ANN is in her mid 50’s. She appears much older. Her story and Job’s are much the same. She is a wise woman with an indomitable love and a commitment to service, even while suffering unrelenting cascades of tragedy and injustice. Her priorities are, “God first, then family, then my work.” Her work has always been to care for others. As a young woman she was intent upon entering a monastery, but the nuns told her that God wanted her in service to the community as a wife and mother.

Ann was the first born in a large family. Her father died young, and her mother soon followed, leaving her and her young husband as parents to her younger siblings. Ann had several children of her own. Her third child suffered a difficult birth and was given up by physicians as terminal. They told her that he had only a few years to live and advised her to place him in institutional care. She took him home. He is now in his late 20’s, moderately intellectually impaired and physically frail, yet kind and wise in relating to others, a joy to be around.

Ann suffered brain trauma herself several years ago when a gravel truck pulled in front of her car. This caused various neurological difficulties, though she has compensated well. While still in recovery from her injuries, her beloved husband, upon whom she much depended, was killed in an industrial poisoning, leaving her with a teen aged daughter and her disabled son. The company refused to take any responsibility for her husband’s death, and took careful steps to hide their culpability. Attorneys sympathize, but say they cannot defend her against such corporate power. She was left without compensation or medical insurance. Marie has spent all of her savings, fully mortgaged her home, has a mountain of medical bills, and lives mostly on her son’s SSI check and the help of an elderly boarder who has taken residence with her. Currently and for the past several months, she has been bed ridden with a rare respiratory malaise acquired when contaminated with construction dust while being wheeled to the operating room for surgery on an ankle infected from a previous surgery gone wrong. Her doctor says she is in critical condition and not likely to get better. The Social Security Administration says she is only partially disabled and limits support to her.

She needs specialized medical treatment and medications that she cannot afford. She needs good legal representation which she cannot afford. She needs assurance that her disabled son will be cared for after her passing. She needs other strong souls to talk to and that will not allow her to give more in relationship than she receives. She needs a secretary to help transcribe and edit her history and wisdom now hand written in several note books. She is a giver of gifts, and deserves some herself.