In a story that should have been at the top of every newscast in the nation, Elisa Luna returned to Knoxville’s Inskip Elementary School on Thursday, but the election madness, with Knoxville’s popular Jim Haslam capturing the state’s governor’s nomination, overshadowed her glorious and triumphant return.
So I ask that you join me today as I welcome one of the most beautiful people to ever enter my personal hall of fame, but, first, you must know her good looks have nothing to do with her dazzling countenance.
You see, it is her heart that is her greatest asset. And the way it has been on such display after she was paralyzed by a crazed man’s bullet is the richest lesson this effervescent school principal has ever taught. Six months ago, in early February, Elisa told a deeply-troubled fourth-grade teacher, Mark Foster, that his contract would not be renewed.
The deranged Foster then got a gun and shot both Alisa and assistant principal Amy Brace before he was subdued. The horrible attack, leaving little doubt why Foster was unworthy, had an equally devastating effect on the hundreds of young and tender minds that are taught each day at Inskip. Further, it taunted the fears of little kids across the nation who watched the nightly news and wondered if their beloved teachers might be next.
Our Elisa was critically injured and Amy Brace was also hospitalized. The kids at Inskip were forced to watch as the tragedy played out. They heard Mrs. Luna would never be able to walk, that emergency surgery was later required when her lungs filled with fluid, and that her heart – that dazzling heart that caused them to adore her – even required surgery.
At the height of the anguish, with her mother and husband never leaving her side in intensive care at UT Medical Center, she managed to dictate a note: “I want you to know that Mrs. Luna will be okay. Something bad happened and some things will change at school, but everything will be okay at Inskip Elementary.
"Eight days ago, my life changed forever. I survived a tragic experience. But as I fought to regain consciousness, something beautiful happened. My family, my school, my community and my country all bonded as one, uniting in their thoughts and prayers for me and my colleague, Amy Brace.
"My road to recovery will be long and challenging. But with each phase in the recovery process, I'll be thinking of the very large support system I've been blessed with. I hope you continue to go to our great school every day with the same excitement and enthusiasm as always. I miss you all and look forward to the day I can see you all again.”
On Aug. 17, when school begins in Knox County, Elisa Luna will see her children again. She’ll be the pretty one, sitting in her wheelchair with a bright smile at the front door of Inskip School. The story she will now begin to share with young people who desperately need to hear it will be one of triumph, of rising above any challenge, and loving those who cherish you most.
When Elisa was stabilized, she was transported to the world-famed Shepherd Center in Atlanta and, during the last six months, has mastered her grueling dilemma with the zest of a prizefighter. One bullet partially severed her spinal cord so she’s had to take heaping doses of occupational therapy, and stark reality, in her determined climb back.
“The goal is to return to the life I left,” she wrote. “If you know me at all, that means 100 percent independent, on task, goal driven and a life of go, go, go. I loved my life then. I love my life now. I will love my future life, which really and truly excites me!”
Don’t you see? It’s not the gunman who won. Instead, a marvelous young woman is today teaching all of us, young and old, to persevere, to stay in the fight, to enjoy the day. I dare say her greatest teaching still lies ahead, but what matters most is that in less than two weeks, when school begins in Knoxville, our beautiful hero – with her smile and her heart – will be waiting at Inskip Elementary’s front door.
Elisa Luna will soon be with her kids again.
royexum@aol.com