In his article, Reasons To Be Cheerful, Dr Nick Bayles talks about research that shows that the experience of adversity can have the unlikely effect of improving peoples lives in the long haul. We see evidence of this in many of the clients and the extraordinary lives they lead. It seems that the process of overcoming adversity drives people to achieve more in their lives. Someone who quickly comes to mind is Janet Shaw.
In her book, Beyond the Red Door, Janet tells a remarkable life story. The book is full of information about retinoblastoma and contains valuable insights in dealing with the medical community. Janet shares the fears she experienced about losing her sight. She reveals the secondary consequences of dealing with retinoblastoma and describes the bullying she came up against at school.
Janet’s story is inspirational. She is a successful writer and speaker. She won two bronze medals in the last Paralympics. You can’t help but be inspired by what she has achieved in life. To read her book is to understand just what her amazing spirit has had to overcome. I recommend you check it out.
Do you think that the experience of eye loss has had a positive influence over your life? Has the overcoming of this adversity made you achieve more than you might have? I am curious to know if you agree with Dr Bayles on this point.
4 Responses
Hey,
I love what you’e doing!
Don’t ever change and best of luck.
Raymon W.
I have lived with retinoblastoma since the age of 2 and have lived a normal life for the past 32 years. The only trouble I had more than anything was getting my Dad to understand that not everything has to do with my eyes and having to visit doctors so much.
Most children learn to live with an artificial eye quite easily and just get on with life. The group of people who do have most trouble adapting however is the parents of those children. A lot of parents feel guilty that their child has had to go through so much and the parents could not protect them from it.
Retinoblastoma is a very nasty cancer and although treatable in its early stages, you should get an annual check up through out your life as you could possibly be more prone to other cancers.
You should help your Dad to be a little more forgiving on himself and let him know you are an adult now and will look after yourself. He obviously cares about you and worries a lot. He could not protect you when you where little and so is still trying to protect you now.
I had retinoblastoma at the early age of 18 months. My parents never treated me differently then my other three siblings and we never talked about it. The only difference was going to get fitted for a stock eye and traveling 250 miles to get it.
I am now 65 years old and have been married for 41 years. I have three children and six wonderful grandchildren.
I always acted like I wasn’t different then anyone else. If someone would ask me about it, I actually felt offended. To me it was a private matter and for a complete stranger to ask about my eye, I would just ignore the question and walk away. This may be, impart, because I just wanted to be known for me, not anything else.
When my oldest son was two, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. (He is now 46 and doing great with a family and has an engineering degree.) When he was about 3, he asked me about my eye. I talked to him about it and he asked me if he could trade me for his diabetes. This gives me the giggles, when I think about it.
My background is in Accounting and I retired at age 60 in 2014. I love the arts and have been able to draw something, just by looking at it, since I was a young child. I recently designed my own fabric panels by using my drawings from flower pictures taken in Hawaii.
Since my eye was removed at such an early age, I can see some 3-D pictures or movies. I have never played baseball, because I was always afraid of getting hit by the ball. However, when I was young, I was good at dodge ball and tether ball.
I have experienced problems with the eye socket, proper fitting, and the eyelid. I have had surgeries for improvements, but may face more in the future. I guess that is what happens when you get older. I have lived with this for 64 years, so I am thankful that I lived in a time where cancer could be removed.
I wish you all well.