angel of a brother, sent to the earth by the heavenly Father to a dysfunctional, fragile but faithful family. Nino was a miracle of God.

1.

Birth and Childhood in

Little Italy

The Miracle

They said he would not live past nine years old. That was what the doctors told Mom and Dad on discharge day in October 1953 about my sweet four-year-old brother with Down syndrome after a life-threatening spinal-meningitis ordeal left him with little to no motor skills to speak of.

Nino was born Antonino Salvatore Nicola Nittolo on September 24, 1949. Mom added Mario much later when he was confirmed. Mom recounted that during her labor, Nino decided to turn around and crawl up her tummy, causing her to undergo an emergency C-section. When Nino was delivered, he gave a small grumpy cry as if he had been disturbed from a cozy environment—so goes the story per Mamma. I was born sixteen months later, in January 1951.

Trying to recuperate from major surgery and caring for two infants was difficult for Mom. Dad retired from MTA in January 1951 before I was born. He had a small retirement pension and a free pass to use on all MTA transportation modes. And right after he retired, he began to build a new home in a coastal town for his second family. It was Dad’s dream to have a home in the farmlands of this town, as it was thought of then. But his late wife never wanted to move out of the city. So, now was his chance. Dad used up all the savings. He worked hard with the help of friends and family. This coastal town had a lot of farmlands then, with many Italians who worked the farms. It was like little Italy.

Once we occupied the new home, living on just Dad’s pension was tight, but as kids, we did not realize the hardships. Dad was sixty-five at the time, and Mom was thirty-six. Though Nino was born with Down syndrome, he developed as a normal toddler, walking by age three.

Dad planted a lot of vegetables, and fruit trees were already abundant on the land. He grew string beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, broccoli, beets, carrots, and Swiss chard, and he also had peaches, plums, figs, pears, and cherries from the trees. He raised rabbits and chickens and tried to raise pigeons, too, but they were not a good food source. Every inch of our yard was used up for planting. There was no lawn for us to play on. We had a watchdog, Leo, and some cats too.

Because Dad used horse and chicken manure for the yard, there were a lot of bugs too. Horseflies and beetles and ants and caterpillars and snails were in abundance around our yard. There was a lot to see and discover. And a flyswatter was a crucial weapon.

My mom told me a story once about when Nino and I were toddlers. She said that when she would give both of us our bottles, I would drink mine and then try to take Nino’s. My mom said that she told Nino to fight me back and hit me to prevent me from trying to steal his bottle. But Nino refused, saying, No—baby. He knew I was younger, and he was not going to use aggressive behavior toward me, even at Mom’s suggestion. Even as a little guy, Nino was a gentleman!

As toddlers, we played in the playpen, and Dad would fill a tub with water for us to bathe in during those hot summer days. Nino would look at the spray of water swirling in the tub, while I stepped into the tub like a ballerina, so Mom told me. I was also the crybaby, while Nino was always smiling and laughing. He was a happy little guy.

❤

Musical Gift

My mom told me of a moment in Nino’s toddler years when I was an infant, which occurred in their city home while Dad was still working on the new house. My dad’s son-in-law from the apartment above was visiting and was sitting in the kitchen. Nino had been put on a potty nearby so Mom could watch him. There was music playing on the radio. The visitor noticed Nino keeping the beat to the music and drumming on his little table in front of him. He told Mom that Nino had an ear for music!

Time proved that he surely did. He loved music. It was to be a source of joy for Nino during his whole lifetime.

Six-Month Journey of Illness (1953 to 1954)

During the spring of his third year, Nino took ill with a high fever. Though the family doctor said it was his tonsils, Nino ended up having convulsions due to his high fever, and my poor mom, in a panic, screamed at Dad to call for an ambulance.

Nino ended up at a Boston hospital for six months! He was critically ill with spinal meningitis and suffered complications with gastritis. A shunt was implanted in the back of his head to drain fluids. Shots and IVs were given through his feet, which sent his legs jumping,