The Warriors At State

Well there is no denying I had a huge weekend last week. First was Special O State Basketball. We came in second and I got to canoodle with Miss Nebraska. Second was my Cub Scouts banquet. I graduated to the next level of Webelos.

You might be thinking that this is another post detailing my accomplishments and accolades. Well it’s not. This post is a dedication.

A week ago I was with my mom at a doctor’s appointment. After seeing me, the nurse told us that she has a daughter with Down syndrome who is turning 50. She explained when her daughter was born in 1964 everyone in the hospital told her to put the baby in Beatrice. For those of you not from Nebraska, Beatrice was a huge state institution that finally lost its Medicaid permit due to abuse of the residents. The nurse said she never even considered putting her daughter there.

Tragically, when her daughter was a year old, the woman’s husband was killed in a house explosion. The poor man lingered in the hospital for weeks before dying. Once again all of the hospital employees told the nurse that she needed to commit her daughter – explaining that she would never be able to take care of her alone. At this point in the story my mom is crying and I am looking for the door thinking please someone commit me!

But the nurse never gave up her daughter. Instead, she put herself through nursing school and raised her daughter alone. Now her daughter lives independently and has a job. And of course they are both planning a big 50th bday bash.

On the way home I thought more about that nurse……..and what she did……..and what she must have faced. And I realized I owe her.

Because of parents like her – no one told my mom to put in Beatrice. Because of parents like her it is acceptable for me to go to school…..and to be in Cub Scouts….and to play basketball…..

She didn’t plan it – but she did a lot for me. The only way I can think begin to repay her is to live a life full of accolades and accomplishments. Which today I dedicate to her.