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\u201c<\/strong>From suffering have risen the most resilient spirits; the most prominent individuals carry the marks of their trials.\u201d ~Khalil Gibran<\/strong><\/p>\n I was born with spina bifida. At the age of ten, medical professionals informed me that I might never walk again following a significant surgery.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t recall every detail, but I remember the atmosphere, the tension in the air, the cautious language of adults, and the subsequent silence.<\/p>\n Paralysis loomed as a possibility.<\/p>\n By that point, I had become accustomed to hospital ceilings. I had faced numerous surgeries before truly grasping the meaning of surgery. Ultimately, I would endure thirteen.<\/p>\n Born with VACTERL syndrome, I had one kidney removed, undergone bladder correction, experienced open-heart surgery, and faced multiple bowel surgeries, including receiving and later fixing a colostomy bag.<\/p>\n At the age of ten, all I understood was that my body felt precarious.<\/strong><\/p>\n Four days later, I found myself standing in a hospital room. Alone, solely aware of pain, I pressed the pain button, sat up, swung my legs over the bed, and pushed myself off.<\/p>\n Not because I felt powerful or unafraid, but because something within me rejected that forecast.<\/p>\n My legs shook, my balance faltered, yet I stood. Without sensation, I found myself on the ground. This occurred for three consecutive days.<\/p>\n On the third day, a nurse discovered me standing and declared, \u201cI\u2019m calling physical therapy. You will walk again.\u201d As she assisted me, I gazed at a wheelchair that no longer seemed so intimidating.<\/p>\n That marked the beginning of my journey with resilience.<\/p>\n Basketball transformed into more than a game; it became my dialogue with my body. Each bounce was validation, each sprint was rebellion. The court rewarded effort, not medical records.<\/p>\n Through consistency and focus, I forged strength where fear had resided. I played in high school and subsequently in college, not due to an unmarred body but because it adjusted.<\/strong><\/p>\n Life challenged me once more.<\/p>\n As a young adult, following twelve surgeries, scar tissue resulted in further complications. Losing six pints of blood led to a coma.<\/p>\n Upon awakening, walking was no longer instinctual. Muscles that once reacted seemed far away. I had to rediscover balance and reconstruct strength.<\/p>\n Again.<\/p>\n Relearning movement twice in a lifetime is a humbling experience.<\/p>\n It removes pride and instills patience.<\/p>\n I faced moments of irritation, rage, and wishes for a smoother journey. I compared myself to those whose medical journeys did not linger around them.<\/p>\n However, a shift occurred during my recovery.<\/p>\n I surrendered, weary of hospitals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cFrom suffering have risen the most resilient spirits; the most prominent individuals carry the marks of their trials.\u201d ~Khalil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9665368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9665367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9665367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9665367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9665367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9665368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9665367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9665367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualjourneydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9665367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}