MAINE RESILIENCE – LOU PELLETIER

 I trust you will forgive me for breaking the chronological litany of trauma in my life so I can discuss Miracles.  Many of us are familiar with the Bible accounts of the Miracles Jesus performed, but how many of us have beenblessed with a Miracle in their lives.  Believing that the circumstances of our lives are much our doing or Man’s doing  due to our Free Will, I have neither expected or prayed for Miracles. An incident this past Christmas Day (2007) has reaffirmed by belief that Miracles occur. My daughter Stephanie, her husband, newborn son (2 month) and I spent Christmas Eve and day at her sister’s home.  At approximately 4 A.M. on Christmas Day, Stephanie was going down the stairs to the kitchen after having fed the baby (Edgar) for a bite to eat.  Being in a bedroom downstairs I heard her coming down the stair when suddenly a loud thud sounded out. It was loud enough for me to think some large amount of snow had fallen from the roof or one of the adults had fallen out of bed.  A few minutes later I heard my daughter painfully calling out for her husband.  After some commotion, hearing her sister tend to Stephanie, her husband, Scott, came into the room and explained that she had lost her footing going down the stairs and had landed on her back.  She could not get up and was having trouble breathing. Even before I knew what was going on I was talking to God, praying it was not serious. An ambulance came and took her to the hospital.  As we let the children empty out their Christmas Stockings the mood was somber and the adults were all praying for a good outcome.  We received a call from Scott saying the X-rays were inclusive but they believed she had three broken ribs and a vertebrae that had some damage.  Being a paraplegic, you can imagine my stress over the thought that my daughter with a newborn could end up with a serious spinal injury.  I prayed steadily from the time I knew she was hurt until she returned to us that she would be OK.  After a C.A.T. scan, anothercouple hours passed, and we were informed that Stephanie had no broken bones and would be released from the hospital.  She returned to us just before noon and we had a very happy Christmas celebration from then on.  She was in a lot of pain, but we were all overjoyed that no serious damage had occurred.  As a result of this experience, I am now quick to pray for a Miracle healing for those I know who are suffering through one of life’s traumatic experience.  You can see that one of the factors for building resilience worked well for me during this very stressful and frightening experience. It allowed me to remain calm, and focused on helping those going through the same stressful issue.  Our connection with FAITH , for me is the strongest factor that makes me resilient.

Louis Pelletier