Just a Little Patience

Neurologist: “The ENT team wants to talk to you about your daughter’s MRI.”

Me: “Why would an ENT doctor want to talk to us about a brain MRI?”

Neurologist: “They noticed something that they need to discuss with you.”

Later that day, the ENT doctor told us that after looking at Audrey’s MRI, he noticed a problem with her vestibular system. He told us that she was missing her semicircular canals. I remembered from high school biology that the semicircular canals are structures inside the ear that help the body balance.

“You mean they aren’t working? I asked.

“No, she doesn’t have them. They are missing.”

It didn’t make any sense, but the doctor explained that Audrey was missing most of the parts of her inner ear. That was when we learned that Audrey’s condition was going to be much worse than just a heart defect.

The doctor explained that because she was missing her vestibular system it was unlikely that Audrey would ever be able to walk.

I love a good story when someone achieves a seemingly impossible goal. In every one of those success stories, I read the same words – determination, resilience, tenacity, and grit. All those words apply to Audrey. Ridiculously cute also applies, but that is a topic for another blog post.

The word I rarely see used is patience. Maybe that’s because patience can have a negative connotation in the context of achieving goals. Patience sounds like waiting around for something to happen. I think patience is just as important as those other words because patience is staying the course knowing that your hard work is eventually going to pay off.

If you lose patience, you get frustrated.

If you lose patience, you cut corners.

If you lose patience, you quit.

It wasn’t easy getting here. We started with a walker and lots and lots of physical therapy. Being able to use the walker was a minor miracle, but she didn’t stop there. Now, she doesn’t need the walker anymore.

It took us five years to get to this place. The fact that it took so long doesn’t take away from her story, in fact, I think it adds to it because she never quit. And we were patient.

I understand the need for deadlines and timeframes, but sometimes those are merely arbitrary constructs we use as a guide. I don’t think it always means you failed if you didn’t hit the deadline. Don’t feel bad if it is taking you seven years to hit your five-year goal. Be patient and keep going. The Impossible doesn’t care about your timeline.