It’s 2021 and here we are. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, we now have hope in the form of a vaccine and hope for a less tumultuous year. Hope. What is it and how can we have it – and keep it – when bad things happen?
Here’s a true story. In the fall of 1979 my friends and I were in our early twenties with our whole lives ahead of us. But everything seemed to change the day I walked in the door and my mom was at the top of the stairs, waiting for me. She told me that there had been a bad accident, that my friend Steve had gotten caught in a piece of farm equipment while working with his dad on the family farm. I knew Steve as a tall, strong guy with a great sense of humor and a bright future. He was poised to inherit a successful family farm, and just weeks before had been visited by professional baseball scouts. But that was then. The result of his injury was that now, at age 20, Steve would spend the rest of his life with the results of a spinal cord injury causing quadriplegia -- the loss of feeling with paralysis of both legs and very limited movement in his arms.
Some 25 years later I reconnected with Steve. Although he didn’t have pulmonary disease, he had experienced numerous health problems over the years, including a tracheotomy with oxygen, several bouts of pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Nebulizer treatments and suctioning were a routine part of his day. Through me he became a friend to the COPD community and at my request, he wrote this... his thoughts on hope.
As a person with a chronic lung disease, you might think that my injury, leaving me paralyzed, is a very bad thing and worse than what you have, but you cannot look at it that way. Sure, this is a devastating injury, but the main thing is that I still have my mind and I’m still me. My body still looks the same. It just cannot move. Of course, it could be worse: I could be unable to move my arms like I can now, or my mind could be damaged, but none of those things have happened, so I'm very fortunate.
I have discovered the world of computers, that they are a godsend – and my link to the outside world. Had I not been injured would I have been this involved with computers? Probably not. If I can inspire or help just one person, with words, comfort, or a visit to my website, that’s good. Anything I have to share or help people with, I’m happy to give. So, out of a tragedy there have been positives. Don't look at me as a person that has lost so much – but someone who has gained so much more.
And now... regarding the subject of hope. Hope is something that’s hard to keep hold of, to keep in your sights when something happens to you. At first when something devastating happens, you think there is no hope and never will be. Honestly, I did not even want to hope for anything when I was first injured. My first thoughts were to pretty much give up because, what was the point? My life was over. My plans were over. My dreams were gone. What good would, or could, I be ever again?
Sure, I hope there will be a cure for paralysis – and I’m sure someday there will be – but not in my lifetime. But that doesn’t mean I can’t hope for something. When news comes out about new research or new discoveries, it’s easy to think it will be available the next day. In truth, it could still be years away and so I have to hope – in perspective. I can even be hopeful for something as simple as having a good day.
We’ve always got to have hope... have to keep that flame burning. On the coldest, darkest days of winter we still hope for spring. Finally, it comes. You know how you feel when you see that first flower pushing up through the snow? Without hope we have nothing. If life is a game of cards. I have been dealt this hand. It’s not the hand I wanted, but I will play it, I will make the best of it, and I’ll never lose hope.
My friends... what gives you hope? And how do you keep that hope, even in bad times? I look forward to hearing from you!