As I agonizingly rolled over this morning to grab my phone in hopes of discovering three more hours to sleep, I groggily discovered that I only had about five minutes. So, instead of prolonging the inevitable, I turned off the alarm and rolled off the bed.
It's a Saturday morning. WHY am I up at 8:30 a.m.? Well, it's actually pretty special. And pretty heartbreaking at the same time. I have an interview with a family in Canton at 10. The interview is to write and article to raise awareness of a condition their little four-year-old Carson has, CMV. The family is trying to raise money for some special therapy in Wisconsin.
As I get ready this morning, I can't help but think how silly it is that I'm moaning over losing a few hours of sleep. Especially because I know better. I know that I'd give up all the sleep for the rest of my life to have been able to make my little sister "all better." I know this family must be going through the most trying time of their entire lives, probably ever.
I have a picture of the little guy sitting on the passenger seat of my car. "Research." He's the cutest little guy you'd ever see. Sitting in his wheelchair, he's wearing bright reds and blues, but his smile is brighter. The strength and bravery of children never ceases to amaze me.
Life-changing or even life-threatening illnesses are nightmares that a child should never have to deal with. But they do...every day. I don't know if Carson will ever walk or talk normally again. But getting up two hours earlier suddenly doesn't seem like such a terrible thing when this might be the one way I can help these guys. And I'm pretty excited to meet Carson:).
1 comment:
I remember having to write a similar story when I worked for the Telegraph. Sleep just doesn't seem to matter when there are impacting stories to be written, huh?
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