My Grateful List Grows

At the MS Bike Tour finish line with my grandaughter Ellie.
Having healthy children and grandchildren is at the top of my Grateful List.

Having just spent all night in the emergency room with my daughter, I reflect once again on what’s important in life. Watching your child suffer in pain is one of the most excruciating experiences a parent can have, and I’ve done it a lot. When you’re faced with potentially life changing episodes, previously important things become inconsequential.

Material possessions, careers, and personal goals all become secondary, when all you want is your child to be well. Its times like these when I reevaluate what matters and what doesn’t. In the darkest moments, when fear is raging, thinking becomes focused and razor sharp.

You’ll settle for one seemingly simple, yet incredibly elusive thing-- a healthy child.

You just want to go home and live. That’s all. Please, no CT scans, surgeries, infections, just let us go home and live a “normal” life. Of course, having survived a spinal cord injury, I know that “normal” is a relative term, when it comes to the reality of life.

Fortunately, my daughter’s pain was caused by something that didn’t require any drastic measures, and we were allowed to go home and resume our lives in peace. Once again, my prayers had been answered.

And my Grateful List grew again.