Promises, Promises

By ONEDIA NICOLE GAGE

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love," popular words from yesterday that we keep singing today. It is the journey of love traveled by the heroine in Onedia Gage's novel that entices us to travel down that same road.

Dr. Antoinette M. Harden, affectionately known to her family, friends, and colleagues as "Toni&qu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Purple Ink, Inc
• Release date: Mar 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781939119094

Book preview

Dedication

The late Mr. Joseph Renty: Thank you for defining ‘Philip.’ Thank you for being my great-grandmother’s ‘Philip.’

The late Mr. Cornelious C. Carroll: Thank you for being an example of ‘Philip.’

Master Nehemiah C. Broussard: I am working on your ability to be a ‘Philip.’

Miss Hillary N. Broussard: I am praying for your ‘Philip.’

For the late Mrs. Mary Renty: I love and miss you dearly.

Mary, Joseph and Cornelious: I know you are looking down on me and I hope you are proud of what you see.

Acknowledgements

To God, the Almighty, Omnipotent, Powerful Presence of Christ as You reside in my heart. Lord, I love You and I thank You for Your gifts and talents. I honor Your excellence and Your goodness.

Andrea Moseley Scott. Andrea, if I write anything about you and don’t cry then I didn’t write anything. Thank you for your obedience to God. Thank you for your prayers and support and fasting in my place. I love you.

Randy L. Boone: My Prayer Warrior intercedes. Thank you for each prayer on my behalf, in my place. God gives through people whose motives are pure and whose rights are relinquished. Randy, God has definitely given through you. We’ve seen an awful lot of prayers answered. And many more to come. I’m waiting on my greeting cards.

Special Thanks to Anita Richmond Bunkley, Angela Benson, Norma L. Jarrett and ConSandra Jones.

To my church family, Brookhollow Baptist/The Church Without Walls, who are too many to name, but specifically to my prayer warriors and spiritual leadership: Pastor & Mrs. Ralph Douglas West, The Brookhollow staff, Mr. & Mrs. Willie Brown, Mr. & Mrs. Dempsey Wells, Jr., Mr. & Mrs. Roland Martin, Ms. Reanice Weakley, and the women and the youth of the Brook.

Foreward

Dear Friend:

I thank you for reading this book for there were many nights when I thought of who you would be. The nights that I spent up late writing this book have all been made worthwhile because you have your hands on the spine of this book.

I pray that Toni motivates and inspires you to reach for your dreams. I hope that you indulge yourself in her life and pick the parts that are your own. Goals are easily written; harder to see; hardest to believe when intangible. She will warm your heart and become part of your life.

One more word: Finish what you start. Believe that your dreams can come true. Anything worth dreaming about is worth working for. Develop a philosophy for your life and live by it.

I encourage you to reach me at www.purpleink.net or www.onediagage.com. Purple ink originated from a friend asking me did I always write in purple and I said yes. Purple soothes me and calms my soul. I implore you to find your purple ink—the thing that makes you respond with love.

In purpleink,

Onedia N. Gage

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Chapter One

"Welcome to the American Association of Doctors—Houston Affiliate’s 75th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Gala. Please peruse the history of the organization at your leisure.

It is my honor to present our master of ceremonies this evening. His list of accolades, achievements, education and philanthropic efforts are listed for your review. I will remind you that he was last year’s Randolph Award recipient and the world’s leading neurosurgeon. Without further adieu, Dr. Philip Morris. The AAD president met Philip with a handshake.

That’s the best introduction I’ve ever had and the best one I’ve heard in awhile. The crowd let out a light-hearted chuckle. Dr. Morris continued, We are glad to have you as our guests this evening. We are here to celebrate our 75th year as an affiliate and to honor some very special doctors who serve our communities selflessly, as well. These doctors give freely of their time and money to improve the quality of life for others. So, all I ask is that you laugh at just the right moments, you clap on time and you enjoy the evening. We have quite the evening planned for you. The audience laughed again as he charmed them with his wit.

The gala also raises money for these same doctors to continue their work. So I know you’ve already bid at the silent auction. He had to chuckle himself. He continued to entertain the crowd with stories of each doctor as he adorned them with their awards.

As he spoke of the other doctors, Toni remembered their first meeting. She had volunteered to do rounds for a vacationing colleague. She went on the day Dr. Morris was responsible for. When they ended up in the same patient’s room, she realized her error. She introduced herself as she extended her hand. Dr. Antoinette Harden. You must be Dr. Morris. She was somewhat taken aback by his meek disposition.

Yes, but call me Philip. Did I get my days mixed up? He paused.

No, I must have. I don’t see how I could forget. I’m a day early. She blushed, I apologize.

He stared at her intently, That’s okay. Better early than late. Originally, I had plans. I can do tomorrow if you want.

I feel so bad. I promised to help. But sure. I’ve already seen the ones in the north wing. His intensity caused her to stammer.

I’ll do both days. Dr. Harden, don’t worry about it. I’m sure such a busy woman must have other things she could be doing. He realized that she was more attractive than he remembered from the AAD awards ceremony earlier in the year. He received the Randolph Award after she gave the keynote speech.

Thank you, but please call me Toni, she waved goodbye. He disappeared in the other direction.

She remembered wondering about him then. Now he was standing in front of her. She wondered was he still dating his college sweetheart. When she inquired after last year’s gala, rumor had it that he was seriously dating his college sweetheart. She made a mental note to inquire again. He was more handsome than she remembered and truly charming.

Dr. Morris captured the audience’s heart with his witty anecdotes and comedic demeanor. He sobered for a moment when he introduced Toni.

"Our last award recipient and last year’s keynote speaker has quite the résumé for one of such youth. She has a commitment to youth that is unsurpassed by anyone in our field. She said last year in her address that there is worth in each of their fragile lives. This pediatrician serves them with that very commitment. The children she serves trust her and bond with her immediately. Her commitment is measured by the number she serves regularly at the clinic, not her private practice. She has increased the number of youth served by 75%.

"Her most memorable case was a young girl named Tabitha. Tabitha had fallen from the back of a truck while traveling with her brothers to pick pecans to earn money for the family. She is eight years old. She asked if Dr. Harden had ever picked pecans from a tree. Dr. Harden shared a story with her about her great-grandfather and his pecan trees, and about her great-grandmother and her pecan pies.

"Tabitha later asked if Dr. Harden would ever stop helping people who couldn’t afford medical care. Dr. Harden told her no. She never would stop. Tabitha smiled. She then went on to say how special Dr. Harden had become to her during her short stay at the hospital. She confessed that she didn’t want to go home. Dr. Harden asked why and she started to cry. She said that no one cares for her the way Dr. Harden had. She said that when Dr. Harden hugged her, she felt better, and she was happy. She said no one had ever hugged her like that before. Dr. Harden hugged and held her for long time. She cried until she fell asleep. Dr. Harden credits Tabitha with inspiring her to continue her work, especially when it’s hard. Tabitha reminded Dr. Harden that it does take a village to raise a child, and the village doesn’t retire. Tabitha then becomes an educated member of the village and will continue to educate and nurture the younger members.

When I heard that story, I found myself labeling her as the Florence Nightingale of the 21st century. Our honoree is in constant communication with Tabitha and her family. He casually glanced down at Toni. "Our doctor has never been an underachiever. She earned her medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, graduating first in her class. With that alone, she was offered intern opportunities at the top medical branches across the country. But she rejected those offers to return to Houston. Dr. Harden used her leverage to write a pilot program proposal where she would complete her internship and residency between two hospitals, Riverside General and Texas Children’s Hospitals. The doctor who accepted her proposal later became her mentor. He interviewed her over the phone. As you might guess this is unheard of in this industry. Her proposal prompted several funding sources.

"She started work immediately upon graduation. Because of this pilot program, not only did she become a doctor in record time, she also attained a nationally commendable reputation in the arena of pediatrics. She also received merit as a child advocate. Needless to say her contributions impacted our communities without precedence. Her proposal and the completion of the program aided in the care of 600 more patients each year, and included a state of the art facility and equipment, and $5 million dollars in additional funding over a three year period dedicated to children in need of medical services without health care insurance, without consideration of Medicare and Medicade.

Dr. Antoinette Harden used the best of both worlds to upgrade the treatment of children everywhere she touched. Just to give a little more depth into the awardees’ life, I have a video of last year’s keynote address. Philip cued the video and watched her as if it were his first time hearing these words.

"Greetings fellow honorees, colleagues, staff and guests! This evening I am quite inspired. When I first decided to become a physician, instead of an attorney, it was a shock to most. Those who don’t know why always seem astonished when I explain that helping children feel better even when they can’t explain where it hurts is amazing. Your child can’t always tell you where it hurts or what it feels like, but when they come to my office and they leave feeling better, I feel great. For them to feel better with just a simple hug and some attention astonishes me the most.

"My great-grandmother always told me to be somebody. Of course, I didn’t realize until I was much older that I didn’t know who she wanted me to be. Who was somebody? What made a person become ‘somebody’? Then I realized that other children my age had no clue either. We knew who we didn’t want to be. All the while, what my great grandmother meant for me to be was somebody with integrity, ethics, values, morals, sensitivity, thoughtfulness, love and a humanitarian nature. She meant for me to respect old people, young people and middle-aged people. She wished for me to hug babies and care for my family. She prayed for me to be Christ-like, honest and kind. She wanted me to love others more than they love me. She instilled in me the values of a human being to peacefully co-exist with other human beings. These are my goals each day. This is what I attempt to show the children each day.

"Children possess instinct. They understand that honesty is a virtue. They know when you’re not honest. They also judge character very well. They know who is genuine and who is not. Contrary to adult opinion, they understand more than we would like to admit. They sense when adults are having problems. They understand when adults are happy, too. Where we fail is our attempt to hide what is the reality. Children want you to be real. Mostly, they just want to be loved. They want your attention; special quality time. Television is not quality time. They want you to listen. They want you to hug them. They want a friend, one they can trust. They want your very best. They want all you have and more. They can demand that because they will give all they have.

"Now, what we need is to become a role model, a mentor and help them be ‘somebody’. A someone who is a genuine, loving person, an honest, ethical individual that will result in a humanitarian. We have a responsibility to raise these children with the village mentality. We have a responsibility to raise them to be sensible and sensitive, to be thinkers as well as hard workers, to be individualists and team players, to be independent while co-existing in a shared space, to lead and also to follow. We have to teach them to become adults who live by principles as the Bible and Robert Fulghum’s All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. These are basic concepts, and these books are not always as readily available. They need to realize that they too will one day encounter the same obstacles that occur to you and me. They simply need to be given the tools to make the best choices.

Do you remember the little boy in the movie Jerry McGuire?" He is a classic child model. He was so honest and so real. He was a child and so full of life. He made life appear easy and without pain. He just wanted to be loved and listened to.

For those of you who have never heard it, and especially for those of you who need reminding, I will read the passage of which I speak: All I Really Needed to Know" is about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die.

So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you

learned—the biggest word of all—LOOK."

"I challenge you to keep this in your office and cherish it. If you reflect on the actual times in your life when these things were important, you will embrace your life, your family, your triumphs, your adversities, and all that is surrounding you with a new spirit and a whole new attitude. All we need is to be inspired. All we need is support and encouragement. All we need is to be that to one another. Children have feelings and they have hurt and pain, too. We need to remember that when we communicate. Lastly, I challenge you to hug a child. I challenge you to let their free spirit embrace yours. I challenge you to let all they are seep into your body so you can become what you have forgotten and release that tension and stress. I challenge you to hug a child so long that when the embrace is finally over you have had some self-therapy. I challenge you to be the adult with the spirit of a child. I challenge you to live the words of All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Thank you."

As they raised the house lights, Philip spoke, The youngest kid on the block is insuring that all the kids on the block have a chance to make it by giving her time, efforts and money.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Dr. Antoinette Harden. Dr. Morris reached for a large crystal vase and turned to face Toni. He spoke slowly and deliberately as he explained, "’The Randolph Award’ is very special to me because Dr. Randolph presented it to me personally last year.

"Dr. Harden, it is truly a pleasure to bestow this award upon you. You truly deserve it. You make me feel as if like I didn’t really earn my award. On a serious note, this award is given to you on behalf of your colleagues and staff for the hard work that you do to influence change for a healthier community. Your commitment to youth is to be preserved and appreciated for there is worth in each of their fragile lives. You have