Share Your Story
When we engage in helping others, great things happen – and more often than not – there’s a story to tell. Here is a story about giving from our book, Teaching Kids To Care.
Do you have a story to share? Please click here, we'd love to hear from you!
Bare Whitewashed Walls
One morning, when I woke up, I dared not open my eyes. I was frozen stiff, terrified, hoping the night before was nothing more than a bad dream. When I finally mustered the courage to pry open my eyelids, the first thing I encountered were bare whitewashed walls. As I slowly became conscious of my hospital surroundings, I noticed my mother by my side, quietly weeping. Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed by a strange fear, fear of the unknown. She gently told me that I had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease called juvenile diabetes. Diabetes? I was only ten years old. What was diabetes, and why did I have it? My mind started racing, disturbed by the thought that my life would never be the same.However, while I was in Children’s Hospital for my initial treatment of diabetes, I had a revelation that would forever change my role in the community. One day I ventured to the hospital’s playroom, expecting nothing more than some interaction with other kids. When I arrived, I was shocked and felt strangely uncomfortable with the image of children playing in such a gloomy place. I spent the day with many terminally ill children, but the majority of my time went to one special girl. I vividly remember playing the board game, Chutes and Ladders, with this young girl who was battling leukemia. She had no hair as a result of her treatments, and she was connected to a portable intravenous system. At the conclusion of our game, I rushed back to my hospital room where I cried for hours, thinking of this amazing young girl who had incurable cancer that would soon claim her life. There was absolutely nothing she could do about it.
Feeling helpless, I asked myself, “Why?”
I could not think of any fair answer, but I realized I was extremely fortunate to have a situation that was controllable, and I should never pity myself for having diabetes.
From that point on, I decided to devote a significant amount of my time to helping improve conditions for those less fortunate in my community. I became actively involved as a leader in community service, spending hundreds of hours over the past seven years attempting to make people’s lives just a little better. Nothing is more rewarding than bringing a smile to the face of an abused child or a lonely senior.
If that one morning when I awoke to whitewashed walls had been a bad dream after all, I might have missed out on some of the most important and rewarding moments I have ever experienced while helping others. I attribute the wonderful experiences I've had and contributions I've made to my little friend in the hospital, to having the disease that helped me learn the meaning of compassion.
Do you have a story to share? Please click here, we'd love to hear from you!