In my new book, He Made Us Better, A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football) there’s a subchapter that quotes Mary Poppins, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” For our son Peter and our family, as we went through serial medical crises over a span of decades, we learned that Mary was a pretty smart gal.
When we’d make doctor trips to Indianapolis, to make the day more tolerable, we’d usually try to have a “fun activity” to finish the day. And when Peter was in the hospital, we’d look for ways to lighten things up, despite our situation. Proverbs 17:22 says “A cheerful heart is good medicine,” and we came to learn that that was literally true, for both Peter and our family.
Just a few tips from our experience:
— Keep it simple: It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. In late summer, when we’d be coming home from Indianapolis, we’d sometimes stop at Colts training camp at Anderson University. For a small fraction of what it would cost for an NFL game, you can see the players and coaches up close, talk with them, and get autographs and photos. A great time for all of us
— Be creative: One weekend evening I was staying with Peter at the hospital. He was probably seven or eight at the time, and was able to get out of bed some and get around in his manual wheelchair. On a whim, he and I started playing a simple game of wheelchair hide and seek, right there in the pediatric unit. We were both having fun, but then some other kids (patients) saw us and joined in. Pretty soon, we had about a dozen kids playing. I finally had to shut it down before we got in trouble with nurses, but a great time and great memory.
— Be alert for opportunities: During Peter’s many hospitalizations, he was visited by Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis 500 race drivers, and other celebrities. I mentioned in the book that Peter and Colts all-pro tackle Chris Hinton had hit it off, and he gave Pete and me our first NFL tickets. One time one of Peter’s nurses mentioned that Hinton was also in Methodist Hospital for surgery on his knee or something. So Peter, IV pole and all, turned the tables, got to play “celebrity,” and visited a Colt in the hospital. He caught Chris totally by surprise, and the two of them had a blast.
— Involve others: There’s nothing that says you have to do it all yourself. Peter loved it when aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends would give Sandra and me a break and stay with him at the hospital. His Uncle Randy used to tell him lots of jokes–many of which would now be considered politically incorrect–but funny nevertheless.
Looking for ways to have fun during challenging times, turned out to be a lifesaver for us. And somewhat ironically, some of our fondest memories came from those experiences.
There’s nothing that says that looking for ways to have some fun in tough times is limited to families dealing with serious disability. It can work pretty well for anyone, whatever you’re going through!
