In my line of work as a coach as well as my involvement with Team RWB... I run into some pretty incredible people but theres somebody that I met today but I wanted to talk about. I spent the day down in Dallas with my Dad and in his rehab/care center, Id say about 90% of the residents there are over the age of 85 and unfortunately it will probably be the last place they live. Except as I was walking through the halls, taking my Dad on a walk, a younger gentleman in a wheelchair approached me with the biggest smile on his face. He introduced himself and we started to make small talk. Come to find out he is in his early 40s and less than a year ago, his car hit black ice on the freeway and flipped six times. How he survived, only The Lord knows but now he is paralyzed from the chest down. The thought of something like that happening to me in 5 or 10 years is so incredibly scary yet here is Rich, living in a care facility at 43 yrs old! Despite what he has been through, he has such a great attitude and positive outlook on life. He tells me about his kids, some who are still in high school and his face lights up. His charisma and energy is contagious and I cant help but be truly humbled by him. Can you imagine if everything was taken away from you in a split-second? Your freedom to walk, the comfort of living in your own home, the freedom & privacy to take care of yourself? It just makes me feel so blessed for everything I have in my life right now. Sure life isnt perfect but its meeting people like Rich that puts everything in perspective. Live your life to the fullest, take every opportunity you can, make time for those people & things that make you feel ALIVE and even on those bad days remember how truly blessed you are.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 23:17:03 +0000