Happiness Upon Hardship

(The following is a conversation between a girl named Myiesha and a psychologist named Aaliyah. Myiesha has a rare genetic disease and Aaliyah has been asked to speak with the young girl about her understanding of the condition that is plaguing her.)

Aaliyah: Hello there. My name is Aaliyah. I work here at the hospital, and I was wondering if we could talk for a little bit?

Myiesha: (A big smile brightens up her face). Sure, I’m Myiesha.

Aaliyah: Oh that is a pretty name. How old are you Myiesha?

Myiesha: Eight.

Aaliyah: The reason I am here is because I have been told that you are kind of sick and I wanted to talk to you to see what you thought about that. Would you mind telling me how you got to staying here at the hospital?

Myiesha: I’m here because I got sick the day my mom, dad, and brother died.

Aaliyah: Oh, I see… do you mind telling me what happened that day?

Myiesha: Well, we were all going to go out to eat at the new place, but before we left I wasn’t feeling good. My tummy hurt, so my mom left me at my friend’s house. I went to sleep and when I woke up, Mrs. Ali said we had to go to the hospital to see my family. When we got there, a lady told us that my family was in an accident and they died from drowning in the river that the car fell into. The last thing I remember is that Mrs. Ali hugged me, but then everything went black. I woke up the next day and the doctor told me I was sick and I had to stay in the hospital for a while till they fixed me up.

(Unsure of what to say next, Aaliyah sits in silence for a few moments trying to think of the right response)

Aaliyah: Did the doctor explain to you what is wrong with you?

Myiesha: Yes. He said I have something called Batten Disease. It only happens to kids and is very rare but I’m one of them. He said that it makes you shaky and it makes you so you can’t move right. Oh and he said that it makes you not be able to see. He didn’t tell me something, but I heard some nurses talking about it. They said that one day I won’t wake up like my parents didn’t wake up.

(For the first time, Aaliyah realizes that Myiesha is already blind from the disease as the girl sits in her wheelchair staring at the floor, but holding a composure unlike that of a child, but similar to a mature adult.)

Aaliyah: Myiesha, how do you feel about all of this?

Myiesha: Sometimes it makes me sad, but it also makes me happy too.

Aaliyah: How does it make you happy?

Myiesha: (Another big smile lights of the girl’s face)

Because God loves me so much that he gave me a special life. I hurt a lot, but God made it so I am special and that I see life differently. God also loves me so much that he gave me a chance to go to heaven. Even though I hurt a lot, God uses it to make me a better person. One day I will get to see my family again. For that, I would go through any pain in this world. We forget that this life is only here for a little while; someday we will go to our next life and that’s when living really starts. Anything we go through now doesn’t last, but one day we will have a great life. We can’t forget that.

(With tears in her eyes, Aaliyah bends down to hug this little girl that has shown so much courage in her time of pain; this young girl that sees past this life to the beauty of the next. Aaliyah had never met anyone like her before, and doubted she would ever meet anyone like her again. As Aaliyah hugs Myiesha, she makes a resolution in her heart that she would do everything she could to help others who are suffering. She would do everything in her power to show others this courage and love this little girl has shown her.).