This I Believe Speech

"The Hardest Things"

      I believe that the hardest things pay off the most in the end. Why? Well, there was a time in my life that was easily the hardest I had faced. Up until that point, I had tended to believe that most matters relating to my health would, given enough time, resolve themselves without much effort. This all changed last August, towards the middle of the month. I was in rehab for my 3rd surgery, and an event occurred that pushed me to the breaking point. However, I had no choice but to soldier on, and eventually I recovered. This instilled a belief in me that has only grown stronger every week...because I have more therapy. But what happened to spark it? Well...

      I was on the twelfth floor of the sky-puncturing “hospital” known as RIC (or the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for those who aren’t so COOL with the ACRONYMS). The twelfth floor was an unusual one, as it looked like someone tried to build a house but were missing some of the pieces. There were parts of stairwells glued to a bathroom and a working kitchen, with a wheel-less Mercedes “parked” outside completing this quirky setup. The “lawn” and garage that they somehow got up there were complete.

      Today, I was trying to scale the stairs under some of my own power. This was my first attempt since 6th grade. I had heavily protested the idea because, and I quote “stairs are evil,” but higher-authority diplomacy had won out. At this point, it was me, Mom, and a physical therapist (being RIC and all). I had already scaled the stairs, which was a difficult feat due to the narrow metal realistic rail and my relative weakness. Now, I was standing at the top of Mount Stairimanjaro, looking down at Mom. The PT was behind me as support. I took one step, then another...and smashed my dominant right knee square into the railing. My vision blurred with tears and I let out a string of mild profanity, as I don’t really swear. The PT and I shuffled down the stairs, with her bearing most of the weight on account of my right leg being temporarily out of commission and my left leg unable to support much. Once I was off the stairs, I collapsed into my walker. After being consoled, as that really hurt, the pain in my knee faded.

      I realized that the only way out was to try again, even though all I wanted was to go collapse into my hospital bed. I tried again, and to my credit, I actually succeeded. After that, the session (fortunately) ended. I then returned to my room and rested.

      That day, I learned that getting through stuff takes a curse-ton of effort, and that shifted something inside me. Stuff started happening more easily and my recovery accelerated. Once I returned to normal PT, I made more gains more rapidly than I ever had before, and I continue to apply this “effort pays off” mentality to every PT session I attend.  Difficult labor pays off in the long run. I feel that this is a critical lesson to learn, because many are going through tough times. Whether it’s physical, financial, or mental, remember: your hard work now will make your life better long-term. Keep at your goals, and never give up.

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