Cristina tells others: “I may talk slower and I may walk slower, but I am really just like you.”

“She promotes happiness and love through art to make our world a better place.”

These words from a woman named Jennifer are posted on the website of one of our favorite patients, Cristina Powell. Her mother, Leanne, is just as special. Both have flown for years with Angel Flight. Though we’d talked on the phone and I’d shared their story in a newsletter, it wasn’t until 2006 that I had the joy of meeting them at one of our Angel Flight banquets in Virginia Beach. Theirs is a treasures friendship.

I’m thinking of them today because the world is misty gray outside my window, and Cristina’s painting, “Seeds of Love,” brightens my office. You can see this and many other brilliant watercolors at www.cristinapowell.com. Her work is for sale—not only paintings but note cards and tee shirts, too. You can also read her inspiring story, which I’ll briefly relate here.

Cristina was adopted as an infant from Lima, Peru, and brought to her new home in Michigan. Four months later, her mom and dad were involved in a horrific car accident and severely injured. Fortunately, Cristina wasn’t in the car.

“Thank God I had Cristina!” Leanne said, for her life turned upside down and she entered a bewildering and complex world of medical, legal, financial and insurance affairs. Then, when she was 15 months, Cristina was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and years later, with a movement disorder. “This is when we found one of our best blessings—Angel Flight!” Volunteer pilots flew Cristina to a pediatric neurologist in Springfield, Illinois, for treatment. Then, with her condition steadily deteriorating, Leanne received Angel Flights to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to be treated for Central Pain Syndrome.

The two maintain a small apartment in Boston so Leanne can be close to her doctor, Edgar Ross, who’s one of the nation’s leading specialists in pain management. Leanne and Cristina travel back to Michigan from time to time and have taken over 50 Angel Flights.

Besides being her mother’s designated caretaker, Cristina, now 21, has bloomed as a painter and writer. She formed her own business, “A Brighter Way,” and regularly exhibits her work at hospitals and galleries. “My paintings seem to bring joy to people who are dealing with cancer,” she said. This month her work will be displayed at the federal courthouse in Boston and later in the summer, installed permanently at Tuft University’s Floating Children’s Hospital. She also volunteers at retirement and nursing homes and enjoys visiting and interacting with the residents.

For all they’ve been through, Leanne and Cristina seem to have an inexhaustible supply of cheer to share with others. In their presence, as one writer said, “It is impossible to be anything but happy.”

One Response to “Angel Flight Patients Bring Cheer Through ‘Brighter Way’”

  1. Patricia Says:
    March 13th, 2010 at 5:29 am

    An amazing story! Angels to the rescue for those in need once again.