Many Threads Braided Together
A Story from Dan Olson:
In early June we started to notice something beautiful.
Our part at Sanctuary Night started when Tammy (not her real name) stopped by our drop in center. One of the volunteers asked her if she was ok…if she had been beaten, because one of her eyes appeared swollen shut.
Tammy shared how when she was a young girl, eighteen years earlier, an accident had split her eyeball and doctors had to remove it. She continued to tell us that she stopped using her current prosthetic eye because of repeated infections and since she was living on the streets, she could not get the proper solution to keep her prosthetic lubricated.
When I heard this, I told Tammy that I would check around and try to find some of this solution for her.
A day or so later I was in my local pharmacy, staring at what seemed like hundreds of eye solution options. Again, I was prompted to ask the pharmacist her opinion. After she heard about Tammy’s dilemma, the pharmacist told me she was seeing her optometrist in several days and would ask for his recommendation.
The call from my pharmacist came the same day of her eye exam. “Dan…this is amazing! I told my eye doctor about Tammy and guess what? He is one of only three optometrists in central Ohio that specialize in eye prosthetics! And…he wants to treat Tammy for free!”
Getting in contact with Tammy was challenging, however another drop in center that we at Sanctuary Night had recently connected with was able to pass along the eye doctors message to Tammy.
When I was working to arrange transportation and coordinate Tammy’s appointment (the doctor’s office is located in Grove City), the doctor said, “Let’s get Tammy in tomorrow at 11am.”
Long story short, everything fell into place within hours! And so the following morning, Caroline (one of Sanctuary Nights volunteers and a member of our steering committee) and I picked up Tammy and a friend of hers for the appointment.
When Tammy stepped out of the examination room, it was like the sun shining inside that doctor’s office! She was beaming!
The doctor had cleaned out her eye socket and had discovered that Tammy’s prosthetic eye needed to be reshaped, which he did right there.
Tammy shared her gratefulness and gratitude for everyone involved in helping her get to the eye doctor while the four of us had lunch together after the appointment.
Every one of you is integrated somehow, whether directly or indirectly, into this story! As if each of you are a thread. Each thread by itself could not carry the weight of Tammy’s needs. However, only as we become intertwined and braided, can we withstand and support the tensions and traumas women, like Tammy, who find a safe place…at Sanctuary Night.