An Amazing Story...
By sbeauty
@sbeauty (5865)
United States
October 28, 2006 4:27pm CST
I read this story in the Readers Digest a number of years back.
A man became paralized all over his body except for one eye. He remained perfectly normal inside that useless body. He thought about how he would never be able to hug his son again. He thought about just laying there the rest of his life. He wanted to die.
Then he got an idea. He would write a book telling others what it was like to be in a condition like his. Laboriously, he dictated the whole book using the one eye he could control. He would blink the eye the number of times until he got to the letter he wanted his secretary to write down. She laboriously watched his eye and wrote the book down letter by letter.
The book ended up being published and well received. He is a total inspiration to me. When I start feeling sorry for myself and telling myself that I can't do anything, I think about him. If he could do it, I think anyone could.
13 people like this
24 responses
@timou87 (1638)
• Singapore
7 Nov 06
This is doubtlessly an inspiring story that just proves how far the human spirit can bring us. I think that not only should this man be a model for all of us, we should not forget his secretary who walked this difficult path together with her boss. She too shows a great deal of loyalty dedication and of course determination. Thanks for sharing this story!
3 people like this
@mansha (6298)
• India
6 Nov 06
Yeah I have read the book itself, i can't remeber the name though right now if I get it I will tell you. Its an amazing book. I read it around ten years back I was too impressed by his spirit. I never have felt down and useless after that.
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
29 Oct 06
Wow, this is Amazing, and an Inspiration. To think when we are going thru a lot, we want to give up. This shows us how important life really is.
2 people like this
@happygal68 (3275)
• United States
31 Oct 06
I totally agree with you.
Thanks so much for telling us about this story. I printed it out to have as a reminder when those 'I don't think I can' times come up.
2 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
31 Oct 06
What an amazing story... It really reminds me to be grateful that I have a normal and healthy body... Also, it teaches me determination, not to grumble and give up so easily when I face difficulties... Always use my time constructively... Thanks for sharing this wonderful story with us...
3 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
28 Oct 06
What an amazing story! People like this always make me feel humble. It often seems that their determination to overcome their difficulties actually makes them less selfish than most of us. I don't know why that should be but I very often find that the people I remember most often as nice and happy people who have brought a ray of sunshine into my life are also disabled - sometimes severely. I don't think the feeling is anything to do with pity or making allowances for their disability. In fact they seem to be people for whom one doesn't feel pity (in that sense) and for whom they almost forbid you to make allowances!
3 people like this
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
28 Oct 06
I'm so glad you wanted to be my buddy. I always love your well-thought-out and inciteful responses. I've known severely disabled people, who were some of the nicest people I've ever met. Just working with them at school has been a cherished experience for me. I always wonder, "Just what do I have to gripe about?" Thanks for your response.
2 people like this
@argorak (12)
• United States
29 Oct 06
That. Is. Awesome.
It also makes one think about how much one really CAN do. People complain a lot, but when you get down to it, you really can do just about anything you set your mind to. Just takes a bit of determination mixed with determination.
2 people like this
@damsel_prerna (863)
• India
7 Nov 06
this is a very inspiring and fabulous story..
thank you so much for sharing this..
i know a lot of people will benefit after reading this..
@AndreaM76 (1164)
• United States
28 Nov 06
We tend to forget how good we really have it. We hardly stop to think how fortunate it is we have all our legs and arms. This man acomplished more with just having one working eye than most people even try to. We focus too much on what we don't have than what we do and usually it's the wrong kind of don't haves we foucus on. I love helping people,It's just natural to me. I'm guilty too of forgetting I have an advantage over most.Thanks for sharing this story it is truely an inspiration!
2 people like this
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
28 Nov 06
Yes, what most people like to do is moan about how rough they have it or things they don't have. I believe that's called seeing the glass as half empty. In this world where we are constantly seeing people on TV who have so many more material things thatn we do, it's hard not to feel envy sometimes. We need to focus on working with the good in our lives instead of letting the negative defeat us. Thanks for sharing!
1 person likes this
@caribe (2465)
• United States
28 Nov 06
That proves that no matter how bad it gets for us, we can look around and find someone else that has a more difficult situation. And in his case he was managing to accomplish his goals even in such dire circumstances. I wonder if he knew what an inspiration he was to others.
1 person likes this
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
28 Nov 06
I'm sure he got a lot of letters from around the world after he published his book and the write-ups were in American magazines and maybe others. I'm not sure if he's still living or not. I should look it up sometime. Since he talked about having a small son, it sounded like maybe he was a younger man.
@Gladi324 (149)
• India
7 Nov 06
a similar one:
There was a village which had received no rain for 3 to 4 yrs.
so, to please the gods the priest of the village temple decided to do a mass prayer.
All the villagers were informed of the prayer and to gather in a ground near the temple on a particular day, it was also informed that everyone should bring a symbol of faith.
On that day al the villagers gatherd in the ground with thier symbol of faith like ... book, idols of god, sword etc.. to their surprise it started raining and everone were felt that its a miracle.
There was one girl who had come prepared with her symbol of faith ........
an UMBRELLA.
2 people like this
@J_peso (2430)
• United States
7 Nov 06
the book is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The author was an editor of the rench Elle .the book is ndecently well written and the author manages to be humorous thru the memoirs of the "good times" he had. its definitely not a"must read" but then worth reading it sure is:)
1 person likes this
@Betty1956 (177)
• United States
28 Oct 06
Thanks for sharing this story with us.
It does make me realize that others have it much worse that what happened to me on life's terms.
Think of the patience it took for him to share his story with the world and the meaning and purpose it gave him.
Thanks again to you.
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
29 Oct 06
All he had left was a good mind and time, and he chose to spend that time constructively instead of just lying in the darkness thinking bad thoughts. As a result, people can now understand better what it's like for people who have something like this happen to them. Thanks for your response!
2 people like this
@euniceeleanor (5967)
• Singapore
6 Nov 06
Thank you for sharing this story with us. In fact, reading this story, made me recall a talk I've attended nearly 13 years ago about this man, Roger Crawford who's a physically challenged motivational speaker and tennis player (http://www.rogercrawford.com/) Hearing stories about their determination kinda made me felt so ashamed of myself, i'm perfectly healthy yet i tend to take everything for granted.
@missybal (4490)
• United States
25 Mar 07
Wow, How long did that take? I can't imagine, I think that I would have simply given up on the whole world at that point in time. What an inspiration to overcome the very worse situation. I can only hope that if I am ever in a seemingly hopeless situation that I am able to overcome it also.
@budlightman (86)
• United States
30 Nov 06
That is an amazing story and very inspiring. I don't know what I would do if I were in that situation. I could not imagine how it would be to feel that way. It is very inspiring that he wrote a book about it rather than just wasting away.
@mskzalameda (4023)
• Philippines
26 Mar 07
that was a very inspiring story sbeauty! thanks for sharing that top myLot community. i wiill always remember this story when i have some problems encountered along the way. thanks again! and do post some quality discussions again next time! see you around!
