Embrace the Process
Today, would have been Andre’s 37th birthday here on earth, but he is celebrating in heaven, with his heavenly Father on streets of GOLD!
I did not know Andre very well although my family and his family lived right around the corner from each other and grew up attending the same schools from elementary through high school.
Although we did not speak much growing up, it wasn’t until the past couple years we connected more through Facebook. Andre was always active, I knew of him being on the football team through the years. It wasn’t until had started sharing his health and fitness journey through Facebook and made an incredible transformation. He was always so inspiring and would comment and support me with 4Star Fitness.
See, Andre, since a young boy had been in and out of the hospital, his first surgery of many, was the removal of a brain tumor. Despite multiple surgeries, he stayed committed to a healthy and fit lifestyle. The last time we spoke through Facebook, I knew he had been back in the hospital, and followed his recovery, just knowing he would make it through. Even in his hospital bed he would share words of wisdom.
No matter what, he shared his faith, inspiration, and encouragement. This is one of the last posts he posted:
“Pushing On And Never Giving Up Despite The Haters”
When I was admitted to this Specialty Rehabilitation Hospital on April 2, 2018, my Physical Therapist and my “Rehab Team” had decided that based on the fact that I was recovering from this…my 16th leg surgery, that in order to be discharged, my “walking with crutches goal”, would be to walk 275ft.
As of April 3, I could not even stand up at all with crutches PERIOD!, much less move or walk with my lower body.
BUT…
On Friday 4/13/18 for my Physical Therapy (PT), while using my crutches I walked from my room and partially down the hall and back for a total of 76 feet.
I was beat lol.
On Monday 4/16/18, for PT, while using my crutches I walked from my room ALL THE WAY down the hall and back for a total of 160 feet.
I was beat and felt mauled.
TODAY, 4/18/18, for PT, while using my crutches I walked from my room all the way down the hall and back…TWICE, for a total of 320 feet. Thus pretty much destroying the goal that my Physical Therapist had set for me when I was first admitted.
But yeah, I was still beat haha!😆
Now I know that before I was admitted, the doctors, nurses, & therapists looked over my medical chart & saw my stats: that this was my 16th leg surgery, & when they saw how many total operations that I’ve had, & when they saw my bodyweight, that I had congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, & severe brain, hormone, & kidney issues, & that the list went on and on…that they (wisely?) came to a predetermined conclusion of what someone my size, shape, & health issues could & could not accomplish in the time period I had.
Now this post, while seemingly all about Dré lol, is really about us all. I know that we all go through times in this life when friends, family members, strangers, “authority figures”, & whoever else…sometimes it seems like practically Anybody, will judge us based on our past acts, our previous “stats” in life so to speak, what we’ve done, how we’ve handled things, where we’ve dropped the ball, and who they perceive we are and what they think that we can do in our futures based on what we’ve done & who we were in they past. Remember that every moment from NOW is the future! An opportunity for us to change, reinvent, & excel at all of those things in our lives that naysayers have said we could not overcome.
And guess what?? Some of these naysayer judgements…these PRE-judgements…these PREJUDICES even many times come from our loved ones in their attempts to keep us from getting hurt by our own decisions to stretch ourselves farther than we ever have before & yet still end up failing. And many times our loved ones may have a subconscious (or even a conscious) desire to keep us from growing & moving forward with our lives & achievements, for fear that we may possibly end up achieving more than they did in their own lives.
(***Remember that just because someone loves you does not mean that they choose to see or admit your hidden potential that has yet to be birthed, or if they even want what The Almighty knows is best for you & your life!)
So I say all of this to remind us all to not & to never allow ANYONE to place us in a box or in chains based on what our “Medical History File” may say. They may even have good intentions of restricting us because they believe that this will help us, or because our history has shown that we’re jacked up in one way or another, & are just going to end up falling on our faces.
Well I’ve got news for some of y’all…but we are ALL jacked up in some way or another – often times it’s in MORE than one way lol!! And for some of us, we are SEVERELY jacked up!!!
😂🤣🤪
But shoot!! Even in our severe ‘jacked-up-ness’, we can still painfully get up off of the ground, pick up our crutches one at a time, and push ourselves to “limp-walk” down these hallways of life, in order that we WILL totally decimate any boxes, parameters, and restrictions that ANYONE in our lives tries to place us in.
“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.
[But] Be faithful even until the point of death, and the Lord will give you the crown of life.”
Revelations 2:20
#Andrestrong, to me, represents who Andre was not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. He could have complained and been sour about all of the things he had to go through, yet he chose to inspire, give love, energy and faith.