My Heart is in Haiti Part 5

Here is the story of Roberta…..

Roberta is 11 years old and is one of the most courageous people I know.  I met her my first night working in the hospital ward as she was one of my patients.  As I spent more time on the ward, I noticed that there was something special about this little girl…always smiling….always content….NEVER complaining about anything.  Something about her personality and demeanor was intriguing to me.

Roberta was home taking care of her 2 year old little brother when the quake happened.  Not knowing what to do (because they don’t teach you “earthquake drills” in school) she grabbed her little brother and laid on top of him to protect him from the rubble falling around them.  That’s what I call courageous…and SELFLESS!  In doing this, Roberta suffered a pretty bad fracture to her right leg.  She broke both bones (tibia and fibula).  To keep the bones stabilized to heal, they put an external fixator (the big metal thing sticking out of her leg) on her leg.  Not only did she have a tibia/fibula fracture, but she also had to have a skin graft.  They took skin from her thigh and grafted it on the part of her leg where the fracture was located. 

In all of this, Roberta smiled…Roberta was content….Roberta never once complained!  I was amazed by this.  One day we took her to the clinic to do a dressing change on her leg.  She was so scared, and I held her as she cried.  That’s when we bonded! 

I tried putting myself in Roberta’s shoes….  What would I have done if I was at home watching my little brother when an earthquake happened?  Would I have panicked?  Would I have run out of the house by myself?  Would I have stayed calm?  Would I have endured the pain that Roberta is going through with a smile and contentment? 

The Lord used this sweet 11 year old girl who loved to teach me Creole and then giggle when I pronounced things wrong to show me what courage looks like.  Through Roberta I saw child-like faith from someone who faced such a scary situation and trusted the Lord to get her through each moment.