Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

It is not until May that Chika’s spirit comes to visit Albom in his office again, and when she does, she wants to know if Albom is writing yet. Albom tells her he wrote seven lessons that she taught him—seven because of both her age at her death and its date, April 7. Chika struggles to understand the first lesson, “I Am Your Protection” (34), so Albom tries to explain.

For most of his life, Albom explains, he understood how to protect himself, his assets, and his wife, but it was not until opening the orphanage that he learned about protecting someone who is totally vulnerable. The children at the orphanage came from extremely difficult backgrounds, with some abandoned or having lost their entire families. Albom had to provide safe shelter, water, food, and healthcare. Back at his home in Michigan, Albom received a phone call from Mr. Alain, who told him that Chika’s face was drooping and her gait had changed. Albom instructed Mr. Alain to take Chika to a neurologist, who gave her an MRI at huge cost. The doctor determined that Chika had some sort of mass in her brain and that “there [was] no one in Haiti who [could] help her” (38). This was the beginning of a change in Albom’s perception about the concept of protection.

Chika’s ghost tells Albom that the nurse at the MRI clinic had her drink a solution to sleep during the procedure, but she woke up in the middle and cried. The nurse gave her more, and Chika fell back asleep. Albom thinks about Haiti’s lack of healthcare resources and laments the fact that Chika’s doctor met her diagnosis with hopelessness.

Chika was the first child brought to the United States by the Have Faith Haiti mission. She came to Michigan to stay with the Alboms, who assumed Chika would be with them for a short time during her treatment and recovery. Albom recalls how silent Chika was when she arrived, as though she were taking in an entirely new world full of all sorts of new sights and sounds. A few days later, Albom took Chika to the children’s hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There, the security guard asked Albom his relationship to Chika, and Albom answered that he was her legal guardian. The security guard printed a visitor badge for Albom that read, “Parent,” and Albom proudly put it on.

For the first few months of Chika’s time at the orphanage, she played on her own for the most part and spoke little. Albom wondered when Chika would go from “outsider to insider” (44). One night during devotion, when the children and adults sang worship songs, Janine observed Chika clapping and swaying. When the song ended, a look of joy spread across her face. Albom realized that prayer helped Chika feel safety and belonging.

Albom describes how he came to take over the orphanage and turn it into the Have Faith Haiti mission. A few weeks after the earthquake, a man who helped run the orphanage called into Albom’s Detroit radio show and discussed the lack of resources and staff to take care of the children there. The story deeply touched and alarmed Albom, and he and several other people flew to Haiti shortly after. Albom notes this took a great deal of maneuvering during such a crisis. Albom arrived at the orphanage and was shocked by the number of people there—children and adults alike—as well as their dire lack of food, water, and other supplies. Two children took him by the hands and led him inside and “into their world” (48). He flew back to the United States and assembled a team of volunteers who dedicated their time to improving the orphanage, building a school, and providing it with food, electricity, and running water. Albom describes having a holy epiphany as he watched the children joyfully celebrate new showers he had installed. The project led Albom to become increasingly involved with the orphanage and the children there, and when its founder announced he was no longer able to fund it, Albom offered to take over.

Chika’s ghost interrupts again; Albom is talking too much about himself, and she wants to hear more about her. Albom recalls Chika’s enjoyment of the spotlight and demands for attention, which he considers among her most admirable traits. She often asked big questions that stunned Albom and Janine because they came from someone so young. Chika once asked Albom and Janine when she would fall in love, hoping to someday have a love like theirs. Chika’s spirit asks Albom how she got sick, a question she never asked before.

Albom refers to a common Creole expression, tèt chaje, which means “loaded head,” to describe Chika’s condition. After her first MRI in Michigan, which went much more smoothly than her first experience, Chika’s doctors diagnosed her with a complex brain tumor in the pons region, which connects the brain stem to the spinal cord. Just over half of the doctors who examined the case recommended operating, and Albom hesitantly gave his consent for the risky procedure. While Chika came out of the surgery without complications, the doctor found much of the tumor was inoperable, leaving the Alboms with more questions than answers. Albom remembers how vulnerable Chika looked lying in her hospital bed after the surgery. He realized that he could not protect her from this, though he desperately wanted to.

Albom recalls celebrating New Year’s Eve 2013, before Chika’s diagnosis, with the children at Have Faith Haiti by singing songs, having pizza and juice, and lighting sparklers. He wished Chika a happy new year and told her that her birthday was coming up. Chika was excited to find out she would soon be four years old.

Chika’s spirit asks what happened next, and Albom tells her that the doctor told the Alboms that Chika had DIPG, a rare and degenerative brain disease that occurs in young children and has a very low survival rate. The Alboms were aghast and unable to formulate a response at first. Albom asked the doctor what he would do, and the doctor responded that Chika only had about four months to live and recommended taking her home to enjoy the last few months of her life. Albom was determined to fight for Chika and rejected the doctor’s advice. Chika’s ghost claps, and Albom cannot figure out what she is celebrating.