Harvey D.

Alfonso November 18, 2022

XII – Unitas Creative Nonfiction

"People with disabilities do not need to be fixed; they need to be accepted for
who they are." -Jordan Christian. But what if they were the ones who could not accept
themselves? How are we going to understand their emotions with regards to their
situations? What is the story behind a person who once lost hope in life because of their
disability?

Sam Bloom is a lovely and joyful woman who has three sons. The firstborn was
Noah, then there was Rueben, who’s always been annoying to Noah, and the last one
was Oli. Her husband is Cameron Bloom. They are the Bloom family. Sam loves the
ocean, and she met her husband on the beach when they were teenagers. Their family
was pretty much perfect before an accident happened. Sam’s three sons once wanted
to go to Disney Land, but she and her husband decided to go to Thailand. But when
they went to Thailand, an accident happened. While they were taking a walk, Sam fell
from the balcony. That was the reason she broke her back and can’t feel anything from
her chess to her feet. Her life has changed since that tragic day.

After a year, her life in a wheelchair continued. In her daily life, from waking up in
the morning to going to sleep at night, she is supported by her children and husband.
Because of her condition, she is no longer able to do the things that a mother does for
her children on a daily basis. Because of her condition, she looks unhappy every day
when she is left at home alone. The joyful person he used to be had been replaced by
sadness as he lost hope that he would ever be able to walk again.

One morning, a normal morning for Sam's family. But for her it is not. That day
was like waking up every day in the current condition. Her husband assists her when
she wakes up and gets out of bed, and even when she takes a shower. Her husband is
the one who takes care of most of the housework and their children. Even watching
over her is often done by her children. Her whole family helps around the house and
with her. She even couldn't tie her son's shoelaces and said "Dad knows how to tie the
best knots". When her family left, her children entered school, she didn't want to go with
them and just wanted to stay at home because she felt she would be a burden. Sam
asked her children for a goodbye kiss as they were leaving for school that day.
However, she only kissed Reuben and Oli. With a gloomy expression on his face, Noah
may be seen avoiding his mother Sam. When her family left, her silence and sadness at
home alone can be seen. When her mother, Jan arrived, she asked her what she was
doing and why she was just sitting in the dark behind the curtains. Her mother
encourages her to do things that will relieve her sadness despite her condition.

Noah, his son, was at the beach one day. He found a bird that couldn't fly
beneath the tree. Sam said maybe Noah should have let the bird but Noah said that the
bird might have died if he had left it. When Noah guessed that the bird was female, he
named it Penguin because of its black and white color. Sam refused to name the bird
but there was nothing she could do because her family had already adopted the bird.

Sam’s son, Noah recalled moments when Sam, his mother, would join him,
Reuben, and Oli in sand surfing, skating, and soccer. Noah believes that his mother
was taken from him due to her condition. He also recalls their mother being
awesome even when she wasn't in such being with disability.

When Sam's husband, Cameron, invites his family out of the house to eat, Sam
doesn't want to go again because of her condition. Her husband asked if she is okay
and she replied that she is okay. Even though the children insisted on taking Sam
along, she still didn't go. Sam got mad at her husband and told him not to ask her if she
was okay again because she didn't want to lie in front of the kids because she always
felt like she wasn't okay because of his condition.

One night, Sam woke up to his son Reuben calling his father. Sam quickly woke
up his wife to see what had happened. When the father looked at Reuben, he found him
vomiting because he had food poisoning. Because of Sam's condition, he could not
even go to see what happened. She screamed and asked what happened, but no one
answered. When Sam's husband returned to bed, he found Sam crying. Her husband
asked how she was and said the children were fine. Sam's answer was, "They used to
call out for me." Her husband replied that it meant nothing, but Sam replied again.
"What am I if I can't even be a mom?" Her husband replied again and said she was still
a mother. But because of Sam's strong emotions, she said that she is not a mother
anymore and that she does not like her situation; she hates it very much, and she also
hates herself very much. Noah heard that and realized that out of the 20 million people
who visit Thailand each year, that's another 20 million people who could have been
affected. That’s 40 million other hands that could have touched that fence. A fence that
was 15 years old could have broken 5,475 other days. But it waited for his mom, Sam.
And Noah believed that he was to blame because he was the one who brought Sam to
that location. 

Sam woke up from a bad dream, but for her, it felt good because of her
hopelessness in life. Cam, her husband, comforted her and said he’s always there for
Sam. Sam apologized while crying and said that her husband is not enough, and even
her sons are not enough. Cam comforted her again and said that she needed to get up
and take a bath with his help, but Sam refused to. Sam said she only wanted to stay in
bed and told Cam to get the children to school. Before the kids left, Noah asked his
mom, Sam, to watch for Penguin, the bird because it was still not eating very well. While
Sam taking a rest, the bird suddenly made noise. Sam yelled to try to quiet the bird, but
it continued to squawk. Even though Sam struggled to stand, he forced himself to take a
peek at the bird. When he approached it, he fed it, but it did not want to eat. Sam had
time to look for it because it was always missing. He found it stocked with honey. He
helped her and calmed her down, bathed her, and cleaned her up.

While taking their dinner, they saw the bird with the stuff toy and they laugh. The
kids asked Sam if the bird can stay at their home. They even pleased Sam. Sam replied
that the bird can stay only until it gets strong enough "She doesn't want to be stuck
inside, does she?" Sam asked. Noah also responds, asking if the bird miss her mom
because he feels as of now distant from his own. After that, they started to considered
the bird as a new family member.

After a few weeks, the bird got her strength back, which made Sam happy
despite their family situation. Penguin, the bird, became the reason why Sam’s family
continued their lives. Penguin also enabled Sam to make her feel as if she could still do
something for Penguin despite her situation. It struck a balance between Sam’s family
struggles and being happy with Penguin.
 Sam’s husband once encouraged her to do an activity for enjoyment, but Sam
refused and got offended because of her condition, thinking that how could a person in
a wheelchair do such a thing? Her husband knows she enjoys the ocean and
encourages her to take kayaking lessons, which she can do despite her inability to walk.
But Penguin reminded her that she can do more as well, despite his situation.
Eventually, Sam agreed to take a kayaking lesson and started to do it. She met Gaye,
her kayaking instructor, who became a very close friend of hers.

When Sam’s birthday celebration was held at the house of her mother, Jan,
together with her sister and her friend Gaye, though it was a family celebration,
Cameron and Jan argued about Sam’s new life despite her situation. While arguing over
such matters, they heard an intense squawk. They witnessed a penguin being attacked
by two other birds. After that, Penguin flies away left. They looked for Penguin the whole
day, but they did not find her. It became another reason for the family to feel sad. Sam
confronted Noah for blaming himself for Penguin's matter and his mother's accident.
Sam apologized for being distant with him and with her whole family because of thinking
of her condition. She told Noah that it was not his fault for her accident. Their family had
a clear discussion about their problems and removed the borders between each other.
At last, they hugged each other as a whole family.

After all, they continued living as one family and Sam clearly understand that her
family is still important for her because of love and she accepted her condition.
Suddenly, Sam asked Cameron to ask the question she once demand not to ask to her
again, the question how she is, and when Cameron asked that, she replied “I’m better.”

When they got home one day, they saw that the bird cam back. They became
happy again knowing that the bird remembers them and came back. The bird recovered
from the injury she gains from other two birds’ attack. But eventually, Penguin flew far
away and Sam witnessed it and seemed that it was the goodbye for Sam. The bird
return to her real home.