Inspiring Story Thread OT

[stephL]

Slightly off-topic to Sjogren's here. But this inspiring story of how a person with severe disabilities has adapted and still lives a meaningful life really made my day. Who do you look to for inspiration? How do you yourself fend off the temptation to give in to despair? Please share your stories with us!  I hope we can keep this thread going for a long time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_old_judge

[Katybarstool]

Steph

What an amazing man! I take my hat off to him.

Who do I look to for inspiration - well, on this board there are two people: Irish and Chickpea. They both cope with so much, yet offer their advice and empathy in bundles. I'm not saying this to score points, just to be honest.

I don't know of any other people in the 'real world' that I can identify with, so these two people are my salvation.

Kathyx 

[Skylar]

Wow, that is inspiring. Thanks for posting.

[hikerknees]

I too find the people on this site helpful and inspiring.  I am also a sucker for any story of people overcoming physical limitations, it helps a lot when working with students as a PT. A fairly recent story is that of Kevin Laue, who plays college basketball with one arm.  Of course I had to tell my student who is 5 foot nothing that he does have an extra advantage since he is 6'10", but it's inspiring nonetheless.  Looks like they are doing a documentary on Kevin, trailer "coming soon" at www.thekevinlauestory.com/.

Thanks for this thread, I have pretty slow internet so have to pick and choose what I watch.

[Meld256]

Steph,

Thanks for posting this; his is an inspiring story!

Who do I look to for inspiration? Many people here, and my parents.  My mother lived to 87, and she kept an optimistic attitude always, even with increasing medical issues.  She told me several times that things happen in life unexpectedly and we just have to make the best of it and adapt.  I've thought of that a lot lately. She was right.

How do I fend off despair?  Honestly, at times it can be tough to do.  I try to look at all the blessings that I have, and not look at the negative.  I caught myself the other morning dragging myself out of bed and being so sore, stiff and fatigued. My eyes burned like crazy and my knees, hips and feet were really painful.  This seems to be my normal, everyday beginning.

I thought for a moment "Ugh, here we go again".  At those times I make myself focus on the fact I CAN get out of bed, although it might be slow.  I CAN still see, I CAN still walk, I might need 3 hours to stretch out and rest before showering but I WILL be able to do it and accomplish something useful today.  And even if it turns out I get nothing done I wanted to, it's still ok. 

[stephL]

Thanks for your awesome replies so far! I have found another great story, this time about the oldest man in the world. What I liked most about his personal philosophy is to embrace change, (every change is good) and to help others.

I hope you all find this article as uplifting as I did!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110415/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_world_s_oldest_man

[stephL]

Bumping my thread back up here. C'mon folks, help me out and post your links to Inspiring Stories!


81-year-old sweethearts reunite after 62 years


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIb4xQGUToU

[season]

My inspiring story is to be constantly searching. For what? you say. Anything and everything that is going to help me and possibly others. I have a curious mind so I read a lot and I like to have conversations with people if I find they are really smart about particular things.

I want to be well so I constantly search.

[stephL]

Season, thanks for sharing a reminder to be persistent about searching for solutions to the challenges that face us. The world is so rich, with so many things to learn about. I sometimes find ideas in unlikely places out of the blue so you're right, it's great to keep that curiosity fired!

[A66eyroad]

Here's an article my daughter sent me this morning.  Make sure you've got a tissue nearby...

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-05-01/feature2.php

[Meld256]

Ok, found an article about one of the most amazing young men, Patrick Henry Hughes:

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2643340&page=1  I think you'll enjoy and be inspired by him!  

This was written when he was a student at the University of Louisville, and played in the marching band with his father's help.  He's since graduated with a GPA of 3.9 and has written a book and is busy with motivational speaking engagements.