(This is another fictional account of a young woman who suffered health problems after being struck by lightning.)
Mommy has a friend she had met while working at Nashville Memorial Hospital, where she is a nurse. She took care of this particular woman.
The woman's name is Rachel. Rachel Dian Smith (nee' Phillips), to be more precise. Rachel is in her later 20's to early 30's, and she has been married to Kendall Smith for a little over a year now. (They were married around the same time as our other good adult friends, Roberto and M'buti Sormiento.)
Rachel, like M'buti, has faced many serious health problems, only hers were brought on by an entirely different reason. It all started when she was struck by lightning. She and her then-fiance', Kendall, had been out chasing storms, when she was suddenly struck by a renegade bolt of lightning. She was struck in her neck and then down her back. She sustained TERRIBLE burns, and she had extensive nerve damage. She wasn't expected to live, but somehow, through Jesus' Mercy, she DID survive. She does, however, have existing health problems--and it's been at least five years since this had happened to her.
One of her most serious health problems has to do with her balance. Or lack of it. She has to use forearm crutches (or, for longer trips, a wheelchair). Another noticable health problem is significant neurological damage and also some brain damage. She has problems with her "short-term" memory--tell her something, and five minutes later, she is apt to forget what was just told to her--, and she often forgets who she is or where she's at. Her long-term memory, however, is GREAT. (She kind of resembles someone with Alzheimer's disease, in that respect.) She also has problems with her speech, ever since she suffered a devastating stroke. Her one side, which had already been damaged and weakened by the lightning strike, is even more so:
she can't move her arm or her leg very much. For this reason, she primarily uses her wheelchair instead of the crutches. She also suffers with severe, unrelenting, unending pain.
Rachel used to be a rather happy woman with a vibrant nature about her, according to her husband, but now she's a shell of her former self. She requires a lot of extra medical attention. Someone always has to be with Rachel at all times, in case she happens to fall accidentally. She can't be left alone, in other words. Plus with her memory being so bad and all--one mustn't take any chances with her.
Rachel has very short, BRIGHT red hair that kind of resembles a flame on the end of a matchstick, blue eyes, and is rather thin in build (but she is not as thin as M'buti!). Her neck and her back are marked with severe scarring; for this reason she hates to wear anything with short sleeves--tank and tube tops are DEFINITELY out of the question!--, for fear that people will "say things".
Rachel WAS studying to become a meteorologist, like Kendall is presently doing, but her injuries were too severe; therefore, she is on TOTAL disability and CANNOT work AT ALL. She is just TOO disabled. She is often depressed (and WHO can blame her??), and will often ask Kendall to give her more pills "to end it all", like she wants to commit suicide or something. It's rather scary whenever she does this because we ALL like her, and she is a very nice person. We feel sorry for her because she can't really do much for herself and can't better her lot in life.
Now, Rachel COULD have cordotomy surgery (as M'buti did, to end HER pain), but she is too scared to have it done, and she feels she will only have something go wrong and would, as a result, die. She doesn't really trust doctors, in other words.
I REALLY wish SOMEONE could help Rachel; she deserves to be MUCH happier, and she deserves to be helped by people who care for her!!
Re-Release! No longer back-listed. Return to the Olde Ways. The hustle and bustle of modern day life has brought many of us to a quick fix attitude.This book is for those of you who are fed up; have looked at your life and your loved ones and realize
