Living Through Adversity
Opinion
Amelia Rawlins
Issue date: 3/5/10 Section: Opinion
Could you ever imagine never being able to taste your favorite food or even eat again? Could you imagine never being able to be heard with your natural voice and say anything that you would like freely? Scary thought if you think about it long enough, isn't it? Well these are just a few of the privileges that we may often take for granted.
In the news or even within your own area, you often hear about some of the courageous people that proved to the world that living with a disease or illness will never stop them.
On Tuesday afternoon after catching up on my web browsing, I checked one of my favorite news sites, abcnews.com. As I browsed through the news and entertainment section I stumbled upon a video about Roger Ebert's appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show.
After not seeing Ebert in a few years, I was shocked and even began to get a bit teary eyed as I read the article and watched the video.
For those of you who don't know, Roger Ebert is a famous film critic and screenwriter. He is also well-known for his show At the Movies with Gene Siskel and his television series Ebert & Roeper & the Movies. Ebert's contribution to media is widely acknowledged and so is his battle with thyroid cancer, which he has been battling since 2006. Because of the cancer, Ebert cannot close his mouth, he doesn't have a jaw, he has to be fed by a feeding tube that connects to a part in his stomach and he cannot speak, but can communicate through sign language and computer software that acts as his voice.
Now, Ebert's struggle is only one of many stories I have heard about people fighting through adversity but his tenacity and spirit is something I find very rare. After being given an option to continue surgeries to reconstruct his face and deformities, he declined and said "This is the way I look and my life is happy and productive so why have any more surgery; nobody looks perfect, we have to find peace with the way we look and get on with life."
To witness such courage and vigor although he has lost so much just made me think about how much we take for granted. The complaining, the "I hate my life" attitude and disgruntled atmosphere that we tend to put ourselves in when we cannot get what we want, is not even an option for many people. Ebert doesn't have that choice and he is living life the way it should be lived…Happy. I wish that for everyone and I do hope that we can sometimes take a chance to count our blessings, because some people cannot. Just something to think about.
In the news or even within your own area, you often hear about some of the courageous people that proved to the world that living with a disease or illness will never stop them.
On Tuesday afternoon after catching up on my web browsing, I checked one of my favorite news sites, abcnews.com. As I browsed through the news and entertainment section I stumbled upon a video about Roger Ebert's appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show.
After not seeing Ebert in a few years, I was shocked and even began to get a bit teary eyed as I read the article and watched the video.
For those of you who don't know, Roger Ebert is a famous film critic and screenwriter. He is also well-known for his show At the Movies with Gene Siskel and his television series Ebert & Roeper & the Movies. Ebert's contribution to media is widely acknowledged and so is his battle with thyroid cancer, which he has been battling since 2006. Because of the cancer, Ebert cannot close his mouth, he doesn't have a jaw, he has to be fed by a feeding tube that connects to a part in his stomach and he cannot speak, but can communicate through sign language and computer software that acts as his voice.
Now, Ebert's struggle is only one of many stories I have heard about people fighting through adversity but his tenacity and spirit is something I find very rare. After being given an option to continue surgeries to reconstruct his face and deformities, he declined and said "This is the way I look and my life is happy and productive so why have any more surgery; nobody looks perfect, we have to find peace with the way we look and get on with life."
To witness such courage and vigor although he has lost so much just made me think about how much we take for granted. The complaining, the "I hate my life" attitude and disgruntled atmosphere that we tend to put ourselves in when we cannot get what we want, is not even an option for many people. Ebert doesn't have that choice and he is living life the way it should be lived…Happy. I wish that for everyone and I do hope that we can sometimes take a chance to count our blessings, because some people cannot. Just something to think about.
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