Time with Heidi (in the red shirt)

I learn a lot during home visits with kids and families who have received care at CURE hospitals.  I just returned from a remarkable trip to CURE’s hospital in the Dominican Republic.  I was schooled in the art of being “others focused” by Heidi.  Heidi is not your typical 16-year-old girl.  She was born without either of her legs below the knees.  For the first 14 years of her life, she struggled to overcome her disability in a country with few accommodations for such conditions.  Yet she continued to hold on to her dream of the day she would walk… even while she was unable to attend school, spending the majority of her days crawling from place to place.  She shared, with tears in her eyes, how she literally had zero friends due to her condition.

Thanks to the passion and “others focused” nature of another 16-year-old, a boy from the U.S. who raised $2,000 to purchase Heidi’s prosthetic legs, CURE was able to operate on Heidi’s legs and fit her with the brand new prostheses.  She now walks with incredible beauty and grace.  She is attending school and performing at the top of her class.  She was elected class president this year as well.

It is truly a remarkable story of determination.  But what struck me most during this visit was learning about how Heidi is constantly looking for ways to bless others around her.  She regularly volunteers to speak to audiences of kids with disabilities.  She looks out for kids who are facing difficult circumstances.  She demonstrated her heart for others during our visit when she asked us to walk with her up the hill to visit the house of another little boy so we could pray for him and encourage his family.

This little boy is 10 years old, paralyzed, and has severe mental delays.  He is unable to speak.  He lives in a two-room wood shack with his parents and three siblings.  Heidi visits him all the time.  She wanted us to join her this time to encourage this struggling friend and his family.

Heidi demonstrates what it means to be others focused.   She reminded me of the key life lesson that when we focus on others and look for ways to serve and bless others, we find incredible joy and fulfillment, even during challenging circumstance.

Thank you, Heidi, for demonstrating such remarkable passion for serving others!