If so, maybe I can help. I’ve written a new book about my son, Peter Boone, entitled He Made Us Better: A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football). Because that’s what Pete did for people, was to help them adjust their attitudes and their outlook on life.

You see, Peter was born with a severe case of a birth defect, spina bifida, or “open spine.” As a result, he was paralyzed from the chest down, and was never able to walk. Then when he was eleven, trauma to his brain stem caused him to lose his ability to talk, swallow, eat normally, and breathe without the assistance of oxygen and a ventilator at night. His mother and I had to help him with the very basics of life, like getting into and out of bed every day and night, plus lots of medical care. Many, many serious surgeries, long hospital stays, and near-death experiences were a way of life.

But Peter was happy! Probably as happy a person as I’ve ever met. One instance that probably captures this as well as any was during his senior year of high school. He spent nearly four months of his last semester in ICU at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, trying to heal from extensive skin grafting, due to life-threatening pressure sores on his back.

However Peter had a real knack for making the best of things. Rather than feeling sorry for himself, he had fun “talking” (people had to read his lips and gestures) basketball with his nurses and teasing them. We were able to figure out a way for him to keep up with his school work, so he could graduate with his friends and classmates. While in ICU, he was visited by one of the best-looking, most popular girls in school, and asked her to the prom, which they attended a few weeks later. And his determination paid off, as he did graduate with the rest of his class a couple of months later.

Over and over, we heard things from other people like, “I’d been feeling sorry for myself because of _________. But then I see Peter, with all of his problems, and all he’s been through. He’s laughing, having fun, and accomplishing his goals. It made me think. If Peter can have that kind of attitude, maybe I need to look at life more like Peter, and be thankful for what I do have.”

That’s where the title of the book, He Made Us Better, comes from. Peter loved sports, and like some of the great athletes, he had the ability to make those around him “better,” in a different sort of way, that matters much more than catching passes or scoring touchdowns.

As Peter became a young adult, he earned an associate’s degree, learned to drive, and went to work with at-risk kids at his old high school. He also put his strong Christian faith to work, encouraging others through his use of social media, and becoming active in a disability ministry.

I believe that most people, at their core, want to be “better,” than they are, and like to be challenged to “elevate their game” in some way. That’s why I wrote the book. We heard so many times about how Peter had helped people alter their perspectives, that I wanted to tell his story, so more people can get to know, love, and enjoy Peter, and be likewise inspired by his example.

If you’re up for a challenge, why don’t you check out He Made Us Better. You could come away with a whole new attitude!