It’s very possible that you have found yourself in a situation where you would have liked to improve somebody’s mood, but you may not have known how to do it. Well, all you really need is a little bit of creativity and innovation like Joel Dimitry.
He didn’t want to celebrate his milestone birthday in any other way than honoring his niece, who lived with familial dysautonomia. Read his heartwarming account here.
What is Familial Dysautonomia?
I know we always seem to address POTS, a condition under the dysautonomia umbrella. But familial dysautonomia is a rare genetic disorder of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that primarily affects people of Eastern European Jewish heritage.
It is characterized by:
- diminished sensitivity to pain
- lack of overflow tearing in the eyes
- a decrease in the number of knob-like projections that cover the tongue
- unusual fluctuations of body temperature
- unstable blood pressure
Symptoms of this disorder are apparent at birth.
Heart and Spirit
If you’re a naturally empathetic person, you probably find yourself in-tune with the emotions of others. Perhaps more often than you’d like.
Life is a struggle. Whatever that struggle may be, it helps to spread words of encouragement that remind others that we all may get knocked down, but the best things in life come through care and persistence.
Whether it’s another setback chasing a dream, being rejected by someone we care about, or we’re just feeling drained from the ups and downs of this journey we call life—remember that things can turn around in an instant.
All we have to do is keep moving forward, even when it feels like it would be easier to just lay down and give up. No matter what we’re going through in life, there are some encouraging people that will hopefully give us a little boost through our struggles.
Many of these encouraging individuals have had low points too where everything felt hopeless; it’s just that they choose to be inventive and do something about it—just like Joel.
