I know at least two ladies going through something I can’t imagine. Actually, I know three, four and more. One lady has a daughter with Leigh’s Disease. The daughter is only five years old. She may never live to see twelve. Her mother gives her love and tries to find things to make her daughter smile. This little girl is surrounded by love. Her sisters try to pamper her. They’re not 10 yet themselves. Her grandmother and grandfather take time off from work to drive her to specialists to get her as much help as possible. Life goes on.

Lady number two has Fibromyalgia. That means she is in constant pain. Her nerves don’t stop sending messages of pain. Her hands and feet sometimes swell and cause additional pain. The medications she takes don’t stop the messages of pain. Her present doctor appears to be too much in a hurry to listen to what she has to say, or to answer her questions. He husband seems more concerned with helping a homeless 28 year old man than helping his wife. She still takes care of her own apartment while her husband lives on his farm. She runs her friend into the doctor to check if her friend’s cancer has come back. She still finds time to laugh, to sing.

Lady number three is in her 30s. She has already had numerous operations to remove cancer in her insides. Recently, she went through another operation to remove more cancer from her colon. A week ago, she buried her grandfather. No one else in her family could handle the details. Her mother fell apart at the death of the man who raised her. Lady number three took care of all the arrangements for the funeral and burial. Right now she is in the hospital after having her 9th operation. This operation removed many parts from her insides. When I’ve talked to her, she has still been able to laugh. Her widowed grandmother visits with her each day. They keep each other company.

Lady number four recently had to fight to keep supposed family members from stealing her house, her money; and they locked her up in her own home for a while. Many of her pets were killed. She was only able to save a few. She’s had a colostomy bag for a while and was supposed to be checked by her doctor to see if she can return to a normal life. Her last visit with her doctor showed some new changes in her body. The operation to remove the colostomy bag has now been delayed—-no explanation. She still goes on with her daily life.

How do YOU define COURAGE?