Imagine If It Were You!

Stan

Dream Catcher Failure Was Never An Option The True Story of Stan

Every day we as “normal” get up, get dressed, get in our cars and go to work, run to the store, go on dates, get married, have children, know we can advance in our careers, go to school, change jobs, live on our own, have a social life. We don’t have to depend on anyone else to get us around, interact with or just have fun.
Imagine you have a handicap, imagine, you can’t think fast enough to drive, speak clearly enough to be understood, have no friends outside of family, have to depend on someone else to get you from one place to the next. Imagine how that might make you feel then multiply it by a thousand.
As a sibling of one who is challenged, I see it every day. When he wants to go to work he has to depend on out dad or a taxi, when he wants to go bowling he has to depend on our dad who is 83 years old to take him there and back.
When he wants to come to Florida for vacation he has to depend on our dad to get him to the airport and walk him through security to the gate. He has no car to go from place to place he either has to walk or depend on public transportation. Some places public transporation doesn’t go.
He would love to learn to drive a car, have a girlfriend, have friends outside of family, but he can’t. The reason, the few friends he had outside of family took advantage of his kind and good nature. They stole from him and mentally abused him. Why? you ask – simply because he was an easy target.
Stan has so much to offer in many ways, he works hard, is loyal, loves deeply and is a very kind soul. He also is dependable, reliable and a hard worker. He has stayed with his current job for 12 years. Before that he stayed until the company went out of business.
He just wants to be accepted for who he is. Think about how tough his life is the next time you complain because you don’t have something, are running late, or break off a relationship. At least you were able to do those things, he can’t. He is both physically and mentally challenged due to an illness when he was a baby. But he is worth while. The next time you see someone who is challenged. Stop and say thank you to them for being here – for contributing to their world. For smiling when they really would like to cry. Appreciate them for being them.