Therapy...and thankfulness!

So, here we are again, sitting amongst the patients at the Spinal Cord Rehab center. I am constantly reminded that the true measure of faith and strength and perseverance is in places like this. Places where people are fighting against all odds, places where people struggle to return to normal, or to create a new normal, places where extremem effort is rewarded in the tiniest of ways and often after only a long struggle.

Today is Monday...the day that new families arrive with their children. It is a combination of fear, fatigue, and determination, mixed with excitement at the possibilities that I see on their faces. You can quickly spot the first time parents, their eyes dart from side to side, taking in the environment, the equipment, the other parents, and the other children.

DS is on week two of our visit. We come here every 2-3 months for 2 weeks, staving off what is a progressive debilitating disorder. It's origin is uncertain...residual effect from the brain tumor? Progression of the Syringomyelia? In a nutshell, small cysts are beginning to fill his spinal cord, displacing the nerves and altering their ability to fire messages correctly. Cellular changes indicitive of the presence of a new tumor forming? No one is sure, perhaps a combination?

I look around me and I realize that whenever my life seems challenging, my burden heavy, I am fortunate. My struggles are minimal in comparison, my life is easy. Look around you, somewhere others are struggling more. Remember how fortunate you are...