Attitude is everything

Attitude toward life defines not only who a person is but the quality of life we have. This was made very apparent today when an email containing a series of photos arrived.

In the first photo, a little boy is standing in a living room with a broad smile on his face. He's at the far right (in the picture) of a line of prosthetic legs, each pair a bit longer than the other (from left to right) ending with him (and he's wearing the most recent addition to the set).

The second photo shows the same boy, sporting his most recent prostheses, standing on what appears to be a part of a golf driving range. He's holding a brightly-coloured plastic golf club and smirking with obvious signs of his joy at being outdoors.

Other pictures show him being pulled along behind a motor boat, hanging onto a personalized floatation device; sitting astride a customized tricycle (of course wearing the proper head gear); atop a pony, accompanied by three adults who are all gazing upon him with obvious pride and joy; running in track and field competitions; 'skating' on ice (complete with the hockey helmet, gloves and his very own personalized hockey stick); throwing a pitch from the pitchers mound; and standing astride the examination table as a prosthetist examines the fit for his newest pair.

All along, his face is beaming. Whether staged for cameras or not, what's certain is that these pictures portray a little boy who is very well aware of his physical limitations, but who insists on being a little boy, playing, living life to the full. Each of us has challenges in life, but every now and then it helps to remember that others too face their own difficulties, and when all is said and done, there is much to be grateful for.