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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Bouncebackability (06/05/14)
My early childhood hero was my uncle Paul. He was a pastor, a handsome, cheerful and a jolly person. His wife, Stella was lovely, kind and affectionate. I was always thrilled when they visited. They had two children, Philip who was a year older than me and little Patricia, who was just a baby.

Years past and we moved to another town. One day uncle had a massive heart attack and was called to glory. Aunt Stella was devastated. I went there during my vacation and watched her struggle through her sorrow. I was amazed at her faith and the way she handled her circumstances. Later she went back to college and got her degree as a nurse practitioner.

In the meanwhile, Philip went to medical school and graduated as a doctor. He told me that his ambition was to go to Africa and work with the children affected by Aids. Aunt Stella looked happy and recovered from her tragedy.

The next time I met them was at Patricia’s wedding. Patricia was a Kindergarten teacher and the groom was an English teacher. I heard
Philip was in Zambia and very happy working as a pediatrician. It was evident that Stella missed him. Patient endurance has a way of etching deep marks on the face and I could them on my aunty.

Tragedy struck again. Philip contacted some kind of a liver infection and was called home within a week. Stella was inconsolable. I had no words to comfort her and just held her hands and cried with her. Patricia and her husband took Stella home with them. There with their two children Stella slowly forgot her sorrow.

A couple of years later, Patricia’s husband lost his job. English teachers were in much demand in the Middle East and the pay was good. So they decided to immigrate to Dubai. Refusing their invitation to go with them Stella opted to go back to being a nurse.

Stella was alone again. I asked her to come and stay with me. She came for a week. I was struck by the sadness in her face. She did not say much but I knew she was back where she was where Paul had left her. Would she ever have the ability to bounce back this time, I wondered. I prayed for her, knowing that only God could do that miracle.

Stella found a job as a nurse practitioner in a remote Primary Health Care Center in a remote village in the Kentucky Mountains. One year during the Thanks Giving holidays I packed up my bags and headed for the Kentucky Mountains. Stella greeted me at the door of her modest little apartment behind her Hospital.

It was neat and clean. She served me tea and snacks. The she took me around her garden where she grew a lot of vegetables and fruit. A little stream ran through the backyard. There were a couple of large trees and a lot of flowering shrubs. The mountains rose all around to form a beautiful backdrop. The soft ripples of the stream, the rustle of breeze in the tree tops and the chirruping of birds gave the place an aura of peace and tranquility. God had blessed Stella with an ideal place to recuperate.

Later we had lunch – salad, boiled vegetables, mashed potatoes and baked fish and fresh fruit – all from her backyard! In the evening we went to the community center where most of the mountain folk gathered for a time of music and fun. They brought out their old guitars and played the Blue Grass. Sitting on rickety old chairs, wearing tattered clothes in a dilapidated shack, this simple folk were having a wonderful time.

The next morning, Stella took to me to the hospital. Sick, crying children, tired moms, ailing men, desperate, hurting, hungry, depressed, lonely and miserable group of people I have ever seen waited patiently for her attention. She treated their pain, gave pills for their fever, gave vegetables and fruits from her garden, listened patiently to their tales of woe, smiled at them and spoke to them kindly. She gave them hope.


She was a living testimony that they could also have the ability to bounce back from tragedies. She lit the candle of hope in the lives of these faceless, nameless forgotten people who lived in the shadows of the Kentucky Mountains. This then was the secret of the ability of bouncing back.
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This article has been read 464 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
06/13/14
This is a sweet story. It does seem like some families seem to get hit with grief much harder than what we think is fair. Through the grace of God, people, especially like Stella, bounce back. I noticed quite a few little errors that a good proofread could catch, some missing words and things like aids instead of AIDS and Thanksgiving is one word. Overall, though, you did a great job. I enjoyed your characters and you nailed the topic. Nicely done.
C D Swanson 
06/16/14
Touching poignant and insightful story.

Well done.

God bless~
Larry Whittington
06/17/14
I liked the series of tragic events.

The aunts activities with other hurting individuals seemed to be her way of bouncing back.

Good story.
Phillip Cimei
06/17/14
I enjoyed your story. I did notice a lot of passive writing. The best advice I received, and still working on, is to show and not tell. Keep keep up the good work.