I love stroke camp http://www.strokecamp.com/ because it gives me a rush of emotions and fulfills a deep need to laugh and cry, to listen and ask questions, to hug and embrace a part of our beings that blossoms when we truly connect with others.
And when it's over, I have to let everything I've witnessed and absorbed soak in as I continue to marvel at the power of human interaction and how it can lift us higher than anything NASA can design.
What impresses me most of all is the depth of love that stroke survivors and caregivers possess. No, it's not easy. It's a new way of life that none of us would choose, but there was this incredible sense of appreciation of what the stroke has given them: this new circle of friends, whether it's other families experiencing the same challenges, or the volunteers and staff who give a unique part of themselves to make sure stroke camp is memorable.
I love stroke camp because it forces my brain to think and analyze and exercise the complex blending of witnessing triumph over tragedy, of clever substitutions generating more personal freedom, of applications of basic common sense.
Shame on those in our increasingly rude society who call stroke survivors "stupid" or "retards." Shame on those who make fun of them and knock them aside just to be nasty. Shame on those who ignore the fact that stroke survivors are still human beings and thrive on the most basic of interactions.
I salute the man who proclaims that "I am who I am," and I laugh with the woman who describes her stroke as a "brain fart." I admire the caregiver who still believes in love and that wedding vow pledge of a commitment through "sickness and health until death do us part."
I love stroke camp because the people are real. How utterly refreshing. How simply beautiful.
What a stroke of genius.
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