40 in 40 Day #24

Day #24 Most of us know the power of positive thinking. How many of us believe the power truly exists, and use it to make positive thoughts a daily and hourly habit? For many adults, the response to the power of thought is a roll of the eyes or the words "it's merely a coincidence." Time seems to have worn some people's belief in their own power, or the power of the Universe, down or perhaps diluted their belief.
Mackenzie Saunders put her belief into action after a soccer accident in which she collided with another player. Her mother noticed Mackenzie bounced right back up, as usual, but within minutes, it was evident that something was wrong. Limping, Mackenzie complained that her legs were burning, and her mother noticed the unusual tears. Mackenzie was not a crier. Going to the ER, the little soccer player could not feel her toes, and her legs were in terrible pain. Tests revealed that she had fractured her tailbone and a vertebra in her lower back. Spinal cord injuries are serious and it is often impossible to predict long-term outcomes. Nobody could tell Mackenzie's mother if or when Mackenzie would walk again. No one, that is, but Mackenzie.
Pain was excruciating, yet the doctor stated that sometimes pain showed the possibility that nerves were healing, although it could also mean that her paralysis was spreading.
Mackenzie decided she would walk again. As the days stretched into weeks, and then a month, there was no relief. Painful therapy to exercise eleven-year old legs would lead into such a struggle for the little girl, that it brought tears to her mother's eyes. Mackenzie focused on what came after the therapy, for it helped her move through the pain. After the pain of daily therapy, came a time for visitors. Mackenzie enlisted all those who knew her in her vision of walking again. She went so far as to put a photo of herself in her soccer uniform with the words, Think positive, in all her thank you notes. When told to pick out her favorite color cane, Mackenzie Saunders declined any cane. "I will not be needing a cane." In time, Mackenzie's belief and determination had her walking on her own. Transformation from paralyzed legs to walking under her own volition would be enough for any child (or adult!) to accomplish. It was not enough for Mackenzie.
Returning to school, Mackenzie did not sign up for soccer but rather chose to enroll in speech. She had another vision, another belief. She would share her experience with others who needed hope. Returning to the hospital where she had learned how to come back from paralyzed limbs, she now traveled as a spokesperson to visit kids with injuries. TV brought her story to others who had lost hope, bringing them a light in a place of darkness. Mackenzie brought her belief and continues to bring her belief of hope to all who meet her.
Mackenzie Saunders, a real life hero at the age of eleven.
Her Action: When faced with a choice, she chose hope and determination.
See her story on you tube www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXGdiKu_f_M