From Pain to Purpose
As most of you might know (or not), Hope is Everything started thanks to Sarah Elizabeth: a beautiful girl who suffered from Cystic Fibrosis and left our terrestrial world in 1997. Debra McCarthy and Kenneth McCarthy, the founders of Hope is Everything and parents of Sarah, decided to create this space in honor of her and the values that held the family together when navigating the challenges of the illness, and lastly, the loss of Sarah.
From the beginning, it was apparent that Sarah’s coming to our world was intentional and magical in its own way. Debbie, her mom, knew long before she started having kids that she was going to have a disabled child. It was one of those specific and hard-to-explain messages that are delivered to people through dreams, encounters, and prayers.
Sarah was born with lots of complications, and months after, the family received the news that, unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. A lot of things happened between them, knowing what was happening with Sarah: worries, health difficulties, and wrong treatments. As they were getting the news, one doctor emphasized, “Cystic fibrosis, or CF, as it is commonly called, is the number one genetic killer of children and young adults in America today. Among diseases, CF causes more childhood deaths than polio, diabetes, or rheumatic fever combined.” “CF is always terminal.”
Life after that was full of emotions, fights, challenges, doctors, tests, miracles, and especially, prayers. Even though doctors had told them Sarah’s life expectancy was 2 years, she lived 11 more years, where lessons about faith and divine knowledge were part of a greater plan, not only for her but also for the family. She was full of talent and emotion, and she created environments where love prevailed over fear.
Sarah was a writer. She used to narrate her life through her journals. This is an excerpt of some of the last passages she wrote: “This is the end of my story, but my life will continue forever. Life is hard, but I need to enjoy it. God has given us this gift of life. Even though it’s hard, enjoy it while you can. Memories are one of the only things you can take to Heaven. And I’ve made some good ones. Bye.”
In this summary of a very luminous story, God is present in so many ways. In the alignments of every little detail that allowed Sarah to have the opportunity to experience life and express herself so clearly, honestly, rawly, and magically. In the way she cared and loved each of the people she encountered. In her return to life. In the way she dreamed about her future. How she would get excited and celebrate those she loved. And, in the way she showed pure forms of love and resistance without fearing death.
“Life is precious and to be enjoyed while we have opportunity. It is for us to experience, learn, and grow. But, returning home is okay,” wrote Debbie. Death, in the eyes of Sarah, was an experience worth living for.
Living in fear can take away so much gratitude and presence, and Sarah helped see the opportunities that come along when fear and despair are not the main characters, even when death is on the other side. This is to say that the purpose of this community is to give people some light in the darkness, no matter how impossible it looks or feels.
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— Written by Ariadna Bermudez, Freelance Blog Writer