Our little Rusul has a new foot! She’s happily walking away on her new prosthetic and will be starting twice-a-day therapy as of tomorrow. At last Thursday’s appointment Rusul hopped on the examination table, pulled on her new prosthesis, jumped down and started walking! (Apparently, this isn’t the norm for someone just getting a prosthetic, but if you’ve met Rusul, you’d have guessed it’d be what she’d do!) She even entertained a bit with some mini-skips and hops, just to show us she could do it! I’ve even had to actually STOP her from taking off running as Ed Skewes (her prostheticist) said that this isn’t the “final” foot and it’ll break if she runs. She could do it if she tried though; and she’s aching to try!

I just got back from a weekend in Asheville with Rusul, staying at the beautiful mountain home of Paul Turner and visiting with him and Ymani Simmons (both of Asheville’s core group).  The Unitarian Church in Asheville was donating Sunday’s collection to Rusul and NMV, and we wanted to be there for that. A big thanks to Lew Patrie of the UU church, and Susan Oehler of the Asheville Core group for setting this up!

The UU church was beautiful and filled with kind and compassionate people.  We are so grateful to them for caring about the war-injured civilians of Iraq and our little Rusul!

And, what a delight it was just to be with Rusul as she relaxed and did her own thing for an entire weekend!  She was in 7th heaven at Paul’s, just staring out at the mountains, watering flowers with Ymani, running from Paul’s dog Sammy (who she definitely grew to love!), laughing hysterically at Tom & Jerry cartoons, and “swimming” in the hot tub (which she assured me on the way home today was a BIG help to her incision!)  She was just so unconditionally happy!  She took a walk out to Paul’s peach trees to pick peaches this afternoon, and just holding her hand to keep her from following as I watched her walking through the tall grasses, and up and down the hills behind the house, was heart-wrenching.   She was so determined, even though the terrain was rough for someone with a “new foot” – I couldn’t help thinking that I wish so much that she could feel as free to walk in total safety at home. But, of course, she can’t.

On the way to Asheville yesterday, Rusul was looking at the mountains as we drove, and told me how much she loves them. Then, she looked at me and said, “Ann, I love God BIG!” Looking at this precious little child sitting next to me without a foot, with horrible scarring and shrapnel wounds up and down her legs, proclaiming her love for God, tore at my heart.  I could only think of those people who so piously proclaim that bombing this little child’s country was “ordained by God” as though we, as Christians, as Americans, are somehow better than they. And yet, her faith, despite the trauma and sorrow in her little life, is stronger than most of us can possibly imagine (and she is fully aware that “Allah” is just the Arabic word for God!)

We are all one, and Rusul is such a good reminder of that.