Any Given Day

One thing about this life is that any given day the odds of something "going wrong" are not in your favor. Like today. Ella recently had a port placed for easy IV access and we were due to flush it for the first time, which has to occur monthly when it's not in use.

Our attempt at home was unsuccessful so off to the ER we went. For me, this made for quite a frustrating day. My tired and frazzled self loaded up Ella and all her gear and headed for the hospital. While we were sitting there waiting I was watching Ella as she looked around and grinned from ear to ear. She looked very pleased about the "change of scenery" unlike her mom.

As the parent of a developmentally delayed child, one of the things I am most adament about is that I do not want anyone to feel sorry for Ella because of her disabilities. (I discussed this in a previous post about empathy versus pity.)

I actually think we can learn a lot from special people like Ella. One of the reasons I believe she shouldn't be pitied is because she is so happy! Ella doesn't understand all that she has been through. She doesn't care that she has to spend her afternoon in the ER. She's just happy to go somewhere whether it's to the hospital or a party.

Wouldn't life be so much more enjoyable if we all had the ability to not let the stress and complications of everyday life get to us? In my opinion, that is a blessing. And who could feel sorry about that?

Ella in the ER waiting today.