A few small words can keep hope alive.

Sometimes our daughter has had rough patches that lasted quite a while.

During such time it can be difficult for all of us to remember that eventually things will get better.

I bumped into John from the physiotherapy department one day at the hospital. I surprised myself by saying how bad things were.

He said, “Look we see it such a lot here. Kids come in and they look awful. Down the track things are fine again. We see it so much – we just know they are going to get better soon. It is so much harder for parents because they don’t have that experience to draw on.”

I carried his words home with me like a precious jewel I’d found on the road.

One day my daughter asked her doctor, “Will I ever be well again?”

“Yes”, he replied with great confidence, “this time next year your life will be about something other than being sick”.

What a difference a few words can make. They help keep hope alive when difficult times go on for too long.

Wonderful photo thanks to HuaTongOversea at Flickr Creative Commons.