Celebrating Life!

I’m not a huge disney fan (sorry, guys). But, during my trip to Epcot and on July 4th I had this realization. I live for these happy moments. They are so much more rewarding to me then the average person. Let me start off with July 4th. For the past 3ish years I’ve barely been able to see fireworks or celebrate. Being bed bound is super depressing. This year I got to celebrate the 4th and watch fireworks without wearing earplugs! As I watched the fireworks go up and explode into beautiful sparkles, I almost cried. I was in such awe at the beauty of life. For all of the pain I go through and went through there’s always a reward at the end of the tunnel. I thought how much I’ve been through just to stand and watch the fireworks. I remember turning to my mom and saying “Mom! I’m here!! and my head doesn’t hurt terribly right now!!!” She looked at me and gave me a hug smiling and said “I know.” Hand’s down the best fourth I’ve had.

When my family planned the trip to Epcot, we really thought about how I could go. Do I go in a wheelchair? Do I go for half the day and then go back to the hotel? What if I got sick in the middle of the park? Anxiety rushed my head for about a month. The day finally came. I woke up and felt so great, but I was still worried. I walked into the park and a worker handed me a badge saying “I’m Celebrating:” I sat there and thought. I am celebrating life obviously, because mine is far from easy. I’m here, I made it here, I could be in bed in so much pain but I am having a great day. Clearly, I couldn’t go on most rides. I did end up going on a slow one, and it made me super dizzy and aggravated my head. But I made sure to hydrate and have a lot of sugar (and salt) and I did great that day. Besides sugar and hydration, I acknowledged I needed to sit on the bench and rest a lot. But, I made it. When I called my doctor and told him he was so happy. I’ve never heard him so happy. He ended up calling my dad talking to him about how happy he was.

I learned a lot from these two experiences. Always, to remember when you go through something hard, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. You clearly can handle what you’re going through, or you wouldn’t be going through it. And finally, all of your struggles will pay off in the end.