Fighting for Tony Author:Mary Callahan At the age of two, Tonv Randazzo was misdiagnosed as autistic. His doctors had no cure for him, and the world held little promise for a small boy trapped by a disability no one fully understood. — But Tony's mother, Mary Callahan -- a registered nurse -- would not relinquish her hope. Determined to help her son, she kept searching on her own ... more »for a way to improve his condition. After three years of rewarded effort, Mary became convinced that Tony's real problem had probably been a cerebral allergy to milk. Gradually, Tony began to respond. Today he is a star student in his fourth-grade class.
Fighting For Tony is Tony's story, Mary's story; the story of a family and a marriage torn apart by a child's disability and brought together again -- by a hard-won miracle.
Mary Callahan's medical background lends an extraordinary credibility to her lucid account of the pathology of autism. But it is her candor in describing how Tony's illness affected every area of her family's lives that makes her story so moving -- and so relevant to anyone who has ever had to fight a solitary battle.
As we come to know Mary and Tony, we also come to know the other members of the resourceful Randazzo family -- Renee, the baby sister who became Tony's staunchest ally and teacher, protecting and encouraging him even when her love was met with indifference; and Rich, Mary's husband, for Tony's disability disability became a crucible for coming to terms with his own insecurities -- just as it did for his wife.
Ultimately, we share the joy, triumph, and growth of these ordinary people fighting back and winning -- against seemingly insurmountable odds -- in this unforgettable tale of a little boy and the family who recovered with him.« less