Adding to the good
Spent some time recently at an eye specialist because my 8-year-old is having some eye problems. Of course my wife and I are worried, but when we took a second and looked around at the troubles of some of the other people in that waiting room, we had a whole different outlook on our problems.
There was a lady there, I will call her
“Tina,” who had a little boy “Evan” that was about 5 years old and he had vision problems, in addition to having muscular dystrophy. My heart went out to her, but then I heard the rest of her story.
She said that prior to her son being born, she was pregnant with another child and while she was on the way to the hospital to give birth, she had an automobile accident and the child was killed. “Tina” and her husband were severely injured and had to endure months of recovery physically and even longer emotionally. As she was telling me her story, I could see in her face that the pain of loss was still with her.
But “Tina” and her husband wanted to have another child and they were blessed with “Evan.” His muscular dystrophy presented itself early in “Evan’s” life. When “Evan” was a little over a year old, he wasn’t pulling himself up and he couldn’t sit up when he was lying flat, so “Tina” took him to their pediatrician. At that appointment, the pediatrician said to give him another couple of months. So, when he was 19 months and still not trying to walk or crawl, they took him back. The doctor did a battery of test. The next day they called with the diagnosis. “Tina” said that when she first heard the diagnosis, she felt a similar sense of loss as when her first child passed away. The next thing “Tina” told me was amazing.
She said, “I all of a sudden realized that ‘Evan’ was still here and I could hug him and love him and we were going to have a beautiful life together. At that moment, I knew that I was blessed and I was thankful. Having known what it’s like to not be able to hold and love your child had shown me that just having ‘Evan’ with me was all I needed.”
Folks, I have true admiration for that family. That philosophy is one that we should all learn from and strive to emulate. I try to take every day as it comes and enjoy life to the fullest, but when I encounter people like “Tina” and her son, I am truly amazed. I find it difficult to imagine the challenges she and “Evan” face every day, but their attitude was inspirational. They seemed truly happy and as I watched “Evan” use his walker to play with the other children in the waiting room, I could see that he was a fighter and would not let his challenges hold him back from doing what he wanted to do. Even though he couldn’t play exactly like the other kids, he was still playing and having the best time.
Everyone has experienced difficulties in their lives and most have come out on the other side with a new perspective on life. I heard a sermon the other day that said our perspective on life either adds to the good in the world or adds to the bad. After meeting “Tina” and “Evan,” I truly believe that, because I felt better for knowing them.
I wanted to pass along their story in the hope that it would be of help to someone reading this today. The challenges that we face can seem overwhelming at times, but I think if we can find the strength to face them like “Tina” and “Evan,” not only will we be happier, but also I like to think we make the world a better place.