Kezia

I met Kezia in June 2008. Her nanny seated her on a chair in the hallway, right outside the teacher’s office.
“Miss, I want to go to school,” she said. “I promise I want to go to school.”
You see, she suffered from spina bifida. In Indonesia, education doesn’t come cheap. Even when you have money, the school has the right to turn you down when you show signs of special needs.
In her case, Kezia is so precious. She proved to me and the principal that she kept her word. She listened attentively, she did all her assignments, and she tried her best without complaining.
Her friends absolutely fell in love with her. They fought for the spot next to her in class. They even play hide-and-seek with her at recess!
Early in January, I noticed that her handwriting started to become sloppy. And her grades were not up there anymore. I discusses it with her homeroom teacher, and we agreed that there must be a serious problem. Little did we know that the problem was serious.
One Sunday in early April, Mom spoke with me when nobody else was around. They just returned from Singapore for a physical check-up. The results were not good at all. Doctors said her back’s curves are getting worse. So bad that it would snap due to her upper body’s weight. She need to have a surgery to get a pen inserted.
The doctors were amazed that she didn’t show any sign of pain. In a normal situation, anyone would cry out in agony with such a curved spine, they said. I laughed inside, bitterly. You haven’t met Kezia. She’s such a fighter, allright!
Mom’s story wasn’t finished yet. To my horror, I found it that day that it was a degenerative condition. Meaning, it would get worse as she gets older. That’s why the first doctor who performed a surgery when she was born hadn’t done it seriously. Obviously he’d thought it such a waste of his time. She would die soon anyway.
Mom told me that there’s a hole to drain her brain’s fluid. She’d been covering it with a plain gauze. It should had given her a nasty infection long time ago, the doctors said. It was true that 3 years ago she suffered from an infection so bad that it nearly took her life. Yet Mom prayed, telling God that she wasn’t ready to let her go.
What blew me was the feeling of helplessness. I never taught a kid with SB to begin with. This is a whole new area for me. And then the verdict that she wouldn’t be around that much longer just caused me anger and pain. I told her right away that we never knew when the time comes for any of us. My prayer is that she’d pass on peacefully and painlessly. Mom agreed, and tearfully told me she’d fight one more time.
She would get the surgery. Which means she needs money. A lot of money. She planned to write a book and publish it to help covering the cost. And she asked me if I could help finding a publisher. Absolutely. Anything for my girl!
And so began the search and the quest. I never realized how precious friends are at such a time as this. They help me withouth questioning. They gave me leads which were very helpful. A guy even called me back with a complete info on Gramedia!
I guess it is true that every cloud has a silver lining. I could feel God’s helping hand. With the mighty hand and outstreched arms he would help me. An He sent the right people at the right time. I still believe.