Her life has been challenging, but her face glows with joy. And her voice… it lilts with inner happiness despite her twisted body. Allow me to introduce you to Little Patricia, the name we fondly assigned her when we met her three years ago. Here is her story:
In 1978, she was on her way to teach elementary music classes, driving her husband’s Volkswagen bug. She was 25 years old. An open drawbridge stopped her. But the driver behind wasn’t paying attention and plowed into her at 60 mph. She broke her neck, and her small body sustained major damage along with brain trauma.
She spent her next two months in a hospital, but she doesn’t remember those months. Because they didn’t expect her to live, the doctors delayed treatment. But she beat their prediction. Two weeks after the accident, the medical team reversed course and began a series of surgeries to repair the damage.
When they finally released her from the hospital, her joyful spirit buoyed her recovery. Life resumed. She taught public school music and piano in her home and worked as a massage therapist despite her weakened neck, hips, and legs. Meanwhile, she gave birth to three children and raised them. She survived a divorce. But she refused to allow her circumstances to deter her bright outlook on life. For a while, she ran a bed and breakfast inn in a coastal town.
After many years of living close to the ocean, she moved to the mountains three years ago searching for cool air and hardwood trees. That’s when she showed up at Mountain Song chorus, using her crutches to walk into the rehearsal room. A lyric soprano with a voice as light as her spirit, she holds a music degree from a well-known university. And she always compliments and thanks Kay and me for our work with the chorus.
The Mountain Song members have embraced her—given her rides to rehearsals and concerts, taken her to doctor’s appointments, helped her organize her music and stay on track in rehearsals, and lifted her onstage. Her 22-year-old toy poodle, Tommy, was her constant companion, and she brought him to visit us at a Mountain Song drop-in we hosted in our home. Such a sweet little pet.
One Sunday in August after church, tragedy hit Little Patricia and Tommy. When she let Tommy out her back door, a swarm of bees attacked him. After rescuing him, she tripped and fell into her kitchen. She ignored her injury and took him to the veterinary ER, where they helped him recover. However, she had broken her hip, and it required a replacement.
This past September, when she didn’t show up for our first rehearsal, I phoned her to discover she was in rehab after surgery. A neighbor was keeping Tommy and brought her beloved canine companion to visit her. Tommy crawled up on her chest, cuddled up to her neck, and passed away peacefully in her embrace right there in rehab.
Patricia returned to the chorus in a wheelchair sooner than anyone thought possible in the fall. And she sang with us for both November concerts from the wheelchair. More therapies and treatments will come as she continues to struggle with mobility.
Sometimes, her bright spirit might be mistaken for naivete. But make no mistake, she has a will of iron. Her strong-willed resolve has carried her through debilitating accidents, divorce, serious physical injury, and long recoveries. Yet, she exhibits a knack for joyful survival through it all.
Kay and I spent a day with her in late November, helping her sign up for some help with transportation and groceries. The joy on her face when we stepped through the door lit up the room. We marveled at her enduring spirit in the face of setbacks. More than once, she replied, “Why wouldn’t I be joyful? God is with me every minute, and Jesus loves me and saves me through it all.”
Little Patricia. A beautiful glimpse of grace from a life lived in God’s presence.
