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My Story
By Elizabeth Gearhart …a dear friend
In addition to prolonging
Victor’s life, the surgery improved his health and allowed him to begin a
new adventure—going to school. Eight months after the back surgery, he
started fifth grade in the elementary school across the street from Comfort
House. The school provided him with a fulltime aide to maneuver his books,
take notes, and suction him. A wheelchair ramp was installed at the school.
It was named “Victor’s Ramp.”
Victor quickly discovered that
his mind was an arena in which he could achieve. School provided a level
playing field and sparked his competitive spirit. He moved on to middle
school where he was chosen sixth grade “Student of the Year.” He was far
enough ahead in his schoolwork to skip seventh grade, and he only had three
years of fulltime schooling under his belt in the fall of 2002 when he
entered McAllen High School.
Victor developed a keen interest
in drawing and painting and started writing poetry and essays. He became
proficient on the computer using his left hand to maneuver the mouse. These
tools gave him the means to synthesize and communicate his perspective on a
life that is far from ordinary. Comfort House was indeed an unconventional
place for a child to “come of age.” In his 6 ˝ years as a resident, more
than 500 people died—people he knew as housemates. He had talked to them and
played with their children and grandchildren. All too soon they would leave
and others would take their place.
Victor had refused to give in to
despair. In a unique take on “if God gives you lemons, make lemonade,” he
transformed his lot in life into a “school for living.” He became a good
listener, sitting with the dying while they passed on their wisdom and told
him the history of the 20th Century. When they died, he sat and
comforted their grieving loved ones.
In addition to starting high
school, the fall of 2002 heralded another major change for Victor. He was
adopted by a warm-hearted woman named Yolanda Morado and the two of them
moved into the comfortable home of Mary Cloud, one of Victor’s artist
friends. The house at 1105 Maple Street became the bustling center of a
community of people brought together by their love and concern for Victor.
Among its other occupants were Mary’s mother, Kitty Cloud—a spry 90-year-old
who kept the kitchen organized and was called by “Grandma” by one and all;
Jessa Nunley—a delightful young woman who had become Victor’s close friend
when she spent a year at Comfort House as a fulltime volunteer; and Graciela
Puente, who took care of Victor at night. Although I didn’t live at 1105
Maple I was considered part of the family.
Another key person—Chris
Garcia—who had been “mom” to Victor as a member of the Comfort House staff,
left Comfort House the same day as Victor and, for the first year after the
move, managed all of his care.
Christmas 2002 was Victor’s
first in his new home. After eating the gourmet dinner cooked by Yolanda and
opening his presents, Victor was asked what he had liked best. Was it the
dinner? Or the gifts? Was it Mary’s artistic decorations? But, it was none
of these ordinary holiday pleasures. “The best part?” Victor paused to
think. Then he replied: “Nobody died.”
Victor’s high school years flew
by. Fortunately, he remained healthy, missing only an occasional because of
illness or fatigue. In July of 2004, he was the first wheel-chair bound
student to ever attend the Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session
sponsored by the National Hispanic Institute and held at Southwestern
University in Georgetown Texas. The delegates—exceptional Hispanic youth
from across Texas and the country—elected Victor their governor. The
following year he was inducted into the National Honor Society. On May 27,
2006, Victor maneuvered his wheelchair up the ramp to the stage of the arena
where his high school graduation was held and received his diploma as his
classmates gave him a standing ovation.
Today, Victor is a Bill Gates
Millennium Scholar attending the University of Texas, Pan American. He just
finished his freshman year with a 4.0 average. He’s keenly interested in
art, math, and philosophy but has chosen to major in history in order to
learn more of the Human Story he was introduced to by his dying housemates.
In addition to being an honors
student, Victor is a published poet, an award-winning artist, a weekly
columnist for The Monitor—McAllen’s daily newspaper—and a motivational
speaker who likes best any opportunity he has to tell other at-risk youth
they, too, can reach for their dreams no matter what the obstacles.
Victor receives dozens of emails
each week from people of all ages thanking him for his inspiring message and
the example of determination he sets for all of us. The ones that mean the
most are from students who tell him they had planned to drop out of school
but changed their minds after hearing or reading something he said.
I believe that, like those of us
who know him personally, you will be inspired by the life of this courageous
young man. He is indeed a VICTOR.
Elizabeth Jamsa Gearhart
May 2007
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