by Dulerio Blackmon
Sure, it was explained to me the role we could
play in a kid's life at KidTrek's Basic Training; well, as best they could.
I
just never expected anything like this...
It's now been several months and I still think about Yvette's crass abrasive
humor, her big smile, the late night talks, and of course that wheel chair...
She had a way of bumping you or running over
you on purpose and all you could do is smile and laugh with her.
Yvette had
come into my life through Riverwoods Christian Center;
she was one of the young teens that had participated in the camp program and
school year program from a young age.
When I first met her she was an attractive,
active young lady. She knew how to get the best of both worlds, being hard
nosed and independent, while also knowing how to be a team player showing her
ability to be the sweet gentle young lady who could win you over with a
look.
The lupus seemed to come over her as quickly as she'd won my heart. In a few short
months I watched her young body swell from it's normal size to what looked like
an over weight old lady from the steroids...
I then watched her dwindle down to a frail girl
less than a hundred pounds as her different bodily systems began failing. I
could pick her up with one quick motion and buckle her into the front seat of
the van. This was the closest I was going to let her get to actually driving...
"Uncle D, when are you going to teach me to
drive?"
I'd spent a lot of hours with her two sisters
practicing driving until they both got their drivers licenses, this would not
happen with Yvette.
Yvette slipped into a coma shortly after entering the hospital. So the only
thing medical staff could recommend would be long term medical care in a
special facility.
This meant moving her about an hour away from her home...making
it difficult for family to get there right away...
...though she was unconscious, Yvette
must have known...
...her will to endure was gone...she died within
that first week of being moved...
...my friend, my daughter was gone.
Due to not having life insurance meant there was no money for a funeral, and I didn't
want to see Yvette have a Public Aid funeral. I'd saw what the state provides
for funerals and I couldn't bear to see her laid to rest like that.
"God, provide!" I cried out in prayer.
He did, within a few days God had provided the
entire amount for the plot, and burial, praise God!
Even more, I praise God that she came to know
Him.
You see many of those talks we had centered on watching "Texas
Ranger", which was her favorite television show. She'd be at the hospital and I would be at
home and we would talk on the phone about the show.
However, those discussions went much deeper.
We'd talk about life, death, her pain and mine,
her fears and my fears and most important we'd talk about trusting God in the
midst of that pain and those fears.
Yvette made a commitment to Jesus Christ at the
age of seventeen.Two years later she
was home with the Lord.
I am so grateful for this relationship with her
and her family because I believe God blessed this family at a time when they really
needed it, and through it all the Lord Jesus Christ has been glorified.
