Recently I’ve reconnected with a lot of friends from my high school years via the wonderful social medium Facebook. This post is about one in particular whose story is responsible for the teardrops currently falling out of my eyes. Heinrich and I were classmates in school, not really close, but there is surprisingly one memory that sticks in my head about him. We were sitting in our Senior Government and Economics class and one of our fellow classmates got a papercut. I remember turning to him and saying, “Oh, man, those papercuts are like THE WORST. It’s amazing how something so small can hurt so bad.” Well, Heinrich overheard this and said, without missing a beat, “No, I’m sure if I had a gaping gun wound in my chest that it would hurt worse”. How true is that? Unless we put things in perspective, we can forget that what we think is THE WORST is actually better than it could be. As a Mom of two scoliosis patients, I do not by any means trivialize the disease. But, I always consider it a quality of life disease verses a quantity of life disease. At least I know my children will not die from this disease – they have the potential for much pain and aggravation throughout their life, effecting their quality of life, but, barring any unforseen tragedies, they will have long and healthy lives otherwise. I am still commited to helping families improve the quality of their patients’ lives, but I don’t forget the suffering of parents who look at their children’s lives with the certainty that, unless miracles of science occur, their child will die. Definitely. Well, that is why Heinrich’s story has touched my heart so much – you can read more at: www.saveourboy.org and see for yourself. They learned just 7 months ago that their three-year-old had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that involves the slow shutting down of all the muscles in his little body until he loses his ability to breathe and his heart stops. Most boys effected by this disease live just into their early 20’s. There is always hope in prayer and scientific research, so I’m asking two things today. First, if this story touches your heart, please consider a donation to the upcoming marathon that they are running for his benefit. Secondly, pray for them and all the children who suffer from this disease so that a cure may be found and soon. I don’t have a lot of excess cash, but I can spare $2 a month this year – if everyone can spare $2, or even $1 a month, they could help fund research that could make a great difference. Thanks for reading and happy giving!
Month: November 2009
Checkup
Well, we just went to the chiropractor and got x-rays of “C” in her brace after 5 weeks and the results are pretty good! She was 67 degrees out of brace, with a practically non-existent lower compensatory curve, and she was at 50 degrees in brace, with a larger compensatory curve (which is what we wanted). With the Pettibon weights that she uses in her physical therapy treatment at the chiropractor, she got a few more degrees of correction. So, there is lots of work ahead, but we’re pleased with how the new brace is working and “C” actually said, “I LOVE this brace now!” She just needed to see some results! We are also happy to be working with Dr. Morningstar at the Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Center in Grand Blanc, Michigan. He will work closely with our orthotist in Virginia to do thorough, ongoing treatment for “C”. He’s emailing the x-rays over and they’ll discuss how to proceed. I wish we lived closer (it’s an hour and 15 minute drive), but at least my in-laws are in the same town, and it might actually reduce our road trips to Virginia, which is a very good thing.
