Maribeth (Meb) Dawkins is Adam's longstanding ABR therapist and shiatsu practitioner. She has often traveled with us for trainings in Montreal and has provided Leonid with a wealth of information about baseball and ornithology, neither of which are the hotspots of Russian culture. Meb has passionately cared for Adam and has been a stable force in his life for 12 years. They are on the same page in life, in all areas, except favorite sports teams. Thanks, for sharing this guest post and your gifts with Adam!
Hope Springs Eternal
According to the calendar, spring is officially our current season. It hasn't felt like it here in the Northeast yet, but there have been occasional signs.
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| Maribeth (Meb) Dawkins |
One of my favorite things about the advent of spring is the return of baseball. New York Yankees especially! (Apologies to the Dennison's) What is more hopeful than a fresh start, a clean slate, a good long Winter's rest and six months of PLAY!
Adam joins me in being a true baseball fan, though our allegiances lie on opposing sides of the best rivalry in sports. Before his accident, Adam had, and I hope I'm quoting this correctly, "the best day of my life" in response to his first experience of a Sox game. Sharon, Phil and I have spoken for years about how great it would be to get Adam back to Fenway Park. Unfortunately, due to Adam's physical state, lack of mobility, and extreme reactions to overstimulation, this hasn't been feasible. Adam's comfort zone is not something to compromise.
To return to my theme of hope, how about Adam finally being ready to go to a game after all these years! We have ABR (Advanced Biomechanical Rehabilitation) to thank for this, in addition, of course, to the constant love, support and healing he has generated, and received.
The tickets are in hand, and Sharon and Phil will be taking Adam "out to the ballgame" in July. I won't be there for this momentous occasion, as much as I would love to, but I hope and trust there will be many more opportunities to come. Who knows, we may even get lucky enough to score some Yankee vs Red Sox tickets!! (Notice which team I put first?)
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| Meb's favorite pic!! |
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| Adam (kind of) at ? years old ( added by his dad) |
I just love this post. Hope is such a fierce and fragile thing. You've expressed it so well.
ReplyDeleteAnd that picture of Adam as a little guy. Oh. My. God. Precious!
Rachel: A bit of editorial discretion..not an actual Adam, but one I remember and the pic is close...blond hair, had a temper (especially) toward mom, could be quite verbally profane (also learned from mom) and always adorned with Sox attire...it fit so well.
ReplyDeleteNow, talk about my phobias: driving a wheelchair van to Fenway, parking a van near the park, being with tens of thousands of germ riddled people.....the unknown? Thank god for benzos.
Hope, love, healing.....regularly triumph over disability and differences of all kinds....possibly once and awhile even phobias....but for some people, sports transcends all. I appreciate that this post shows that ultimately, living life in your own way is what is most important.
ReplyDeleteMay the Red Sox and Yankees once again be well matched opponents this year! (Notice I put the other team first in honor of Adam! Otherwise, I must confess I am firmly planted on the other side.)
Hurray for ABR! Good luck with going to the game Phil!
Marcy: Thanks, but I will need more than luck!! With the Red Sox now 2-10 for the season, we may only last 2 innings before the game is over...do they have a mercy rule in the Pros?
ReplyDeleteMore of a NO mercy rule Phil.
ReplyDeleteXO, Meb
Maribeth, Great post!!! This is great news that Adam is going to Fenway! I know Adam will bring some good luck to the Red Sox that day, we really need it! We will be watching! Way to go ABR and Maribeth, all your love, hard work and dedication to Adam and the Dzialo's has really paid off! A dream come true to all!
ReplyDeleteps Hahaha...We are not too happy with the Red Sox this year, so good time to give a dig! Looks like you had fun this winter! I also love Phil's little red sox fan pic!
Lisa..we're on a roll. Two in a row as of yesterday. I put a spell on the Yankees and Adam joined me...best wishes to your whole clan.
ReplyDeleteWow what a beautiful post, how amazing and exciting Phil I hope you post some photos ! This is truly fantastic and another WOW moment. So happy ! Love Mel xxx
ReplyDeleteI'm team neutral ! We play Rounders lol! Although about
20 years ago (omg I'm not that old am I) I saw the Toronto Blue Jays play x
Mel: will definitely get some photos...someone is trying to get Adam on the field before the game...so we'll see
ReplyDeletePhil which game?
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIt's actually June 18 at 1:00 against the Brewers, we're supposed to have field level seats so Adam doesn't stare off into space!
Well said, Maribeth...your warmth and courage kindle the fire so obviously still burning within Adam. They also kindled the memory of a kindred spirit of yours whose understanding and deep connection to humanity fuels our desire to endure this difficult and wonderful journey! I offer it up in response to your inspiring words and deeds.
ReplyDeleteYer Beak
Hope
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
Hey everyone, I was watching with Phil when Carlton Fisk hit his famous game ending walkoff homer vs. Reds in 1975 workd series. but I'm afraid he'll tell me he doesn't remember. Oh well... So pleased that Adam is going to Fenway on June 18; Sox are on the mend and will be much better by then. Maribeth has the feel for baseball's larger meaning, perhaps best captured by Baseball's 7th Commissioner A Bartlett Giamatti, a former president of Yale, in this famous baseball quote:
ReplyDelete"[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
"
— A. Bartlett Giamatti (Take Time for Paradise: Americans and Their Games)