Melinda

Dan, my mom, and I have a dear friend in Virginia who was at the very top of our list of people to visit. She is one of the most special people I know, and she has touched all of our lives immensely and we miss her so much. Her name is Melinda Mills, and she has a condition which is essentially a complete medical mystery. She became dehydrated, was given saline in an IV, and subsequently lost control of her entire body. She has retained her intellect, and communicates by fluttering her eyelids- up for yes and down for no. They have broken the alphabet up into a 5 line grid; so you say "line 1, line 2.." etc until she lifts her eyelids indicating that the letter she wants is on that line, then you go through to find the letter. It is a time consuming process, but very fulfilling once you've mastered it. Melinda has impeccable spelling and very strong opinions. She also has a wonderful sense of humor and an enormous amount of faith. Any time I find myself going through difficult times, all I have to do is think of Melinda and the poise with which she deals with her situation, and I find the motivation I need to do what is needed. Hannah was a pill the entire time we were there, and wouldn't stop whining and crying, but we still managed to have a good visit with her and I'm so glad we were able to go!