Perspective Gained the Hard Way

Anyone who knows me well is very familiar with my motto of "As long as nobody died, everything is fixable."  It doesn't mean that a particular event is not frustrating or a situation isn't difficult.  But you can always make a conscious choice on a daily basis about how you will handle what ever you are facing.  While you can not always change the outcome, you can decide which mountain you want to climb and which one you want to die on.  Ultimately, your attitude is everything..

Those who have known me for a very long time understand that this view is the result of our daughter Kelly's six and a half year battle with a rare disease of the nervous system called Seitelberger's Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy. (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neuroaxonal_dystrophy/neuroaxonal_dystrophy.htm)  She became symptomatic around her first birthday.   Because the the disease was rare, it took several months to diagnose.  Just before her 2nd birthday, a skin, nerve and muscle biopsy confirmed the neurologist's suspicion.  At the time, Kelly was given three to eight years to live.  She lost her struggle at the age of seven and a half.

Ultimately, one of the hardest aspects for Keith and I was the fact that Melissa was only five years old when Kelly became ill and eleven years old when Kelly passed.  Melissa was going to have to grow up fast.  However, despite how the process impacted our lives, the experience provided Keith, Melissa and I with excellent perspective - admittedly gained the hard way, but still valuable in life.

If it doesn't involve people or health, it generally only involves material things or things that don't truly matter.  I can't tell you how many times I could let something go by considering whether it was worth making an issue of it.  As difficult as the situation was, I can assure you the journey allowed us to meet and interact with some fabulous human beings.  I can cite numerous examples of how individuals demonstrated on a regular basis an amazing level of caring and support.

So here we go again.  Fortunately, this time around we forge ahead with confidence because we know we have what it takes to win the battle: determination.  The better news is that this prognosis includes survival (verses the last challenge that involved something absolutely terminal).  In addition, our support network is considerably larger - you can even describe it as massive.  Hopefully, everyone recognizes how all the encouragement not only empowers us, but makes us feel pretty formidable.
 
This time we will do more than get through it.  In fact, for this current opportunity to further develop our perspective, here is the new motto from Vivian Greene: