We helped her plant watermelon seeds in May, a big field of rows and rows of watermelon seeds! We had started a friendship with Sylvia and her contact was in my phone. We often talked about the need for us to come and help her with planting or harvesting, or whatever else came up at the Conetoe Family Life Center garden. She was a wealth of information about all things gardening. We became friends on Facebook. We shared videos. She told us about her family.
But, in October we learned that Sylvia, just 63, had passed away from an intestinal blockage that turned septic. Health education and awareness might have saved her life.
We keep working to connect people with the help they need, to offer the hope that points to the possibilities of a life where this kind of disease, this kind of health situation, can be caught and treated in time. Nutrition is just one facet of the kind of relationship building that is key. Planting seeds . . . both the physical kind and the spiritual kind.
Anna Anderson and LaCount Anderson, CBF field personnel in Rocky Mount, N.C.