 | | | Phots courtesy of the Christian Appalachian Project | |
Help from the Christian Appalachian Project
The Christian Appalachian Project, founded in 1964, is an interdenominational, nonprofit Christian organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia — elderly, children and their families, and the disabled — by providing physical, spiritual, and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services. In the poorest areas of the Appalachian region, more than 50 percent of children live in poverty. For more information, and to help families like Jonathan’s, visit christianapp.org or call 866-270-4CAP. |
Jonathan, 15, felt the rush of warm wind around his body as he drove through his small town of Revelo, Kentucky, the streets spread out before him invitingly in the dark. Sitting astride his lime-green all-terrain vehicle, feeling the buzz from the beer and drugs he had taken earlier that evening, Jonathan felt the cool certainty of one thing: Life was too short not to have a good time. Watching the planes crash into the World Trade Center a little over a week ago had been another reminder of how life could slug you in the jaw when you least expected it. So why waste time worrying about the future?
As he continued to drive, Jonathan felt himself becoming hypnotized by the road, which seemed to grow slippery like water beneath the wheels. He lazily watched the street swerve back and forth, back and forth. Then, something large and blurry seemed to appear in his path.
What’s a building doing in the middle of the road? Then, his whole body seemed to jolt awake as two realizations struck with terrifying force: One, it was he, and not the building, that had gone off course, and two, he was speeding directly toward a solid wall of brick.
“One… two… three… up!” Kathie placed her arms around her 19-year-old son to lift him from his bed and place him in his wheelchair to begin their daily routine. Her mind searched for some joke to toss out at Jonathan so he wouldn’t see the strain on her face, but the effort was too great. Between worsening fibromyalgia and arthritis, and damaged disks that had rapidly developed from lifting Jonathan, who was partly paralyzed as a result of the accident, Kathie’s body ached so much that some days, she didn’t want to move at all.
Jonathan’s wheelchair was too big to fit in the bathroom. Kathie brought out a washcloth and a bar of soap and watched her son begin to wash his face. In addition to partial paralysis and traumatic brain injury, the accident had also caused facial disfigurement and partial blindness. It was ironic, because the accident had also opened Jonathan’s eyes. He’d become more tenderhearted, more mature, even more spiritual. And he no longer abused alcohol or drugs.
God, Kathie prayed,
why does it so often take a tragedy for people to wake up?
“I wish… I wish I could help out more,” Jonathan said guiltily, catching the pained look on her face. “Like with the cooking and laundry and everything. This house…” The house Jonathan and Kathie rented was not equipped for Jonathan’s needs, making mobility extremely limited. “The way things are, I just don’t see much of a future for me.”
Kathie bit her lip. She knew that even with all her family scraping money together, they didn’t have the resources to get Jonathan the help he needed to live more independently — a new bed, a van with a lift , tutoring to put him back on track for school.
*Based on the story of Jonathan Cooper. Research for this story was conducted with the assistance of Debby Nolan, program manager.
