Sometimes other people can express your thoughts better than you can– that’s what I keep learning.

It’s 3  :  14  PM on day 1017 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, brush my teeth, remove my t-shirt and jacket and put a new t-shirt on, stretch my hamstrings – today I actually cried it hurt so bad having my hamstring stretched I can’t imagine what it must be like for my mother to have to stretch my hamstrings knowing it’s causing me so much pain she must feel so powerless –  put on a turtleneck, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast,         read Deuteronomy 34,  publish my Disability of the Day feature,   tweet and Facebook about my campaign –  no luck   –   and practice typing with both hands.

Yesterday I read We Can’t Stop Living… – a blog post by Kate Leong  about carrying on with life in the face of tragedy – the last couple of paragraphs  of the post express so beautifully everything I’ve ever wanted to say about making the best of every situation that I feel compelled to share it:

“Repurpose your pain, your suffering, your hurt into something that will work for you.  If you take control and decide to learn and grow and help others BECAUSE of your pain…you’ll find that you start feeling less and less pain yourself.

Yes, things happen TO you in life.

And it sucks.

But things happen FOR you as well.

And sometimes, even though it’s hard to see, those things are one in the same.”