9.02.2010

dear gage

Hi Gage,

I'm Rabiah but my friends call me Grasshopper. I heard of your story from a friend of a friend. One day I'll explain the 6 degrees of separation to you. It's a pretty cool theory but we have plenty of time for that. For now, I want to share an inspiring story with you to encourage you to be strong.

When my godson, Ramoan, (affectionately known as Boo) was your age he was diagnosed with a heart condition. He too was born with a hole in his heart. He was too young to fully understand what was going on inside his tiny little body but he knew that something wasn't quite right. He had to have life-saving surgery. On the morning of his surgery he laid his head on my heart and trusted his heart to his family and his team of doctors at Johns Hopkins. I knew that he was scared and he knew that I was scared but I held him so close that it felt like our hearts were beating together. You might wonder why it was me who was holding him rather than his mother or father. Well, little Ramoan was adopted by a single mother. She already had 6 other adopted children to tend to, so as his god mother I had to step in and be there for him.

I sat there in the waiting room and only considered a positive outcome. The surgery took about 8 hours and it was tough on all of us but only a few short weeks after the surgery Ramoan was bouncing through the house and playing with his siblings. It was a joyful sight to see. He made a full and complete recovery.

Ramoan is now 16 years old and doing very well in high school. Gage, I shared this story with you because that was so many years ago and the medical profession has made so many advancements since then that I can only see the positive in this situation. I smile when I think of all of the people who will come into your life and how they will shape you into the man that you will become. I look forward to hearing of your progress and wish you well in all that life has to offer.

Wishing you all the best,
Grasshopper

2 comments:

Mrs. JM said...

thank you rabiah. this was very sweet of you.

R. T. Smith said...

You are most welcome!