Giving Thanks:"Miracles don't just happen"

TO: The dedicated teams at RIC and St. David's-
'"Your skill and compassion helped with every step of the way. I will not start a run - or a day without thinking of your contribution to my miraculous recovery and my quality of life."

On the week before Thanks Giving I flew up to Chicago on business to call on clients. The trip presented opportunity to visit folks at the Rehab Institute of Chicago(RIC) to see medical staff to review treatment options or ongoing problems with spasticity and side effects of medications.Since the timing of the trip was almost a year to the day since I was discharged after a month's stay at RIC, I arranged to present a "thank you" card in the form of a 24"x36"poster I designed (see above) to convey my appreciation for all they have enabled me to do. NOTE: that I am able to design and have the poster produced and travel to Chicago on Business is as (if not more representative of the extent of my recovery) than the event depicted in the poster(just about anyone can run a 5K right??)


Upon return to Austin was able to arrange production of a slightly different version of the 24x 36 poster and was able to present that "thank you card" with background and comment to a group of 30 therapists and patients at St. David's. Since it was the eve of Thanks Giving, it was for me [and I suspect the therapists there] a fitting and moving start to the holiday of thanks And I do have much for which to give thanks. As I addressed the group of therapist and stroke "survivors" this afternoon I was able to articulate several of the "little victories" that are actually more meaningful to me than the drama depicted on the poster. While the experience of running a 5K only a year after a devastating injury from stroke is a "miracle" by just about any measure, I wanted them to know that I was now able to button a shirt, hold a cup of coffee in my left hand, and even scrape the fruit off the bottom of a yoghurt container holding the container in one hand and the spoon in the other and that it was these and dozens of other "gifts" I had received through working with the therapists I had come to thank. And that the work behind these "little victories" had inspired my choice of words and images on the poster.

The feed back I received immediately in the form of applause and tears -and later hugs and words of thanks- from therapists, patients, and a few family members of patients was a not just another "feel good moment" along my way. I've made remarkable progress for sure but I have dozens of daily reminders that I'm not yet out of the woods - and experiences like this afternoon are like "money in the bank" - a vital source of inspiration and motivation to keep working and pushing forward. So the entire episode is about giving thanks: I'm so grateful for the quality of the care I've had access to and I was thrilled to have had the opportunity for access to an audience with my therapists and other stroke survivors to openly express my gratitude to individuals who fully understood the source and depths of my appreciation.