I asked this question of a close friend who has been confined to his bed for over 25 years in Barbados and his answer had a profound effect on me .
I met this colossus as an eighteen year old student at Salford University and his six foot four brick outhouse frame would shake with laughter at the arguments of this cheeky scouse lad who hated Liverpool FC as much as he loved them . Almost twenty Five years later I found myself at his bedside in the holiday paradise which was his home but his body had been broken by the chicken pox virus which left him blind , unable to recover the clarity of speech which made his voice sound like honey on toast and with most joints having been replaced due to crippling calcification. His mother ,he told me during that visit , was his salvation “without her I could not go on “ .he said .......... two weeks later she died . When I say I cried , I mean I cried until I had not a tear left to give . Why was my friend being punished in this way and who is marking the scorecards in this twisted game. I had this conversation with him and he gave me an answer which simultaneously broke my heart and gave me a resolve ,which I didn’t know then , would help me now live with Parkinson’s Disease. He said “ John , the only thing I am master of is my thoughts - I need help with everything else. I still have the choice every day to decide whether it will be a good day or a bad day and that will keep me going “ This day changed my life as i Vowed that I would never again complain about my lot. This is my story - absolutely true to the letter and what makes me what I am , like it or not !
What makes you find the strength to face the struggle every day..?
Comments