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The inspiring story of Floresha Pantlitz

Mar 02, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
Most people feel that their life is going downhill when they realize that everything they have has been taken away from them. They are most likely in their mid-20s, 30’s or even their early 40s. My life started to crumble and fall when I was just seven years old. I felt like my childhood was being ripped away from me. I couldn’t enjoy what most children had: two loving parents.
When I was just seven, my parents were starting to walk along a dark and dangerous path, using drugs as their flashlights. They smoked, drank, and fought all the time. Soon, my neighbours started to notice my parents’ behaviour. They called the police and told the police that my parents are acting out of the ordinary and that there are children with them. When the police came, they took my parents and a lady came in the house and talked to my little sister and me. She asked us simple questions like, ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘What happened?’
I did all the talking, for my sister was terror-stricken. The lady tried to assure us that everything will be alright and asked us to pack a few bags. Then we left and went to a place called Family First Network (FFN). The lady reported what happened and told her boss everything I had told her. They only talked a little while more before the lady told us to go back in her car. She took us to our aunt’s house, not too far from our house. My parents found out where we were and kept coming over, even though they weren’t allowed, so my aunt called FFN and we had to leave again. We went from foster home to foster home, all over the Santa Rosa county. The days felt like hours, and the hours felt like minutes. Time seemed to be sprinting when we were at the foster homes.
By the time I was 10, we came to our last foster home. The family was the Pantlitz family. My sister and I stayed at their house for about two years and then they decided they were going to adopt us. We agreed and now we’ve been a Pantlitz for six (going on seven) this August years! Being in foster care had inspired me to be more open-minded towards others. It has also inspired me to want to help other children. I have done many things to help other children who don’t have responsible parents who will take care of them, properly. I have had the experience of fostering other kids. Also, I have been to an orphanage in a country called Guyana, which is in South America. I played with the children there and taught them about Jesus.
Every time they hear that we’re in the country, they always ask us to come and visit. Now, I want to help all children, whether they have parents or not. I want to become a pediatrician so that I can help children of all ages get better. My family members have inspired me in all sorts of ways to become a doctor, in general. My aunt is a doctor. She works with elderly people. Some of them cannot come out of their houses because they are so sick. She has to go to their houses and aid them with whatever is needed. My aunt has inspired me to work hard. She also inspired me to love my patients so that I work even harder to help them gain their strength and health.
Floresha Pantlitz, (age 16)

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