Story Abstract

The Lord Blessed Me

told by Djuina Lemons Hammett

Story Source Material: A Poem, Written by Dione Katrice Foster Brooks

Tale type Classification of the Story: Personal Story & Religious Story

Story Rating: Young Adult/Adult

Abstract/Summary:

Dione Katrice Foster Brooks was born with Cerebral Palsy, a birth defect that affected her ability to walk.  She endured five surgeries before the age of 10, and by age 12 had surgery to fix a broken hip after a fall.  She became pregnant in high school, and after having her daughter, she was told that she would never amount to anything.  This drove Dione to strive to achieve many goals in life and prove naysayers wrong.  She finished high school, married and went on to college.  Despite her physical handicap, she attended three colleges at once so that she could take more than the recommended course load, while maintaining a full-time job and raising her daughter.  At a young age, she discovered that she enjoyed writing poetry, and used it as a form of relaxation and meditation.  One of her proudest accomplishments was having her poem "Beautiful Black Child of Mine," a poem she wrote to her daughter before she was born, published in a magazine.  She wrote "The Lord Blessed Me" shortly before she died in 2006, due to complications following surgery.  At the time of her passing, Dione was working on a Ph.D. in Sociology.  This poem represents her life and her spirit, and provides comfort to all who knew her.