A story was told about a man taking a morning walk on the beach. He saw that hundreds of starfish came in with the tide, and when the tide receded, the starfish were left behind on the beach. With the sun’s rays they would die. The tide had just gone out and the starfish were still alive. The man took a few steps, picked one up and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Another man came along who couldn’t understand what this man was doing. He asked, “What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?” This man did not reply, took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it into the water and said, “It makes a difference to this one.”
The above story is a typical illustration that little things matters as Mother Theresa will say:
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” And before anyone start getting the notion that this write up is becoming another usual ‘boring inspirational piece’, I will like to tell you the story as it is and allow you figure it out for yourself it is inspirational or not.
The story is about a 26 year old girl whose name is Grace Oge Onuoha. She is a graduate of Agricultural Economics and Extension from the University of Agriculture, Markudi.
Like every Nigerian graduate who go for the compulsory youth service scheme after graduation, Grace did the same. She did hers at Zamfara Sate in 2014. And also, just like many youth Corps members who shouted: “God why me”, when they realised that they have been posted to the north; Grace also had her fears.
However, life as they said it is a mystery. A single mosquito bite eluded Grace during her stay in the North. She bubbled and radiated in beauty and grace. Her chubby cheeks were always surrounded with laughter.
Her smile were infectious and it always reveal a perfect set of dentition. She was doing fine. She also had her own business doing as well as her primary assignment. That is a multiple income. A typical Igbo girl, And then, NYSC is over and Grace have to go home like everybody. And then it happened.
On that fateful day which was on the third of July 2015, a day I assure you will never be erased from her memory. She was at Ibadan, where she was working, her boss wanted her to go and make some bank transactions in the bank.
She was usually the one who does that at the office. She went to that journey with two legs but she did not come back again the same.
On her way, a vehicle lost control and veered to her side of the way and hit her from the back and after two surgeries and medical analysis, it dawned on her and her family that she will not be able to use her right knee again.
Poor Grace and her family were given a decision to either amputate the leg or allow the problem to spread to other parts of the body and that will mean death for Grace.
Faced with that situation, they chose life and allowed the leg to be amputated. When asked how it feels to have an amputated leg?
She had this to say: “I must confess it hasn’t been easy. It is really a painful ordeal. I was in pains; I was feeling my legs after the amputation. Even till date I still feel my legs, but when I look down, I can’t find it. I will be like, but I fell you inside of me, but I can’t find you. I can’t see you when I look down. It has really not been easy relying on crutches for movement since it as its attendant limitations”.
As Brazilian Lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho de Souza will say, “We are not given a good or a bad life, we are only given a life, to make it good or bad.” Realizing that, Grace has refused to give in to depression despite her predicament.
She said: “I thank God for the spirit he has given me. He made me strong. He made me not to look at my limitations. Sometimes when I am down, I will be like, what if you have died? What if you did not wake up from that unconsciousness? I thank God for the accident; I have to be grateful for life because that would have been the end of me.
So, when I look at all those things, I realized that I have every reason to be grateful to God because some people and they never wake up again. Some people eat and they never stood up from where they ate. Some people even slum and die where they are, but here am I still alive having pass through the trauma and the shock”.
Grace further stated: “Even when I was in the hospital, I saw so many people like me and those who had very serious cases, who the vehicle crushed their legs right from the feet through the waist region and they never made it because they were depressed. They passed out. They died. I have always had that strong spirit, ever since the first day it happened. I have always been filled with smiles, happiness, because that is the only way I can overcome whatever that has happened to me.
So, I am grateful to God because I know that, he who has kept me alive has something special for me. I am not better or more than those who have died, but I think, he has given me life for a reason. He spared me for a reason and I know that His plans for me we come to actualization by the grace of God. Amen.”
Grace, knowing quite well that when one turns his or her worries o worship, God definitely turns the person’s battles into blessings. It is therefore a wake up call to all of us. Grace needs help. She has undergone an orthopedic evaluation where the use of prosthesis was recommended to enable her walk on her own. The cost of that prosthetic leg is N2.5 million naira.
As expected, the bereaved usually starts the crying before the mourners joins in. Her family has been able to raise some amount but the figure is nothing compared with what is required. Thus, she needs our help if she is ever going to walk again without the crutches as it is her hope and prayer that she walk
again and take a selfie like her mates do without the aid of crutches.
Like the man in the story in the beginning of this piece, one can become easily discouraged at the huge amount of money especially in this “Buhari Economy”. However, we can do the little that we can and should do. Just as one cant cross the sea merely by standing and starring at the water, so too we can’t help her case by only reading this and doing nothing.
As the famous German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang Goethe, puts it: “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Wishing is not enough, we must do”.
Grace can be reached on: 07036870905. Her account details are: Onuoha Grace Oge. 0007546405. Diamond Bank.
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