Angelina Puiia, 13, left, and her sister Rosaria pose for a photo in front of a new little library donated by their family at the Jefferson Market and General Store before the ribbon-cutting Wednesday, June 21. (Photo courtesy Samantha Crawford)
Friends and family gathered at the Jefferson Market and General Store on Wednesday, June 21, to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of a new little library which will act as a neighborhood book exchange.
The little library was given to the community by Samantha Crawford and her daughter Angelina Puiia, both Jefferson residents.
The library is a gift to thank the community for their support during what was a very difficult year.
In June of 2022, Puiia, who was 12 years old at the time, suffered from a sudden pediatric stroke that hit her brain stem and spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the shoulders down.
“We got her to the emergency room just in time for her life to be saved,” Crawford said. “Thanks to the quick-acting doctors, she has made a tremendous recovery in the past year.”
For the past year, Puiia has spent a majority of her time in and out of hospitals around the United States and has been continuing physical, occupational, and speech therapy since February.
Since the stroke, she has regained a lot of movement and is focusing on gaining strength. Puiia is currently working on getting her tracheotomy tube removed.
“The progress and the prognosis is just very positive,” Crawford said.
In a speech given before the ribbon-cutting at Jefferson Market, Crawford expressed her gratitude to the Jefferson community, which the family has been a part of for six years. Crawford, who works out of town, said she was surprised by the support the family received.
“When our nightmare started, the community came and gave us so much support that I didn’t even know existed … she (Puiia) left an impact in the community enough for everybody to reach out and support us,” Crawford said.
In the months following Puiia’s stroke, Lincoln County has shown support with various fundraisers and through social media, with a Facebook group titled “Angelina Strong.”
“I always wanted to give back,” Crawford said.
She connected with Lynn Farrin, owner of Jefferson Market, about installing the library outside of the store.
Puiia’s love for reading and books was the primary inspiration behind the little library. Her contribution to the library was “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” the first book of her favorite series, which she has read 15 times.
During her recovery, Puiia has been listening to audiobooks, and is slowly working towards reading e-books again.
The opening of the little library is just one of many recent milestones in her recovery, including her regaining of strength and movement. She has always loved riding horses, and her recent goal has been to get back on a horse.
Despite her paralysis, Puiia was able to ride a horse just a couple days before the ribbon cutting through a program which makes horse-back riding accessible for wheelchair users.
There is a notebook in the little library where people are able to write their names so that Puiia and her family can see who has been visiting. The library’s motto is “take a book, leave a book,” and is intended to include books for all ages.
Family friend Maura Broberg built the little library.
After the ribbon-cutting, friends and Jefferson Market customers enjoyed purple and blue cookies, baked in the colors of pediatric stroke awareness, and added books to the little library.
