THE BROKEN ANGEL

THE NANNY

Angel Yessayan relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska to be full-time nanny to her sister Lydia’s baby. As a citizen of Lebanon, she arrived from Beirut on a visitor’s visa and filed for U.S. residency.

Lydia and her husband Martin were eager to have a sibling join their family of four to care for their tiniest member. When baby Esther was two months old, her parents returned to work full-time, leaving the infant with Angel while 2 1/2-year-old Hannah attended daycare.

THE INJURY AND SURPRISE DIAGNOSIS

On February 18, 2023, Angel slipped and fell on ice in the parking lot of College View Church. The broken hip was repaired and soon after, the surgeon stopped by for his initial report: “While I successfully repaired your femur with screws and metal rods, I found cancer in your bone.”

In Lebanese-Armenian culture, one treads softly around the dreaded “C.” It is passed on in whispers and sometimes not at all—even by medical personnel. Saying it out loud is considered harsh and inappropriate.

Angel bottled the surgeon’s pronouncement and after days of anxiety and prayer, new scans showed cancer had metastasized from her breast. Inside this stressful week, she gathered the courage to tell her mother, siblings and close friends. She requested an anointing service. She prayed for a miracle. Recovering from hip surgery, excruciating as it was, became a painful inconvenience in the face of the “Big C.”

To manage this crisis in the absence of a nanny, Lydia changed shifts to tag-team baby care with her husband Martin.

After spending nearly a month in the hospital, Angel was discharged to the tight 2-bedroom apartment the family of five shared. Climbing the several flights of stairs with difficulty, she settled in the living room recliner where her recovery would continue.

BACKGROUND

True to her name, Angel has spent most of her life as a caretaker to the sick and infirm. She never turned down a stranger, friend or family who urgently needed her care.

When she accepted her new assignment as nanny, she left her meager assets to her brother in Beirut, a country where savings in the bank are devalued on a regular basis. Where whatever you earn, *if* you earn, is worth less and less as the cost of living rises exponentially and pay cuts are common. Where electricity is intermittent. Where basic staples, even bread, are becoming unaffordable.

AND NOW

In speaking with Angel you will hear faith and hope. A heart for others. A passion to serve. And now, this injured Angel needs our help.

While local and national resources for the uninsured continue to be explored, there seem to be few, if any options for Angel.

Angel’s medical needs have added extensive financial burdens on a hard-working family. As bills mount, any amount of relief would reduce the stress imposed by this unexpected accident and cancer diagnosis. Thank you.