Something I stole

Here is something I have stolen or rather with their permission borrowed to share. This was written by a lovely lady who has a gorgeous little boy with disabilities. I think it explains perfectly how easily we take for granted the ordinary things in life and how for some a smile is one of the most complex things to perfect.

A CP Smile.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The complexities that go in to a simple movement are unfathomable!

Something as simple as a smile, to you or I is no great undertaking.

To a child with a damaged brain, it is as complicated as reaching distant galaxies.

You have to be able to look, and you have to be able to see....and the two don’t always come together.

Then you have to register what you have seen, and send a message to the part of your brain that can then respond.

That message is like a Chinese whisper, and often gets lost in translation.

If, and this is a huge if. If that message gets back, you then need the control, desire and ability to reciprocate.

But the muscles have a mind of their own, and like a petulant child, refuse to co-operate.

Of course you must also understand the intention of the smile, or how do you know it is something you might wish to reciprocate.

And then it happens....you smile....and the journey is forgotten....only the destination is worth remembering.

Only for some, the journey is long, seemingly impossible. There are twists and turns and unexpected diversions.

Some of the bridges are down, and the only way through is to rebuild from the ground up.

So when you finally reach your destination, and you have got there with more than your share of scrapes and near misses....you will understand the celebrations at your arrival, for it has been long awaited and the stuff of dreams for many a year.