I woke Saturday feeling absolutely fantastic (which for those of you without health issues would be like, "Oh my God I think I've been beaten") but for me was fabulous! I was able to walk walk walk without assistance and was able to talk coherently! I made it all day with minimal medications and was able to maintain with some stretches, yoga, meditation, and lots of prayer. I was able to spend the day with my family and enjoy a real "family day".
While visiting a park, a gentleman was pushing his daughter in her wheelchair near us. They were visiting from out of town and we started talking about the animals we were viewing. Amber was a beautiful 12-year-old girl. Her eyes watched me as I talked and when I mentioned a certain animal her eyes would follow where I indicated. Despite her confines of a wheelchair, I knew that Amber's mind was a typical 12 year old mind. If I had any doubts, the pictures of Johnny Depp taped to her chairs table erased them! I told Amber that when I was her age, I had a poster of Johnny Depp taped to the wall at the foot of my bed. Her whole face lit up and I was able to clearly see the most beautiful green eyes I think I've ever seen.
I spent quite allot of time with Amber and her father Saturday. I told them the history of the animals at the park as I had known it thru my life. We talked of their trip and where they were from. We discussed Amber's Cerebral Palsy and how it had been caused when she was an infant due to an infection. We spoke of my favorite uncle who also has Cerebral Palsy. We spoke of my own health problems and of local places I knew they could visit that was wheelchair accessible (due to my own personal experiences with such). We spoke of how my oldest son and Amber were the same age, having birthdays only days apart! We spoke of many things. Most importantly, we spoke of God. We both expressed our belief in God and that His hand is in all that we’ve had to face.
Throughout this walk and conversation, my children would flit back and forth. They had my undivided attention all day, which was rare for months with cooler weather and I suspect they were a bit jealous at first of my attention to Amber. As we left the park that day, I asked my children if they knew why I’d taken so much time with Amber and her father. They didn’t know but said I loved to meet new people. So, I explained……
“Kids, do you remember when I was always in my wheelchair? We’d go places and people would ask you questions that they should have asked me. They assumed that since I was in a wheelchair, and because of the way I laid limply, that there was something wrong with me mentally. They asked you questions because they didn’t think that I was able to understand. Do you remember those times?” The children remembered. “Well, I figure that people probably do that with Amber a lot! There is nothing wrong with Amber’s mind. She understands everything just like you do. Yet, because she’s in a wheelchair and doesn’t have control of her body like others, people assume she doesn’t understand, just like they did with me. That can be a lonely way to live.”
The children and I went on to discuss how living with an illness changes the way you look at the world. How it keeps you from judging people based on what you see. They said that they thought Amber would never do that and that she probably saw clearer then most adults. Then, they discussed how kids really could see people for what they were, but adults tend to see people for what they have.
Thank you Amber for sharing some of your day with us. You brightened our day and made it more special then it would have been without you. I’ll remember the color of your eyes and your beautiful smile for the rest of my days. Thank you.
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