“I’ve never had to tell anyone this before…you have a brain tumor.” Pacing, muttering and head scratching followed. Not what I expected to hear or the behavior I expected from a doctor. “It’ll be okay. Really, it’ll be fine” I reassured him. He looked at me skeptically, smiled sadly and shook his head. I actually felt bad about ruining his day.
When I returned to work following my surgery a couple of months later, I was greeted with a poster of Wonder Woman with my face superimposed on the super heroine’s body. Kind words and good wishes from my colleagues surrounded the image. Everyone felt I must have had super human healing powers to recover so completely and so quickly. I left the poster hanging on my office wall for several months as a reminder of my good health and good friends. Then, I started to think about all the people who struggle with illnesses and injuries.
“Wouldn’t it be great,” I thought, “If everyone who was faced with health problems could feel like super heroes? They could conjure up whatever super power they needed on any given day. ‘Today I could use some courage or strength or perseverance or maybe just some hope.’ “
That was when I had the idea to create hospital gowns that would allow patients to feel those things - the courage of a superhero, the strength of a dinosaur or the magic of a princess.
I can’t explain why I knew I would recover completely, but I never had a doubt. Regardless of how sick a person is, they have super hero powers! The trick is to focus on the positive and don't let anyone label you by your disease or illness.