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Friday, 14 January 2011

Day14 - Somehwere over the rainbow?

It's really great when you do something and then you get a compliment for just doing what you felt was a right thing to do. Take this blog, today I received a message from Alfred Q. Wood who happens to be a published writer, and my cousin, and he told me that I have a gift for writing. This is truely a fantistic compliment to receive from someone who has worked hard, followed his own dreams and achieved the goals he has set for himself. So thanks A because it means a heck of a lot to me that you enjoy my writing.

Now fully inspired to continue writing I am going to tell you what I did today, as a teaching assistant in a local school, I look after a young girl who has GAUCHERS disease, this is an enzyme defficiency which manifests in many physical limitations, like stiff limbs similar to cerebral palsy, the main problem however is that there are also serious visual problems not so much with the sight but with her ability to track either horizontally or vertically. This needless to say causes her to be unable to judge distance and her spacial awareness is as a result impaired.
Our class teacher has arranged for groups of children to go rock climbing, the girl in question, told me she did not want to go as she is afraid of heights, this was discussed with the class teacher who said that she has to at least try and today we went for our first rock climibing session.
Visibly afraid we harnessed her up and the instructor, ex army paratrooper, was not taking NO as an option, slowly we positioned her near the wall and instructed her where to put her feet and hands, needing us to lift her off the floor she slowly moved a little further up the wall, she then said she wanted to get down, well like I said no was not an option, the instructor climbed with her instructing her to move left hand here, right hand there and he used his own body (harness free) as foot hold for her, by her third time, she had managed half way up the wall, the instructor left her on her own so we could get a picture without him in it. I have never been so inspired or proud in my whole life as at that moment with the child holding on to a wall and facing all her fears despite her physical limitations. Talk about somewhere over the rainbow!
It just made me think how much we actually take for granted, as able bodied people, I know that I bitch and moan constantly and yet I have the use of my arms and legs. I bitch and moan and yet I have all my senses, I bitch and moan and yet my children are healthy and well and have full use of their bodies.
New idea - stop fucking complaining!! and just get on with it.

In love and light

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