THE STORY OF CARLY ELVA

Hope comes in all shapes and sizes and forms throughout the course of one's life. It is a source of inspiration that teaches us to reach beyond our own current conditions and latch on to something beyond our understandings. I believe that we only truly find hope when we are meant to; although we may be constantly surrounded by incredible mysteries, our ability to perceive the beauty of the world around us is often keenest when we are at our weakest moments, or when we draw too deeply within to ourselves. And when we arrive at moments like that, when we are on the verge of collapse, hope floats gently into our lives and restores us.

Over the course of these last two weeks I have been blessed to find my strength and joy restored by a little girl named Carly Elva. Carly is visiting the United States on a medical visa that will expire after a year. My family's connection to Carly began when my mother found her picture on an orphanage's website a week before the earthquake tore apart the Haitian capital. Carly joined a wonderful orphanage because her grandmother lacked the means to take care of her, and because she lost her mother at the age of one.

The extent of Carly's medical issues has yet to be fully determined. There are no records of Carly's medical treatment while in Haiti, and as far as we know, despite her numerous ailments, Carly was not able to see doctors in Haiti for this paralysis. What we do know is that Carly was born with a tethered spine, which supposedly left her paralyzed from the waist down. And to our knowledge, Carly has been incapable of bending her legs at all, walking, or even feeling anything from her waist down for some time.

Carly's situation worsened when the earthquake struck Haiti. Clean drinking water was a rare luxury, and as a result she managed to contract some type of parasite. Sadly, the parasite caused Carly to drop from 30 to 24 pounds in a single month after the earthquake. With the situation unraveling my mother became determined to find medical help for the girl. Months of work and planning coalesced in November when Carly boarded a plane for the United States (despite an impending hurricane) and flew to Miami to meet my father. The trip and the medical attention that she has been receiving has only been made possible by the generosity of the specialists who are working with her. Numerous doctors, surgeons, therapists, and hospitals pledged their time and resources to work on Carly completely free of charge.

From the moment Carly scooted herself into our house she was a blessing. It takes a certain degree of gumption to thrive amidst the chaos that constantly engulfs my family. You would naturally assume that a little girl without the use of her legs would be overwhelmed by the constant whir of our house, but from the instant she entered Carly became a driving force. I was shocked when I got home from college to find this petite Haitian girl shooting across the living room floor, propelling herself solely with her arms. And while the physical strength that Carly possesses is unreal, her exuberance for life is absolutely shocking.

Carly has a special gift, a love of life and of the people around her that surpasses understanding. Whether or not it is right, it is human nature to look at someone with a disability and feel sorry for them and their situation. It is a humbling and a unique experience to look at a partially paralyzed four and a half year old girl who grew up in a wheelchair in a Haitian orphanage, and feel completely unworthy of her presence. But that is what you feel when you see Carly, you are overcome by her unbridled joy and zest for life. Her squeals and constant energy remind you of the beauty of the human spirit and its incredible resilience.

Today Carly returned from the hospital after her first surgery on her tethered spine. The surgeons are skeptical about her chances of walking, they believe that she might have been paralyzed by some form of meningitis as a baby. However, today Carly gained feeling in her lower body for what could be the first time in her life. Five adults (most of whom were doctors or nurses) crowded around her hospital bed witnessing her joy as this special little girl wiggle her toes for the first time.

There are a lot of things wrong with this world, but there is also so much beauty. I am lucky to have been so thoroughly reminded of that throughout these last two weeks.