An excerpt from my book, “One Arm One Leg 100 Words, Overcoming Unbelievable Hardships”
My positive attitude towards life, along with Charlene’s positive attitude towards her recovery, has certainly been a process. I can assure you it did not happen overnight. It starts with a core belief that all things happen for a reason. We don’t always have to know what that reason is. Charlene and I believe there is a Creator — a Higher Power — who controls all things, and at times allows bad things to happen to good people.
We have spoken to many stroke survivors over the years, and it is very difficult to find many who do not have faith in God or trust Him in their daily circumstances. The human spirit is a marvelous thing to behold. I often think of people who have faced tremendous odds. These individuals could not have survived if it weren’t for their faith. This faith is the force that keeps them going in the face of otherwise insurmountable odds.
I often wonder why some people are chosen to endure greater hardships in life than others. After many years of life experience and much contemplation, I have come to the following conclusion: God gives greater trials to certain individuals in order to bring out their unusual positive character traits they might otherwise not have known they possess.
In fact, if it weren’t for the great hardships that God allows in their lives, they would not achieve the level of greatness and strength of character that they were born to attain. There are numerous people who have survived and conquered their trials, such as Helen Keller, who rose to greatness because of her disability. She paved the way for others who were blind and wanted to live more normal lives.
The list of famous people with disabilities is staggering. Google it sometime, and prepare to be shocked by the endless list of individuals who achieved greatness, despite their particular ordeals.
Charlene’s life is one that defies logic. She cannot speak more than a handful of words, nor can she speak in full sentences. Yet, she can have a 15-minute “conversation” with a total stranger who just met her for the first time. They are captivated by her outward and inward beauty without realizing she is speech impaired while she communicates with them.
How does she do this? Well, for example, an elderly gentleman who meets her for the first time waiting for a table in a busy restaurant asks her how she is doing. She will look him right in the eyes, and with a great big Charlene smile, shake her head up and down saying “ahhhhhhh.” Then she will tilt her head back and close her eyes with a big smile on her face. Then she might bring her head forward, look him right in the eyes again with a big smile, and lift her eyebrows as if to say, “You?”
He knows non-verbally that she is asking how he As he shares the experiences he had that day to this attractive woman who seems very interested in what he has to say, she responds with a host of gestures and sounds – a nod, a laugh, raising her eyebrows, wrinkling her nose, winking, or making some appropriate sounds.
She uses her tonality to say the same word differently. She may also make hand gestures or point. As he feels more comfortable talking to her, she might also touch his face, his hand, or his leg… you get the picture. It is said that 85 percent of communication is non-verbal, and Charlene uses every ounce of non-verbal communication to make up for her lack of vocabulary.
Charlene owns a folding electric wheelchair that makes her very mobile, especially in her van equipped with a hoist that allows her to travel almost anywhere around the world. Her electric wheelchair will take her on the road, on a plane or on a cruise ship. She has many hobbies, such as cooking and preparing elaborate gourmet dinner parties and table settings. She is currently writing a book on how to make simple, yet elaborate and elegant table settings, and will include lots of pictures.
How can she write a book with her disability, you might ask? She will make her table settings, photograph them, and have one of us interpret how she did it.
Her other hobbies include home decorating, sewing, building miniature doll houses, and making dolls — despite having the use of only one arm that works. Did I mention she has her own website where you can view a video about her life? It includes links for stroke survivors and caregivers to get support. It also features a page for ordering their books, and inviting us to come speak at your seminar, talk show, or event. Please visit www.1arm1leg100words.com .
This is just a another chapter of my book “One Arm One Leg 100 Words, Overcoming Unbelievable Hardships”. You can buy the book by clicking this link. And surely, you will not stop reading it from the beginning till the end of this book.