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Somebody Cared Enough About Me To Give Me Life!: Hannah's Story by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Rated "G" by the Author.
A young girl with a disability is happy that she is alive, thanks to the quick action of paramedics who saved her when she needed it the most.
I am so thankful that people gave me a chance. A chance at life, and a chance to enjoy all that it has to offer.
My name is Hannah Grace Tilghman, and I am 11 years old. I have long, brown hair that tends to curl, big, brown eyes, and a heart-shaped face. I am very pretty (or so people have told me).
I also happen to be physically disabled. You can see that immediately once you first see me. I walk with forearm crutches and leg braces; it is because I had brain damage when I was little, and it left me disabled. It also left me with learning problems, but I am getting help with that in school, where I am in Special Needs classes. I could be angry or bitter about what happened to me, but the truth is, I am not. I am grateful, very grateful, to be alive.
This happened when I was a little girl, maybe about three or four, I can't rightly remember (maybe it's a good thing?), but my mama remembers it real well. I was playing by the pond, and I fell in. That's when I discovered when I couldn't swim. By the time they had realized that I was missing, it was too late: I had gone under the water, and I was now unconscious. When they pulled me out, I was limp, and I was not breathing. They also found that I didn't have a pulse.
Paramedics were called, and they worked on me for a very long time. They continued working on me on the way to the hospital, and once I was there, the emergency room doctors and nurses took over, and they worked on me, too. Fortunately, they got me breathing again and got my pulse back, but unfortunately, it left me with significant brain damage. I had to have all sorts of therapy to relearn how to do even the simplest things, and as hard and as painful as therapy was, I still worked hard, and I wanted to learn how to walk (and do everything else) again. If there was one thing people learned back then, I was a child of the determined sort, and I am still this way today. Maybe this is why I am now walking and am able to learn again and am doing well at school. I may be disabled, but I absolutely refuse to let my problems get to me.
It was while I was eight years old when something really cool happened to me. I started going to church, and when I was eight-and-a-half, I accepted Jesus Christ into my life, and I became a Christian. I learned that even in all the bad times I faced early on in my life, Jesus was with me, and He never even once gave up on me. He also sent angels in the form of paramedics to save my life that fateful day when I was small, and because of it, I am now alive, and if I weren't, I wouldn't be sharing my story with you now. Eventually, my mama, my daddy, and my older sister, Aurora (she is now 15), came to Christ too, and now we are a Christian family, and we now all regularly attend church at Christ Community Assembly of God. We are very involved with our church (mama works with the kids in the nursery several times a week, daddy works with the pastor, and he also does janitor type stuff, and Aurora sings in the kid's choir, while I watch the kids before and after services; I am a junior helper), and we enjoy our church very much. Our pastor, Pastor Bruce Bilkey, is very nice, and he is very understanding, especially towards those with disabilities (like myself). We have a very large congregation, and we have quite a few people with disabilities; and it is nice to know that I am not the only one with problems. We have gotten very close, and I have made some really terrific friends in people like Ronee' Reaux, Johnny Sandusky, and all the Sanduskys (I think they make up the biggest portion of the disabled clientele of our church!), Opri Johnson, Tessie Gardner, and Sarah Ibbotson, and whenever we are at church, we usually hang around one another.
When I am not at church, I like to sing, read (although I have trouble reading, I still like reading the little kid's books; I am pretty good at those), drawing, watch tv (Pax), and play with my friends. I also like to go to therapy every week because I have friends there, and I can see them on my therapy days. I also love to play chess and checkers, and I love to dance on my crutches. I am pretty good at that (just as long as I don't trip myself; I have done that, and believe me, it HURTS when I land! OW!).
Well, that's my story. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little about me. Maybe I will write more one day, so you may be hearing from me again.
Until later, this is Hannah saying so long for now!
Very nice. You capture the heroism in the so-called handicapped well. I think the only true disability lies in having a defeated spirit. (And Christ is the answer to fixing that little problem.)
another amazing, soul touching write--beautifully done!
(((HUGS))) and love, karla. :)
Reviewed by Judy Lloyd
11/2/2004
I really do admire and respect other people who stand up for the disabled. My husband and I have gotten signs put up several places for them to park. God Bless you.
Reviewed by Eddie Bruce
11/2/2004
A very moving story, Karen, and particularly uplifting. Your enthusiasm for life comes out in your work. I wish you well in all you do.
GLIMPSE OF AN ANGEL IS NOW AVAILABLE. A PORTION OF ALL SALES WILL GO TO HOSPICE TO THUS ENABLE THEM TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE SOON TO PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
This book consists of a 150 pages of Christian poetry about the end of time and the Second coming of Jesus Christ not as a servant but as a King, the King of kings. To bring righteousness and peace to the earth and restore the government of God! Peac
I am so thankful that people gave me a chance. A chance at life, and a chance to enjoy all that it has to offer.
