If you have a physical limitation, you will likely want to find a physical therapist to help you restore your movement.

As a physical therapist, if I had to give our profession a marketing slogan, it would be something along the lines of WeFix the body.

I started my career working with people who had suffered (complete) spinal cord injuries; many having little chance of regaining any movement. As a “body fixer”, physical therapists need to strike a balance between restoring independence (with a wheelchair) AND maintaining hope for the ultimate goal…… walking.

Inpatient rehabilitation require an interdisciplinary team that includes mental health specialists. Physical therapists are the “WeFix” employee responsible for the body.  Social workers are the CEO who, amongst a long list of “job duties,” are responsible for the “emotions”. The “role” of the “rehab CEO” includes helping the team and the patient strike an emotional balance. Hope and reality must co-exist.

During my time working in inpatient rehab I learned from my teammate, and good friend, how to help someone through the grief process; hopefully coming to terms with a “new normal”. Part of what she was so good at was helping someone discover their true identity. Not as a “physical body”, but as a human being. That said, my mission of “fix the body” required someone to be positioned on the other side of the balance.

I was reminded of this recently when I was watching an interview with Noland Arbaugh who is paralyzed from the neck down.  As the first person to have the Neuralink device implanted, his story is super exciting for the future of spinal cord injury recovery (and maybe even stroke/brain injuries). But that is not the part of the interview that was the most impactful. The most impactful part of the interview was when he opened the curtain to reveal a glimpse of his present state of mind…… “I am so thankful God didn’t take my sense of humor and my ability to learn” (paraphrased).

It has been some years since I worked on an interdisciplinary team and the daily reminders from my good friend and colleague…… “the body is just a vessel”.

Until this week when she popped back into my life to remind me that there is a greater teaching that I have neglected.

The body is a vessel.

In other words, YOU are not your “body”. Instead, our body is the vessel used to move us throughout our community to do good works.

A physical limitation of any kind is NOT a “disability”.

A physical “disability” IS a state of mind.

Faith and hope that the physical body will be restored will give you the motivation to get out of bed in the morning. That can’t be understated.  But above that is love.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love 1 Cor 13:13

The two greatest commandments in the bible. First, love God.  Second, love your neighbor.

Why?

Because there is NO fear in love. 1 John 4:18

When we love others, God’s love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12

Whoever pursues love and righteousness will find life, prosperity, and honor Proverbs 21:21

And

Love covers over a multitude of sins (anger, bitterness, rage, discord, jealousy, envy, greed, pride…. and alike). All of which are undoubtedly stumbling blocks in physical recovery and life. 1 Peter 4:8

Here is the truth.

God is real.

God is good.

God wants to grow us and prosper us in ALL areas of our lives.

And

God created you and me and all of humanity.

Good and evil, God created us all.

What is unclear is “why”. However, even the “not knowing” becomes more clear when you love.

There was another part of Noland’s interview that was insightful. He is a believer. And from the time of his injury (I think) at the top of his mind was how to use this injury to serve God. According to his statements, he thought he would be walking onto stage sharing his testimony. That didn’t happen.

But that isn’t the end of his story.  As far as I can tell, he hasn’t lost hope. Hope that one day he will walk again.

And at the same time,

Participating in an experiment to have a chip implanted into his brain to allow him to interface with computers to make his life in a wheelchair better.

Oh, and sharing jokes along the way. Because, yeah, he is grateful he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

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