I don’t know why I’m shocked when I hear stories about tragedy, it happens every day. I suppose it’s a coping method. We all want to live a safe life, but that is not necessarily the best life. It’s in the tragedies that you can find growth, strength, perspective, empathy, and experience. Without the hard stuff, we wouldn’t have a true sense of these understandings.
I try hard to protect my family from harm, we do that because more than anything we just want our loved ones to be healthy and happy. Watching someone you love go through something traumatic does not feel good. It’s scary, sad, and overwhelming. When you are in it, it can feel like life will never be good again. Why did this happen to me? Why did this happen to my child? No answer feels satisfying.
After Zack (age 15) broke his neck and became quadriplegic, I thought my family was in a sense safe from tragedy. Then my daughter (age 11) was diagnosed with diabetes, a lifelong disease that affects her daily. I thought "Okay, two of my kids have dealt with life altering changes that seems like a fair number of challenges in one family" but then, my two middle boys who have always been a pleasure to raise and given me no problems, both sweet and helpful, experienced intense mental health issues. One son (age 14) sustained from extreme anxiety that went on for over five years. It was so debilitating he had to withdraw from regular high school and finish in an alternative way. My other son (19) normally calm, caring, adventurous got hit with depression which felt like happened overnight. His entire personally shifted and it’s been an ongoing battle for years.