I Said Yes. Gauntlet Story Feast. In Memory Of

This post is late.

It is not written by a warrior but in memory of one.

I will never forget the first time I saw her striking beauty in the waiting room of Diagnostic Imaging in Lanham, Maryland. She was there with her equally lovely mother. She was wearing a classic tulip skirt and finely knit cardigan. She was tall and willowy with the most translucent skin, piercing eyes and perfect pixie cut. I waited for a long time. They were waiting too. I was finally called back. I had a brutal IV attempt for contrast, a painful CT scan and was sent out to wait some more for the tech to look at my images. I must have twitched during one of the pictures, because he let me know we needed to go back in to redo a few. I was crying. My arm was quickly turning all shades of purple. I saw these same colors in multiple bruises on the young girl’s long legs. They were the only outward sign there might be anything wrong with her at all. I glanced at her face. She was crying too. Our eyes met. We recognized the messy DNA in one another in an instant. We didn’t speak that day or introduce ourselves. Caught up in our own unfolding suffering we did not use an ounce of energy to form relationship or step into one another’s worlds. We did not need to. They were already overlapping in the venn diagram way the hearts and lives of each of us with these rare disorders are connected.

Much later, when I understood I needed ongoing plasmapheresis for my chronic autoimmune disorder, my dear friend Pam connected us online. I realized I “knew” her already.

Morgan Amanda Fritzlen.

Just as long as I have breath
I must answer yes to life
Though with pain I made my way
Still with hope I meet each day
If they ask what I did well
Tell them I said yes to life.
Just as long as vision lasts
I must answer yes to truth
In my dream and in my dark
Always that elusive spark
If they ask what I did well
Tell them I said yes to truth.
Just as long as my heart beats
I must answer yes to love
Disappointment pierced me through
Still I kept on loving you.
If they ask what I did best
Tell them I said yes to love.–Alicia S. Carpenter

SHARE YOUR STORY. If you are walking a Gauntlet or are close to someone who is and would like to contribute to our Thursday community please email me at mkayesnyder@gmail.com, and I will send you the instructions for submitting. Share with anyone you know who might like to join our Gauntlet Story Feast. (Please use the hash tag #GauntletStoryFeast when sharing so we can find and follow one another.) Our Hope remains.