Preface
This is a book about optimism and hope. The stories in it are about people who have
courageously overcome adversity and whose lives have been improved through resourcefulness
and creativity. In many ways, this reflects my own personality and the philosophy
of my profession of occupational therapy. I believe that every problem has a solution,
and we just have not discovered the best one yet for those problems still unsolved;
that not only is the glass half full, but refills are on the way. When people tell
me that "those who can keep their heads when all about them are losing theirs just
don’t understand the gravity of the situation," my response is that only those
who can keep their heads—and find a ray of hope—can ultimately fix the
grave situation. I believe that even if we cannot control the circumstances we are
in, we can control our reaction to those circumstances and can turn tragedy into
triumph with our own strength and with the help of others.
My optimism was sorely tested on September 11, 2001. As a New Yorker whose office
faced the World Trade Center, less than a mile away, I watched in horrified shock
and disbelief as the Twin Towers burned and then collapsed. I saw and smelled the
smoke. My horror was deeply personal as well as generalized. On my way to work that
fateful morning, I had witnessed the attack from the street corner as I exited the
subway at 9:05 a.m. and saw both Towers already in flames. The two-block walk to
my office from that corner became a nightmare of fear: my son’s office was
on the 30th floor of Tower Two, and I did not know if he was already there and,
if so, whether he would be able to escape from the burning building.
Thankfully, he was one of the lucky people. He had not yet arrived at his office
and was thus spared a terrifying escape from the burning buildings, or an even worse
fate. I learned later that he had been two blocks away when Tower Two collapsed,
and that he had managed to take refuge in a small storefront restaurant to escape
the choking clouds of ash and dust and the panicking crowds. At the time, however,
I had an unforgettably anxious 2 hours, not knowing where he was, before he was
able to find a working pay phone and call. He spent the next 4 hours walking the
six miles to his home.
This book was in the last stages of completion on September 11, 2001. I must admit
that the tragedy affected me deeply. Perhaps it was because of my family’s
close escape; perhaps because I work daily in New York and saw the devastation first
hand; perhaps because, like all Americans, I lived with the nonstop television coverage
of the event for days afterwards; perhaps because, like most human beings, I simply
could not comprehend the magnitude of the crime or the extent of the loss.
It was difficult for me to resume life and work as usual, and particularly challenging
to continue to compile and edit these stories—stories about individual people
who overcame adversity, unconnected to the tragedy. The people and the stories seemed
not to reflect the immediacy and immense scope of the disaster.
As an occupational therapist, I believe in the power of "doing." To cope with the
tragedy and to contribute to the recovery, I needed to act. So I volunteered my
time, donated funds, read articles about the heroes and the victims, and examined
the photographs. I attended tributes to heroes and visited street corner and police
station and firehouse memorials, and I began collecting more stories, two of which
appear in this book. These activities were and continue to be very satisfying and
helpful to me.
Ultimately, however, it was resuming work on this book with its message of hope
that was the most powerful and important activity that helped me begin to heal and
to recapture my optimism. I came to realize that these stories, about the large
and small miracles of life, about the courage and creativity of individuals, about
the ability to recover from disaster, were exactly what I needed to begin my healing
process. These stories represent the wonder, joy, and hope that makes life worth
living. They are the embodiment of life and the future. They make it possible to
go on, to hope, and to continue to face the future with optimism. In gratitude for
the ability to be comforted by these stories and what they represent, and to continue
my efforts to help others recover from individual and community tragedies, I will
be donating a portion of the profits from this book to organizations that help people
cope with adversity.
In this time of national need for healing, I hope that reading these stories and
learning about the resourcefulness and optimism of the people in this book will
help others heal as well. I offer them to you with my optimistic wish that they
help you as they helped me.
Deborah R. Labovitz, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
New York, March 2002
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Introduction
These are the stories of ordinary people whose lives have been saved in seemingly
miraculous ways. Some very special people helped them not only to survive, but to
cope with life-threatening catastrophes and terrible circumstances and make it through
tough times. This book is about hope and about how people can work with what happens
to them to take charge of their future.
Catastrophes occur with unexpected swiftness, and in an instant can change our lives
forever. Other difficult or even dreadful circumstances may develop slowly, but
relentlessly, and over time can change our lives forever.
But do miracles that save us ever happen in ordinary life? Ask Brett Duffey.
On that breezy spring evening in 1989 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 20-year-old
Brett, a Marine air traffic controller on leave, was enjoying vacationing with his
dad in a posh high-rise hotel overlooking the beach. When he stepped out onto the
balcony of his 12th-story room to view the sunset, he noticed some attractive young
ladies on the balcony two floors above him and leaned out to exchange friendly greetings.
As he was talking, his foot slipped and the 6’ 3", 250-pound Marine lost his
balance and plummeted through space, 12 stories down to the ground below.
Obviously, Brett knew in that split second as he plunged from the balcony that his
life was over. So casually, so quickly, so incredibly impossibly! He had only intended
to watch the sunset and flirt with some cute girls, and now he was going to die.
And yet, miraculously, Brett did not die. He landed... with 16 broken bones and
a closed head injury that left him in a coma for 6 weeks... but alive. Brett literally
hit bottom.
And then what happened?
Ten years ago he was given a 5% chance of survival. Today he is a college graduate
and a father with an exciting new career. Brett credits his miraculous recovery
to the incredible hard work, motivation, creativity, and resourcefulness of his
rehabilitation team, especially the occupational therapists. How was Brett able
to rise again to live, love, and learn? When you read Brett’s story, you will
find out how his occupational therapists helped save the day.
The true stories in this book are about miracles that happen to ordinary people.
Some of these miracles are large and highly dramatic events: surviving a plane crash,
a bus bombing, or a landmine explosion. Others involve courageous recoveries from
sudden tragedies: diving accidents, drive-by shootings, automobile accidents, or
Brett’s fall from a 12-story balcony. Sometimes the miracles are important
achievements: moving about in a powered wheelchair, driving an adapted car, riding
a horse, or returning to work. And still other miracles are small and quiet events:
regaining the ability to play with toys, speaking and communicating with others,
or even tying shoes after an accident, an illness, or a developmental problem has
made those things virtually impossible. The people whose experiences these were
believe in miracles.
Consider what Katherine and Frank Mayer know about miracles. In August 1996, the
Mayer family was anticipating a fun-filled vacation, but as they loaded the family
car outside their suburban New Jersey home, their excitement turned to horror. Jason,
one of their 4-year-old twins, lost control of his Big Wheel on their sloping driveway
and rolled into the street in front of an oncoming truck. It happened so quickly
that Justin, Jason’s terrified twin brother, and the rest of the family could
only watch helplessly as Jason and the Big Wheel were dragged 55 feet underneath
the truck. Finally, Jason’s dad, Frank, managed to jump the fence, run down
the street, catch up with the truck, and get the driver to stop.
Jason’s mom, Katherine, was sure that Jason was dead, snatched away from the
family in that split second between enjoying the sunshine as he played in front
of the house and his plunge into the street. But miraculously, Jason did not die.
His battered body with its extensive injuries was airlifted to a specialized children’s
hospital where the expert medical team saved his life several times over the next
3 weeks.
Months of therapy helped Jason regain the skills he lost in the accident. How did
this happen?
Jason’s remarkable recovery was engineered by his occupational therapist. She
creatively used Justin, Jason’s twin, as her most effective therapeutic tool
to motivate Jason to participate in the painful but necessary rehabilitation activities.
How she did this, and why the Mayer family considers it a special miracle, is one
of the inspirational stories you are about to read.
Miracles can happen to everyone, to famous and to ordinary people. Sometimes they
occur under extraordinary and at other times routine circumstances. All of the miracles
in this book share one thing in common—success. All of these stories are tributes
to the ability of people to triumph over adversity and to succeed when life is hardest.
While all the stories deal with successful solutions to problems, success means
different things to different people. For some, the success was the first step on
the road to recovery. For others, it was achieving their highest lifetime goals
despite having some disability. For some, the success was living a productive, happy,
or meaningful life in their last years, months, or even days. For others just starting
out, success involved the accomplishment of tasks that unlocked barriers and made
possible the beginning of a productive, happy, or meaningful life.
In this book you will meet 96 remarkable people—people born with disabling
conditions, people who got sick, people who became injured, people who grew old.
They all required help to learn or relearn the skills needed for the "job of living,"
and they all received that help from an occupational therapist. In turn, they improved
at doing their own jobs of living.
How did this happen? Could it happen to you or me? And what does any of this have
to do with miracles?
The lives of the people in these stories have been changed by the chance to learn—or
relearn—the skills they needed for their own jobs of living, no matter what,
no matter where, no matter how. You will be amazed at their courage, energized by
their achievements, and awed at the miracles they have managed to accomplish with
a little bit of help from occupational therapy.
Their examples will inspire you and reassure you that successfully surmounting seemingly
insurmountable obstacles is possible for all of us when faced with adversity. Who
are these remarkable people, and who are the occupational therapists who entered
their lives and had such a profound impact?
These powerful vignettes, written by the people who had the experiences, their families,
or their occupational therapists, illustrate the ways in which ordinary and famous
individuals surmount the seemingly insurmountable, defy the odds, and redesign their
lives to achieve meaningful fulfillment following what could have been a life-shattering
event. These episodes recount the large and small miracles of healing and adapting
made possible when courage is combined with resourcefulness, creativity, and an
indomitable will to succeed. Some will bring a tear to your eye; some will bring
a smile to your lips. All will inspire you with the knowledge that, as the people
in the stories discovered, ordinary miracles do happen. You will read about people
whose stories are the stuff of high drama:
- Rambo, an El Salvadorian national soccer star whose feet were amputated after a
wartime landmine explosion
- Cruz, a young man paralyzed from the neck down by
a random drive-by gang shooting
- Karen, a doctoral candidate who was plunged
into confusion and unbearable head pain when a truck plowed into her car
There are others in the book whose rehabilitation started with small but nonetheless
important things:
- 83-year-old Mrs. S, newly moved into a nursing home, who could not find a satisfying
place for herself in it after having taken care of her family all her life
- Aaron,
a 61-year-old businessman recovering from a stroke, whose dream was to walk his
daughter down the aisle at her wedding
- Bob who needed a way to continue to live
with his aging dog, Barney, despite Barney’s problems with managing his daily
backyard activities
You will see how babies and children get a good start in life:
- 6-month-old Fayda, whose weakened body kept her from using her hands to manipulate
her toys and play with her older siblings
- 15-month-old Sam, who needed to be
kept perfectly still for several days until his spinal surgery began to heal
-
2-year-old Jack, whose tiny hands had stiffened into tight fists from an unknown
cause
- 3-year-old Cecilia, whose body was "frozen" in strange positions and who
was also completely unable to speak
- 2½-year-old Erin, who had a stroke
while still in the uterus before birth, who followed the therapeutic paws of Max,
the therapy cat who lives and works in a childrens’ occupational therapy clinic
If you do not know what the profession of occupational therapy is, or what an occupational
therapist does, read on. You will find out about the many ways that people learned
the skills for their job of living from occupational therapists who entered their
lives after an illness, injury, birth condition, emotional problem, or the normal
aging process made it necessary for them to have help with their daily tasks of
life.
Some of the occupational therapy encounters were quite short—just enough time
to help the people learn to do something that was really important to them. Other
occupational therapy lasted weeks, months, or even years, as people’s changing
abilities and needs required redefinition of the goals of their continuing occupational
therapy treatments.
In the array of stories of the many different people and their varying needs and
solutions can be found the essence of occupational therapy: treating whole people
within the context of their family and their environment to help them build the
skills they need for the job of living their lives.
The people who have experienced this remarkable treatment and its results believe
in miracles.
So, are other miracles really possible? And if so, under what circumstances? These
stories confirm that the answer is a resounding yes when a spirit that refuses to
capitulate to hardship combines with the informed ingenuity of the caring professional
occupational therapist.
Adversity can happen to any of us. But these stories reflect the positive side of
life and can provide hope to any people who now have problems, give insight to those
who have family or friends in similar situations, and inspire confidence in all
of us.
There is no right or wrong way to read this book. Some of you may choose to read
it straight through from beginning to end. Others may be searching for particular
stories that speak to some event in their life or the life of someone they know.
In order to decide how to proceed, it may be helpful to know how the stories in
the book are arranged.
The book is divided into three parts. In Part One, Journey Through Life, you will
be introduced to people at various stages in their lives—infants and children
and their parents, teenagers, adults, and senior citizens who have successfully
met some of the challenges and overcome some of the obstacles that are not uncommon
to particular phases of life.
Accidents, traumas, and catastrophes, however, are indiscriminate and rarely respect
age and stages of life. In Part Two, Life’s Unpredictable Events, you will
meet people whose common link is the way in which they coped with such life-altering
events outside their control.
Finally, in Part Three, Retrospectives, you will get to know people who have learned
to live productive lives and can look back at years of accomplishment despite lifelong
health conditions and challenges.Whichever approach you choose, read on to enjoy
the company of these remarkable people.
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