This blog was written by Meghan Callahan, who delivered the flower vases to the kids at Brenner's children hospital. So cool to see how God works!
What an emotional night. The first night that I’ve cried the whole way back from the hospital. So many emotions from complete happiness to complete devastation and I don’t know how to handle it all. How to handle going into that hospital and seeing my sweet children on bad days. Seeing their families broken, their siblings hurt, and having to be their joy and happiness. It’s not easy. And today was one of those days.
Rima, 10 years old and a patient at Brenner’s Hospital for two years. She has always worked with Arts for Life, as her love for art has grown and her relationships with the staff have deepened. I had met her once and just in that one enncounter, I never forgot her. Her smile was unforgettable and the happiness she had was contagious. She was “popular” on the floor as all the kids looked up to her and she was a celebrity among the nurses. There was just something about her, something different and everyone saw it. She was sunshine on that floor, hope in a dark place. She was wonderful.
Getting that email 4 weeks ago was hard. Seeing her name and the word “stroke” beside it didn’t seem real. How could a 10 year old have a stroke? After battling cancer for years and finally being in remission, now a stroke? Why did this happen? Now being paralyzed, not being able to speak, not being able to eat, she had to spend weeks in the ICU. A once lively, joyful girl was now a baby, not able to do anything herself. At 10 years old, her life was stripped from her.
Going in today, I had no idea that Rima had been moved from ICU to the Oncology Unit until I saw her name on the census. I wanted to visit her but was scared of the sight I was going to see. I decided against it and went into the art room instead. As I was getting my supplies ready, I heard the door open and turned to see Rima’s three siblings at the door. “Hi, um can we do art with you? We don’t want to be in the room anymore.” I smiled and quickly responded “Of course! I would love to do art with all of you!” As we sat there painting wooden toys, we had so many laughs as they talked about their day at school and the funny stories that happened. Joseph, Rima’s 5 year old brother, also showed me how to “properly” dance and even asked me to marry him. “You know Miss Meghan, one day, I might marry you when I get older (wink wink).” It was such a great time and I enjoyed every second I shared with those three. For that hour and a half, they weren’t thinking about their sick sister but were finally getting to share laughs and smiles. It was incredible.
After they were finished, Layla, Rima’s sister, stayed after and helped me clean up. I noticed right away how mature this girl was for being 11 years old. “You are so mature for your age. I would have thought you were older than 11!” She smiled and said “A lot of people tell me that. I guess I have just had to grow up a lot in the past year, having to watch my sister and brother.” She was so polite and sweet and I couldn’t get past how kind she was. “Hey, you know what, one of my friends from school had her middle school bible study paint flower vases for all the children here. I brought them with me today and was going to pass them out but I would love to have extra hands. Do you want to help me?” The biggest smile came across her sweet face and she quickly nodded her head. “Let’s start!” For the next 40 minutes, Layla helped me as we went into every room, delivering the vases. She talked to every child and walked out of every room saying “Wow, they were so sweet. I’m glad we got to see them.” She was so happy and after we finished, she looked at me and said “Miss Meghan, can I tell you something? This was the best part of my day.”
As we walked past Rima’s room, her door was open this time as all of her family was visiting. I saw her room was filled with aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents. There were balloons, banners and left over Valentine’s decorations covering the walls. As I dropped Layla off, she grabbed my hand to pull me into the room. “I want you to meet my mom!” I was scared. I didn’t know what to expect or the sight I was about to see. But I walked in, trying to cover up my fear and smiled as I entered the door. Before I even saw the bed, Rima’s mom immediately got up and raced over to give me a huge hug. “Thank you so much for doing art with my children. They loved it!” She was so warm, so kind and her smile lit up the whole room. Just like Rima, there was something different about her. “Well I’m so glad I got to spend the afternoon with them. They are such sweet children and I’m happy to have gotten them out of the room for a little while. How is she doing today?” She went on to tell me that today had been a good day, that they were praying and trusting God and knew that this was in her plan. “We believe in the power of prayer, that God is bigger than this and that He has her in the palm of His hand. She is His daughter before ours and we are trusting Him with her life. So keep praying.” I was frozen. The faith that she had was pouring out of her onto me. Seeing her strong faith in God, even as her child had quicklly become a vegetable, was mindblowing. She was so strong, so happy, and at peace knowing that God would give her comfort and would be with her every step of the way. I can’t even begin to describe how that conversation blessed and influenced me. As she continued talking about her and Rima’s faith and how the Lord is bigger than this situation, how blessed they really are and how this is just a chapter in her testimony, I couldn’t even speak. I was just soaking it all in. Her deep passion for the Lord shined through her and radiated out like I’ve never seen. After that talk, I knew I wanted to see Rima. I wanted to see her face, see how she was doing even if it was going to hurt. As I stepped around the corner, I saw the face of an angel as she laid there looking straight ahead, not blinking or moving. She was wrapped up in her princess blanket with only her head poking out. She was just as beautiful as I remembered.
As I walked out of that room, Layla ran after me to tell me bye for the final time. As she gave me a hug, she saw the tears in my eyes as I tried so hard to hold them back. She looked at me and in her quiet, sweet voice said “Miss Meghan, it’s ok. Rima is a strong Christian and she loves the Lord with all of her heart. If she passes, I know that she is going home. She is going to be with Jesus.” Standing in the middle of the hallway, with that strong 11 year old girl by my side, I smiled the biggest smile through my tears and simply said, “yes, yes she will be home with her Daddy who loves her very much.”
Driving back home in silence, my thoughts circled around what I had experienced. All the emotions I felt as I painted with Rima’s siblings, talked to Rima’s mom, passed out flowers with Layla, and had that sweet moment with her in the hallway. That family left such an impression on me. Their strength, courage and joy were so inspiring. Their love for God and their faith in Him. It was incredible. And even sitting at the table, painting, I asked the kids what was their high of the day and as little 5 year old Joseph raised his head, he said “I know what mine was. Coming to the hospital and getting to pray over Rima with my mom. That’s what I love the most. I know I can’t see God but I know He can hear me always.”
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