{"id":16,"date":"2016-08-09T20:48:56","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T20:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lambsway.org\/?page_id=16"},"modified":"2020-02-17T16:12:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T21:12:38","slug":"shyheim","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lambsway.org\/index.php\/memorials\/shyheim\/","title":{"rendered":"Shyheim"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Family, friends bid farewell to special needs 12-year-old<\/h1>\n

By Suzanne Carlson
\nJournal Inquirer<\/h5>\n
\n

Published:\u00a0Friday, December 3, 2010 3:08 PM EST<\/span><\/p>\n

VERNON \u2014 Friends, family, and caretakers of 12-year-old Shyheim R. Greenier, who died Sunday, celebrated his short but joyful life Thursday by singing, clapping, and laughing at a memorial service at the Church of the Nazarene in Manchester.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us here needs help being sad, so that\u2019s why we wanted to do something different,\u201d Greenier\u2019s adoptive father David told the group of mourners, which included numerous children.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than a traditional funeral, David and his wife, Terri Greenier, kept the service informal and filled with song to more reflect their son\u2019s spirited personality.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The church altar was decorated with festive green balloons, stuffed animals, and a drawing of Greenier cuddling a lamb.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Greenier, nicknamed \u201cShy,\u201d died just after midnight Sunday at Connecticut\u2019s Children Medical Center. He was born with a host of physical and neurological disorders including the condition known as microcephaly, a neurodevelopmental disorder that greatly reduces brain function and life expectancy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Laughing, Greenier spoke of how Shyheim would play tricks, like turning off the monitor that kept track of his vital signs, and would have a \u201chuge smile\u201d waiting when he figured it out.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHis awareness center in his mind never grew,\u201d David Greenier said of his son, explaining that because of his condition, it was amazing he could even \u201cacknowledge someone\u2019s voice or someone\u2019s hug,\u201d much less play tricks on his older brother.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Because swallowing food was a choking hazard, Shyheim was fed through a stomach tube, but Greenier said his son loved lollipops, and the family attached a small flavored one to each program so mourners could share in their son\u2019s favorite treat.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Caring for an older, disabled child presents unique challenges, and the Greenier family worked together to accommodate everyone\u2019s needs \u2014 \u201cWhen you\u2019ve got a baby, it\u2019s one thing, when you have a 12-year-old, those diapers are different,\u201d Greenier said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Greeniers, who have four biological children, took in Shyheim initially as a foster child when he was a baby. They later adopted him and three other children, bringing their total number of children to eight: Martha, Julia, Benjamin, Sarah, Hannah, Erica, Max, and Shyheim.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe state couldn\u2019t have chosen a better family to give him to,\u201d said Pastor Raymond Pavkov of Mount Carmel Christian Church in North Haven.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs he was reaching out in those last few moments for them, you could see the bond that was there,\u201d Pavkov said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pavkov and his church help support the Greeniers\u2019 ministry, \u201cLamb\u2019s Way,\u201d which ministers to children with special health care needs and their families.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

David Greenier explained that he and his wife leaned on their faith after a difficult period in which their marriage almost ended in divorce, and he again prayed for guidance when the burden of caring for so many children threatened to overwhelm the entire household.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After that crisis, Greenier said he quit his job and both parents now devote their lives to their children with the help of their oldest daughter Martha and their 22 year old son Benjamin, who was often responsible for his brother\u2019s \u201cnight duty,\u201d when a nurse was not available.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite things about Shyheim is he was such a stinker,\u201d Benjamin Greenier said of the boy, who was blind and required frequent breathing treatments.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He expressed deep gratitude to his children, who held each other throughout the service and took turns cuddling their brother Max, whom like Shyheim is also severely disabled and wheelchair-bound.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Terri Greenier told mourners that in heaven, freed from \u201cthat body that he had,\u201d Shyheim could now do everything he\u2019d missed out on in life, and encouraged mourners to add activities to a \u201cShy Can Do\u201d board laid out in the church lobby.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

David Greenier said that despite his son\u2019s disabilities, he was a very spiritual person who brought great joy to those who knew him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is amazing to me that someone so small, so insignificant, a castoff of society, could wrench my heart in so many ways,\u201d Greenier said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Shy had with God wasn\u2019t a religion, it was a relationship,\u201d Terri Greenier added.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about the Greenier\u2019s efforts to connect families with children in need and support the special needs community, visit\u00a0www.Lambsway.org<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Now that Shy has a perfect body and mind… See what Shy “Can D<\/u>o” now…<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n