Their stories were heartbreaking. One moment they were living life, going about the everyday, and in the next they were learning to survive.
And eventually thrive.
As they recounted their stories…
a devastating diagnosis of multiple sclerosis,
a stroke that permanently limits their mobility,
a car accident that left them wheelchair bound at the age of 17,
I sat amazed at their ability to overcome and their love for life. It would seem that there is something about almost losing your life or having it forever altered with a diagnosis that makes you appreciate it more.
For the traumatic brain injury campers those four days meant the world to them. If you ask, it is the highlight of their year. Camp is a place where they can completely be themselves and accepted without judgment. They aren’t seen as a disability or nuisance. They are a person.
They are seen, appreciated, loved, and known.
They get to do and experience life like a “normal” person.
Walking away from the second camp in Durban I realized EVERYONE HAS A DESIRE TO BE KNOWN. At the core, we all want to be acknowledged and treated as someone special, not just another human being or diagnosis. Life isn’t always fair or predictable but each of us is created wonderfully, with a purpose, and have story to tell.
