Victorious Life

Victorious Life

 

 

Elizabeth Jamsa Gearheart with Victor Alzarez and Mary Cloud
Knowing Press (2006)
ISBN 093627593
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)

Victor has spinal muscular atrophy –SMA- a type of muscular dystrophy that prevents the growth of muscle tissue.  Victor was only 18 months old when the signs of the disease reared their ugly head.  He stopped walking.  His body became twisted and frail.  Even when the doctors gave up hope, this little boy refused to give up on life.  His passion to live kept him going, that and his angels.

Victor has touched many lives.  He has given hope to those who know him.  Luis is one such person.  He had given up on living.  But Victor came to see him.  “I guess if he can do it, I can do it.” 

Elizabeth recounts with humor the time how she became known as Victor’s “ Nobody.”  Victor was in the hospital; Elizabeth was sleeping when a nurse woke her up to tell her he was crying for her.  He was afraid she had left him.  “That was the moment I learned I really was an important person in Victor’s life.  So when, two days later, he said I was ‘nobody,’ it was okay.  I knew I was his ‘nobody,’ and that’s what counted.”

Victor befriended the residents at Comfort House but only once did he allow one to become his true friend.  He was devastated upon her death.  From that time on he protected himself from residents.

Victor was finally allowed to attend school “It’s really fun being a kid.”  That’s Victor he’s a normal kid trapped inside a body that doesn’t work.  Yet, is he really a typical kid?  I see a lot more than typical, I see a person with wisdom.  ”I’ve seen many people die and have grown to understand that life is a pitstop on a much bigger journey that not even the imagination can conjure up.”  I see a person with talent.

Think, After the Rain

I love cool rain dripping
through my thin fingers
on a warm spring afternoon;
daydreaming about
riding my chair in the rain,
cutting through the drops
like a bird’s wings flying through the air,
having no boundaries or limitations;


my shirt drenched after a pounding storm,
the fabric cool and soft;
how the musical notes of the rain
made me feel a thousand miles away
from any kind of civilization,
just the scent of our Mother Earth
and all her new-bathed children;
how my mother would hold me
like a newborn baby in her arms.
---Victor

 

Victor says it best, “I am the sum of all I can hope for in my lifetime.  I am a pixel on a most famous masterpiece: LIFE.  ---Victor”  I essence, I challenge you to believe in your potential.  Use your creativity, your intelligence, and your energy.  You and I have the power to change ourselves as well as our communities and even the world.  Be proud of who you are and where you come from.  That is the essence of what makes all of us strong and connected to each other.”

I in awe of Victor; his life is inspiring.  One cannot read this book and not be touched.  This book is a tribute to Victor and to the angels that were in his path.

This book is well written.  The photos bring Victor’s story to life.  Victor is a courageous person, one to be admired and emulated for though he has suffered much in life he is a stronger man for it.  I highly recommend “Victorious Life” to everyone, young and old alike.  Thank you, Victor and Victor’s Angels.

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Victorious Life