Jacksonville woman has bedside oath ceremony

a story that shows what a difference people can make when they care enough to go the extra mile

 

Kongphaly Aphayasane wasn't given a little American flag to wave like most new citizens get, and some guests at her U.S. oath ceremony Thursday wore surgical masks to protect her from infection.

Since the Laotian woman couldn't make Tuesday's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ceremony because of a bone marrow transplant to combat lymphoma, Mayo Clinic officials brought the ceremony to her hospital room.

"I was scared that I would die first and not be a citizen," she said afterward. "I feel happy, and I feel like I have a new life."

"It is rare, but we do it a handful of times a year in Jacksonville," [immigration spokeswoman Sharon Scheidhauer] said of the hospital ceremonies. "... We are very happy to accommodate these requests since we realize how important it is to naturalize people."

Read the whole story here: http://m.jacksonville.com/news/health-and-fitness/2011-07-07/story/citizenship-comes-jacksonville-woman-her-hospital-bed

Posted: to Citizenship News on Fri, Jul 8, 2011
Updated: Fri, Jul 8, 2011