Catastrophe & Hope

From Anita:

In going through a pile of mail from the insurance, doctors, hospitals, etc., I came across one document that referred to the accident as “catastrophic.” I can’t get that word out of my head. It bothers me every time I think about it. It is bizarre reading in black and white that someone, somewhere looked at the data points and decided to make that delineation about your life. Luckily we are all more than the sum of our data parts.

Team McGorty

I don’t see our situation as catastrophic. By definition catastrophic means something that causes ruin. By implication, it suggests something has occurred that is too big to come back from. Both are wrong.

We have been lucky over the past few weeks to meet some amazing people who have given us hope that Dennis, and our family, will thrive. This hope comes not just in words but in how these individuals have lived and pushed themselves further than others thought possible. They have given us the courage to believe recovery beyond expectations for Dennis is possible too. It won’t be easy, victories will happen over years, not days, but it is something to strive for.

Among those that inspire us and give us hope are Janne Kouri and his wife Susan and their non-profit, NextStep, which provides progressive community fitness, health, and wellness facilities for people with mobility challenges. I was lucky enough to meet them at the Next Step benefit earlier this week. I could go on and on about them and what they have created with Next Step, but I think this clip from Good Morning America tells the story best: http://youtu.be/uOEnsArIep0. Very inspired, hopeful, grateful.    

Please show your support for NextStep on facebook!