Most of those in my life closest to me know that I have a heartfelt passion and love for persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.  I have worked closely with my dear friends at Genesee County ARC and all throughout middle and high school worked with a young lady who had Autism.  There is one relationship that most people do not know about, unless you are a part of my family, and that is the one I have had since I was a little girl with my aunt Loretta.  Sometimes I have found that life’s most beautiful moments can be ones where very few words are shared and you are simply able to be taken back by life’s simple gestures of beauty and grace.  My aunt is a beautiful lady who spent her whole life enduring the frustrations of having developmental disabilities, yet some of the graces that came along with it and the many extraordinary talents she has.  When she was born, they didn’t know as much about developmental disabilities as they do now, and didn’t expect that she would live all that long past a young age.  I suppose many, many years ago they didn’t know as much about developmental disabilities as they do now.  I am grateful for the achievements they have made in research of developmental and intellectual disabilities.

The reason I am writing these words are heartbreaking to me.  She fell the other day at her group home, that is how I believe the story was told to me, and was Mercy flighted to ECMC because of injuries to her spine. Today I went to visit her as I have been told that she will be taken off of the respirator and given her wings.  The doctors do not expect that she will be able to breathe on her own once they take her off of the support, and of course there is always the small chance that the doctors could be wrong, and she could continue breathing on her own and fight past and breathe in a whole new breath of life.  I sat with her by her bedside today and held her hand for quite some time.  When her hand was held, her heart was calm.  My family just told me that the more time that passed today, the more responsive she got and the more she tried to open her eyes and speak words.  My heart hopes and prays, as most people I can imagine feel when they are in similar situations, that when they take her off of the respirator, she will have more life in her breaths than ever before.  And if it is the case where she is given her wings, I know without a doubt in my mind that she will fly high into the Heavens and shine rays of sunshine that reach every single corner of the sky.

The words between my aunt and I are always very few during our visits, but we would share more laughs and smiles with each other during our times together than my heart could verbally express.  Her and I would sit at the table together when the rest of the family was visiting and put together 1000 piece puzzles and just chit chat and laugh.  Its not a relationship that would often come up in conversation with anyone, because it just wasn’t on topic, but it is a relationship that I have always valued and treasured among the greatest in my life.

It amazes me that in a society full of chaos and noise, where surreal and serene moments often times come far and few between, we can be reminded in the craziest of ways how beautiful life can be. It is because of one truly beautiful woman, I am reminded one simple thing.  That one single relationship in which I shared more laughter than words, and more simple pleasures than complicated moments has been one of the most beautiful journeys I have ever walked through in this lifetime.  My heart believes that persons with developmental disabilities have this certain passion in their life that sometimes we lose sight on.  A passion that is sparked with a desire to exceed expectations, overcome any obstacle and succeed with great triumph in life.  Whatever the outcome, whether wings or a new breath of life, I know that my good friend, and aunt, has etched her footprints across my life for eternity, and I am certain that I am not the only person who would feel the same way.  She is a beautiful woman, who has a passion for life that I could only hope one day to fully comprehend.  I pray for her, never ceasing.

———

Aunt Loretta,

You are my hero, and I wish I would have expressed those words to you before today.  You are truly a beautiful woman and I will love you forever.  I am inspired by your strength and by your passion for life, I am moved by your heart, your joy and your smile…

You and I will put a puzzle together again, very soon I hope, and if not, then I shall bring one to heaven with me.

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