Since the disappointing news that Dr. Nevel couldn’t see anything to change in my veins, there have been a few very interesting conversations with Dr. Nelson and Dr. Haacke. Both are so concerned that something didn’t make sense that Dr. Haacke wants me to come to Detroit for another MRV. This procedure could conceivably impact the future protocol and procedures.
Yesterday as I blogged, I was, for a moment, in despair. I felt very vulnerable and without the hope that a future with some form of possibility gives me. I had my blackberry stolen while shopping in Georgetown with Mary, and I couldn’t get that replaced. The left wheel on my wheelchair came off again, and I was still shakey from the impact that the surgery and the disappointing results left me. And I got very clear that any positive results were for me to look good and allow me to give all my friends and family a reason to celebrate. However, out of this set back I was left with something even more profound and frankly, more life altering, and that is this….
I am not anything special. I am just an ordinary guy living with an extraordinary circumstance. My job is to just “keep on keepin’ on.” The truly exceptional people in the world are the steady, dependable, hardworking men and women who are the foundation for future generations to spring from.
As my friend Jim Bruno shared with me years ago, most of life is lived in the plateaus. Noticeably miraculous or measurable breakthroughs are very few and far between. So the job is to keep doing the job, one day at a time. And, as Wnston Churchill stated so eloquently, “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!”
You've put a tremendous amount of time and energy into making a change to something that – to me – doesn't define you. You are defined more by your disposition, your remarkably bright outlook on life, your love of friends and family, and a smile that always brightens my day than by a wheelchair. So goes the journey, Michael.