Today: Three stories about three incredible people to encourage you to think about your attitude and put things into perspective. I am finding more and more that a great attitude is one of the keys to being healthy, mentally and physically.
Last night we watched Boston Medical, which is a FANTASTIC show. If you haven’t seen it, you should really check it out. It’s on Thursdays at 10pm on ABC. (Past my bedtime so we usually watch it over the weekend. :))
This week they showed a girl in her teens who went through a heart transplant (her younger brother is going to need one too…can you imagine being their mom?). The sweet teenager pulled through and has gone on to live a happy and healthy life thus far (and hopefully for many years to come!). She was SO cheery and positive (not to mention thankful for the opportunity) going into her surgery and I have no doubt that her attitude played a huge part her in her survival.
We received some great news about my Father In Law a few weeks ago. After almost exactly a year of fighting cancer (leukemia) he is officially cancer free. Let me tell you, this man is a fighter. In the last 4 years he has had to fight for his life several times.
Four years ago he was riding his exercise bike and got a small cut. Because he has diabetes, he got an infection and it started literally eating the skin off the bottom of his leg. The infection spread to all of his organs…he had sepsis. This all happened pretty fast and he was soon in a coma. The first several times I saw him (ever) he was in a coma and for months after that in a hospital bed. The entire time he was sick he didn’t give up and instead chose to become a really huge Red Sox fan since the games were on TV so often. By the next summer, he was healthy enough to go to a game with my husband.
After a few years of feeling pretty good, he was diagnosed with leukemia last summer. Thankfully he chose to go through Chemo and fight the cancer…he wasn’t ready to give up. Again, do we think his attitude had anything to do with his survival anyone? 🙂
My dad, Do It All Dad, got hit by a car this week when he was riding his bike home from work. I didn’t even find out about it from him or my mom. I found out from a friend a few days later in an email where she said “Oh by the way did you hear your dad got hit by a car? Your dad is okay, but the car apparently is not.”
So I call my parents and ask what happened. Do It All Dad says oh yah…there was that this week. He was riding his bike and a car pulled out of a side street (with a view hidden by a bush) and they collided. He was thrown from his bike and onto the hood and the windshield of the car. He called to tell my mom who obviously offered to come pick him up, but he said “Nah I’m okay…I’ll keep riding.”
He went on to tell me that “these things happen” to which my response was, “Really, to who?” and then he said that it was probably more stressful for the woman in the car…and I quote “I mean it has to be pretty stressful to have someone land on your windshield.” This pretty much sums up my dad’s attitude. He didn’t make himself out to be the victim and immediately calmed the woman down. He always puts things into perspective and to him, some scrapes and bruises weren’t enough to ruin his week. He mentioned that he was thankful that he had his helmet on.
Okay…so there you have it. Three people with incredible attitudes. Instead of complaining this coming week or complaining because it’s Sunday and you have to work on Monday, think of things that you are thankful for. Easy enough, right? 🙂
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