Thursday, November 1, 2018

An Angel in Vin's life - MARIA LINNY THOMAS

It was 23rd June 2009.
 Me, Vineet and Papa were on a flight to Bangalore. To meet "Linny". Why? Coz Linny was flying down from US to India for her Annual India trip and Bangalore was a good meeting point for us for her break journey. So why were we meeting her? She was bringing down with her a spare #Quickie #wheelchair which was lying unused at home.With all its spare wheels and the heavy batteries.Yes, all the way from the US - ALL of that heavy stuff!! For whom? For Vineet, son of a friend she had barely known on a social networking site.Why? Because (Late)Teena ( Linny's daughter) had #spinabifida just like Vineet. And though Vineet and Teena were supposed to meet in this meeting, fate had it otherwise - Teena went to her heavenly abode just a month before on 18th May 2009.

I still remember 18th May 2009.

Linny and me had spoken 2 or 3 times over phone before this. Teena was sick and in hospital and on 18th evening, I felt like calling  up Linny, and when she answered, she was crying. Teena had just left. I was dumbstruck. Linny said she'd call me later. I was heartbroken... I had been looking forward to me and Vin meeting her. A sweet , innocent soul went back to where she rightfully belonged..That night I couldn't sleep. I felt scared...for Vineet. I still do. Whenever I know of young people with #spinabifida flying back... I die a little with them...

Lets just move on...life is such.
So when we reached the hotel where Linny and her family were staying, I was met with the warmest of smiles and hugs from her inspite of her heartbreak. Only then did our husbands heave a sigh of relief! πŸ˜‚Two men who were loving enough to listen to their wives - one bringing a heavy wheelchair all the way from the US and the other equally believing in this good soul. We talked, we shared, Vineet got a brand new wheelchair (though he was a bit scared of the battery driven wheels, he was only 10 then) and today that wheelchair is still his Favorite!! πŸ˜ƒ 9 years back, a #Quickie wheelchair in India was a dream. I'm very happy that today, kids in India have a great variety of wheelchairs to look forward to, but back in those days, it was a dream to have a kids' wheelchair here. Here's the pic we clicked 😍

We became like family. We were there only for 2 days and then we returned. Since then, Linny has been Vineet's guardian angel. She made sure Vineet had his year's stock of pull-ups and adult diapers when they were unavailable here in India.Along with that stock was always gifts for him and Vineet's sister and sometimes me too! If she wasn't coming down, she would send it via someone to India who would then mail that huge box to us! ( I still don't know how she did it! πŸ™ƒ ) Only an Angel  πŸ˜‡can have so much love for someone who was never known to her! She has been there for us whenever we need help. She has our back. Whenever I need any suggestions regarding Vineet, she's always there with her genuine advice. And a few years back, when there was a baby with #spinabifida in our neighborhood who needed immediate medical care and monetary help too, Linny was the one who raised money for the baby's tumor and brain surgeries. I could go and on about Linny. (I miss her now that I'm writing about her, I wish we could talk , though we keep in touch by messaging, but we are both busy with our worlds and the opposite time zones are the main factor). 
But she's always there for me and Vineet. Like a Guardian Angel. πŸ˜‡
I had started drafting this post a long time back, but I didn't know how I could write a post about her in the most befitting manner. After all , she's a very very special person in Vineet's journey and I know she doesn't do things in the limelight. She lets God see her right hand, not her left hand (Matthew 6:3)

I will end this post here by wishing my very dear friend Linny "A very very Happy Birthday" (its her birthday today 😊 ) and I wish you all the happiness in the world for being the wonderful person that you are !! We are blessed to have you in our lives πŸ’ž πŸ’–πŸ’—πŸ’•πŸ’