Donna Ulisse

#2...The Rockin' Chair

My earliest recollection of this woman is sitting in her lap while she sang; rocking back and forth in her magic rocking chair that I am happy to announce has a place in my home today. I can never look at it without hearing her voice in my mind. This part I don't remember but my mother said that one day when she went in my room to wake me up I was swollen and had a yellow look to my skin. She panicked and of course called my Bonna. They raced me to the hospital where I was immediately transferred to a children's hospital in Richmond, Virginia. I had developed a kidney disease that was scary I'm sure and stayed in the hospital for a week. When I returned home to heal the great rocking chair therapy sessions started on an almost daily basis. Bonna insisted on keeping me as much as mom would allow because mom had my baby brother and Bonna wanted me to have one on one Bonna attention. She proudly told the story that she prayed over me everyday, rocking and singing "Jesus Loves Me" and "You Are My Sunshine" until my color looked normal and my swelling had subsided. She always said that the rocking chair, prayer and her singing worked better than all of the doctors. I outgrew this kidney problem but never the memory of her sweet voice whispering over me, singing and holding me tight. She had a wonderful singing voice but that's a bit farther down memory lane. That's right, there will be more Bonna stories coming soon!