Stay Positive

Many of my blogs share the hardships and difficulties of living with a brain injury. In this post, I would like to focus on the positive. There was so much positive to me right from the time Veronica came out of a coma and off life support. So many of these things are taken for granted; but not for me. I did not concentrate on all the things Veronica could no longer do. I focused on all the things she could do; every move of Veronica’s finger, a slight few seconds of eye contact, the ability to show a thumbs up at the appropriate time. We celebrated even the smallest accomplishments because all the little things together, turned into something much larger.  Even when Veronica began sticking her tongue out was considered something great and useful. It helped her build strength to swallow and speak. It was thought she may never speak again. All the attempts Veronica made to talk that none of us understood, and she finally spoke after over two months. How wonderful it is that I still love to hear her voice to this day. And she thinks I am silly when I tell her so; but you never realize how important something is to you until you don’t know if it is something you will ever get to experience again. I think about things like this even 14 years after her injury and hospital stay, when so many days were filled with trauma.

Every day from day one in the ICU, the doctors told us, “Veronica may never get better than today.” Doctors tell you the worst-case scenario. But the truth is, they know so little about the human spirit and nothing about God’s plan for us. Keep hope is the strong message I am trying to send. Always keep hope.