Shriners

This past Tuesday I went on another trip to Shriner's Children's Hospital. Although I had already been there, this experience was different from my past experiences. Each time I go, there are always new kids there to hang out with. This particular time, I met a little girl. She was adorable and only four years old.  When I first saw her, I immediately assumed that because she was in a wheel chair, she probably couldn't get out. But, while I was playing checkers with her, she told me that she wanted to play hide and seek. Then, she quickly unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of her chair. I was stunned because I never expected her to be able to even move her legs. Most patients there are pretty restricted to their chairs and usually need help getting in and out of them. But, this particular 4 year old climbed out of her chair boldly. She preferred crawling to most places instead of walking since she limped a lot when she walked. But, she was really fast whenever she crawled. And so, we spent most of our time playing hide and go seek, climbing on a jungle gym, and playing more checkers. I had a really great time with her and although I probably won't see her again, she taught me a lot about experiencing new ways of life. I learned not to make immediate judgements about people and to acknowledge the fact that everyone has their own personal story behind who they are.