An inspiring story about the health challenges of a mother and daughter

I must thank Norma Fitts for sharing her experiences with us in her book, One Child, One Million Prayers, published by Maine Authors Publishing. Many people will benefit by reading this story.

As a child, Norma suffered through a lot health challenges which eventually led her to a new kidney. Later in life Norma and her husband had one baby girl and then adopted a baby girl and boy.

Sadly, the adopted baby girl, Maya, suffered through years of health problems, including cancer, spending much of her time in hospitals. And eventually Maya needed a new kidney. She was put on a wait list, and twice when they got the call that a kidney was available for Maya, she was too ill to undergo the surgery.

As her time was running out, and she was very close to death, Maya finally got the kidney she needed.

Norma shares the agony that she went through as a child, but it was even tougher to go through that with her own child. I can’t even imagine how she and her husband got through this, because Maya’s illnesses lasted for years, and had serious impacts on Norma as well as her husband and two other children.

In the front of the book there are 11 comments praising Norma and her book. One of the best was written by Angela Cyr, a neonatal intensive care unit nurse:

Facing the mortality of your child is nothing I would wish on anyone, yet I lived it when my third child was diagnosed with cancer. It changes you, in bad ways and in good. Mostly though, it makes you appreciate what you have. It forces you to hold on tightly. In this memoir, the Fitts family does exactly that; they hold on tightly during Maya’s health crisis while still finding the strength to laugh and love.

I can guarantee that you will hold on tightly to this book as you read about the incredible and very difficult experiences of Norma and Maya.

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.