Carmen’s Last Gift – Pay It Forward

MKMMA Experience – Calling all angels – for Carmen

Think about it – Carmen’s last gift – Pay It Forward

I wrote last week about special children. This week I write about a special little girl named Carmen.
Following along on our kindness theme, although it is a very sad story, it is a Pay-It-Forward story.

I don’t often read the newspaper, and staying away from negative coverage is suggested by many including our MKMMA team. But sometimes I am just led to information that inspires me. I was led to a video that inspired me to write “Indigo Boy & Crystalline Girl” and I was drawn to an article in our local paper under the ‘National’ section about a little angel – gone to soon.

Doctors at the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada hospital referred to Carmen as the ‘miracle child’. She was born with a phragmatic hernia which means her heart and lungs were in the wrong place. She wasn’t expected to live, but she did.

The article read that “she had a first birthday, then four more. She loved princesses, tea parties and pretending to be a doctor. She went to school, had ‘besties’ and her laugh, when it rumbled out, came straight from her belly.” But she was in and out of hospital for much of her short life, and on Jan 12 she died from pneumonia. She was five years old.
Now, maritimers’ are wonderful people. I mentioned this in another blog I wrote and in true form they are standing together, helping each other and making the best of a tragic situation.

Her father was doing her eulogy, when it came to him what he should say, which often happens at a funeral, you get help from above. He said “We can do this Carmen’s way”. “We can dig deep and instill the sense of her best traits in one another and make this a better place to live – in her name’s sake. “Pay It Forward In Her Name”.

Those heartbroken words are causing a phenomenon. Like our MKMMA course suggests we do, and we as an alliance did  many kindnesses during one special “kindness week” of our course, people are performing random acts of kindness in Carmen’s memory, not just in Shelburne County, but in Halifax, New Brunswick, Labrador, Alberta, Ontario and even from Australia.

A facebook group – Paying it forward in memory of Carmen Faith Huskilson – sprang up soon after the funeral. It now has 7,000 or so members. The entries on the page, show kindnesses building up in memory of a little girl who brought and continues to bring joy to others. The list of kindnesses is long and even mentions handing out food to the homeless in Hawaii (where our course is based).

Her parents say they are overwhelmed, but not surprised by the spirit of giving that has been unleashed since their daughter’s death. “ If you knew Carmen and you knew Shelburne County, Nova Scotia”, her father says, “you would understand”. “I loved everything about her” he adds. “She had the greatest personality I’ve ever met”.

We are in a Pay-It-Forward alliance – let’s keep our kindnesses circling the globe – for Carmen, for all of the very special children and people that need love and kindness and for a better world!

I know if the Huskilsons happen to see this blog, I hope time will soon ease their pain. I have a little angel in heaven as well. I hope their guardian angels will help heal their broken hearts and that their memories and each little kindness they hear of will help make them smile a little more each day.

Think about the difference we can make!

Think about paying forward just one more kindness a day.

Don’t just Think about it – do it!