Brian rang his mother-in-law, Cherish, “It’s a girl. Destiny’s doing fine but there might be a problem with the baby.”
Brian could hear Cherish’s concern, “She’s having difficulties. Doctors say it’s common in premature babies.”
Cherish was a trained nurse and knew the risks for very premature babies. She wanted to know the baby’s name. Her family had a tradition of uplifting names.
“Cope?… Oh, an aitch. We decided on Faith… Yes, similar meaning. We need to have faith. Doctors suspect cerebral palsy.”
In time, Faith grew and learned to cope with her physical challenges. Her intelligence became her strength.
This story is a prequel to a 100 word story written on February 28, 2012. Entitled, “Against All Odds”, it’s about the success of Faith as a writer and the fulfilment of her parents’ hope.https://rossmannell.com/2012/02/28/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-wk32-prompt-take-a-leap-of-faith-100-words-against-all-odds/
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Ross's Writing Blog 
PookyH
October 8, 2013 at 06:48
This really moved me. I loved the earlier piece too. Is this based on a real person or is it a pure imagining?
Ross Mannell
October 8, 2013 at 13:10
Thanks for the comment.
While much of the details are fictional, I was thinking of a teenager who is bright, and does her best to not let cerebral palsy get her down. She sings and does some dancing, finding support from her friends. Rather than Faith, she is Ruth and, if my books are correct, it means beautiful and compassionate in Hebrew, a description describing her well. 🙂
PookyH
October 9, 2013 at 08:07
Ruth sounds fantastic. Does she know that she’s such an inspiration to you? I’m sure she would love to know that x
Ross Mannell
October 11, 2013 at 21:36
About two years back I came upon a lonely teenager on Twitter. She had a few Twitter friends but seemed to be struggling. Kind words were all she needed. She now has over 17,000 followers. She is an inspiration to many now, including me. Although we rarely exchange tweets now considering her number of followers, she has continued to share her strength with others.. 🙂