A wake-up call

A couple of weeks ago I was given the opportunity to cover a story on the non-profit organization Easter Seals. The adult day care center provides services for adults ages 16 to 93 years old. I have walked into many hospitals and nursing homes feeling slightly uncomfortable but virtually unaffected, this wasn't the case when I finished my report on the Easter Seals organization. From day 1 I had grown to like both the nurses and patients that spent their time at the center five days a week but it wasn't until I went to take pictures of the patients that I felt the true impact the center would have on me.

I have always been told that your life can change in a second, no matter your age. And as much as I would like to think that I have always thought that, not once considering that I was above any force that could alter my life, it wasn't until last week that I honestly felt it in every inch of my soul. On the last Friday in February I visited the patients at the Easter Seals program to get some pictures of them scrap booking, an activity that they do twice a week. Being the scrap booker that I am, I saw this an opportunity to get a good picture while enjoying the activity and company of the patients.

By the time I got to the Easter Seals location there were only two patients there, the rest had gone home for the evening. I took a few shots of Mrs. Wilma while a nurse was helping Betsy, a 24-year-old who is quadriplegic and suffers from a brain stem injury. Most of the photos they were putting in their scrapbook were moments that the patients had spent at the adult day care center. After talking with Nurse Nicole about Betsy's condition, she showed me photos of Betsy, before her car crash that left her in her current state.

The photos weren't unusual, they were of an 18-year-old girl with blonde hair and bright eyes making goofy faces on a child's playground. The photos were sweet and kind not unlike many of the photos I have in my albums and scrapbooks. The only difference between Betsy and I is that at 18 she was in a car crash that left her quadriplegic. Betsy was my age when her life was changed forever and the honesty of the fact and what it means, was almost to real for me to bare.

It is hard to believe that I could find myself in Betsy's shoes but what would make me so invincible, so lucky even that a freak accident couldn't put me in the same position?

For me, Betsy was a wake-up call and a slap in the face saying who do you think you are.