Often times it’s easier to dwell and think of all the negatives that are in our lives. I think of my health, of the downward spiral it’s on and it’s so easy to get down, get sad and be a pessimist. The positives isn’t near in sight. But there are positives, to everything, to it all. I’ve often times think of the positives that Chiari and Syringomyelia has brought to my life. It’s allowed me to stay grounded and to live in the moment. I always thought of hospital stays as something foreign. However, having been in the hospital for weeks on end recovering from surgeries brought on by Chiari, it’s given me a whole new outlook on hospitals. There are so many people there, recovering, learning to walk, learning to dress – I was in that position at one point in my life, learning it all – all over again, from learning to walk, to going up and down stairs to learning to move my head from side to side to learning how to dress myself – I was about 28 years old at that time with three littles at home. So many people there feeling lonely, scared, hopeless, frustrated and sad. I’m so thankful to have seen that. It allowed me to see that even though I’m going through something very much valid, there’s also always someone else going through it worse than I am. There are people needing so much more than I do, having a grateful heart for what I have and changing perspective allows me to see what’s right in front of me. Only then is when I realize that I have so much more than I know.
“I laugh because you would rather be sad than fix your own problem.”
Know that you are bigger than any obstacle and any struggle you may be facing today.
“Silly boy, don’t you see that everything you need is right before your eyes?”
If we stop and open our eyes, we can gather the resilience and the inner strength that lies within.
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Photo: Joseph Barrientos
Mom Life With Chiari 