On March 16th, Anaiah Rucker was released from Children's Healthcare center in Atlanta, GA. The day before, I saw Anaiah Rucker on the television in my hotel room in Waco, TX and looked into the 9-year-old eyes of a hero.
Camry, Anaiah's 5-year-old sister, would not be alive today if Anaiah had not saved her life on a rainy Friday morning three weeks earlier. The girls were running across the road to reach their school bus. At the last minute before impact, Anaiah saw a truck coming toward them, and, at the risk of her own life, pushed her sister to safety.
Anaiah would have died there, because she had stopped breathing. But the schoolbus driver, Loretta Berriman, another hero, stopped the bus and ran to Anaiah, performing CPR and Anaiah started breathing again.
Both children were hospitalized but Anaiah took the brunt of the force of the truck. The truck driver was not charged in the accident. Anaiah has already had five surgeries. She had two broken legs, broken neck, and lost a kidney. Her left leg was later amputated.
The community of Madison is responding with help for Anaiah. A simple search revealed the news that the community is responding. One of the first gracious acts was putting a wheelchair ramp painted her favorite pink and purple.
"I love her more than anything," Anaiah said, looking into the camera, crying. She loves her Camry more than anything. Even her own life.
As I looked into Anaiah Rucker's eyes I was reminded of this word from Jesus, "This I command you, that you love one another." (John 15:17)
God bless Anaiah Rucker and give her the support from her school, community, and family that she needs to thrive.
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