Breathing Deeply: My Life With Cystic Fibrosis

Once upon a time there was a sad little bunny named Gimli. Gimli was sad because he didn't think anyone would ever love him. Day after day he sat in the corner of his hutch at the animal shelter hoping that one day a nice family would take him home to live with them.

Then it happened! A nice lady named Lauren came and sat with Gimli and held him very close in her lap. Her hands were gentle as she pet him. Gimli couldn't remember when he had ever felt so calm and comfortable. He was disappointed at the end of the day when Lauren went home.

As he sat in his hutch that night, nibbling on hay, he thought "I wish, I wish, I wish that Lauren would come back and hold me again. I wish she would pet me and talk to me nicely again. If I ever see her again I will be the nicest, sweetest bunny I can be! I'll be the best bunny!"

Gimli's wish came true and Lauren did come back the next day. She even brought along her husband, Brad. They had come to the shelter not just to pet Gimli, but to adopt him. Out of all the other rabbits at the shelter they picked Gimli to come home with them.

When Lauren and Brad showed him his new house he couldn't believe it. So much room to run around and play! There was food that he didn't have to share with anyone, and toys that didn't get put away at the end of the day. He even got a nice soft little blankie to sleep on instead of the hard plywood of a hutch. He could hardly believe how wonderful it was.

As much as Gimli loved his new house, there was one thing he loved even more. He loved when Lauren tickled his cheeks or let him sleep next to her on the couch at the end of the day. Still late at night when Lauren and Brad were asleep, Gimli stayed awake wondering why Lauren and Brad chose him. He wasn't beautiful and white like Bun-Bun. He didn't have very pretty eyes like Marcel. He wasn't big and puffy like Snowball or Cotton. He worried that maybe Lauren and Brad made a mistake. Maybe they'd grow tired of him and bring him back to the shelter. Every night he promised himself he would be the best bunny he could be so that they'd always love him.

One day while resting under Lauren's chin, Gimli began to notice something warm and wet falling on his ears. He looked up and saw that Lauren's eyes were misted over and he heard that she was speaking softly to him. He listened carefully as she said "Little bunny, you don't know how special you are to me. God made you to be just the right amount of softness, the right amount of playfulness, and just the right size to be exactly the perfect little pet for me. You see, some days I get sad, and when I do I just have to look at you and know that God gave me a wonderful, beautiful creature like you to remind me that he loves me and takes care of me."

That's when Gimli knew that he really was the best bunny. He put his little paws on her cheeks and licked her chin because he was so happy that Lauren and Brad chose him. He was never sad again and did his best to make sure that Lauren didn't have many sad days either.