“19% of a whole person.”
In the aftermath of my injury I received all sorts of information. Some diagnostic, some clinical, some legal…some helpful, some not-so-much. I can’t recall a details any more devastating than the neurologist’s report on the extent of my injury. From a functional standpoint, on an impartial, clinical scale, I was “19% of a whole person.”
I understand the need for such an evaluation for insurance and legal purposes. I know the need for an objective way to measure and report the loss of 80% of my body’s normal function. I would, however, suggest some different words.
For more than a decade I lived in the darkness created by believing the lie that my injury somehow made me less than a whole person. While I pretended it was all okay, I secretly *knew* I wasn’t really equal, that it was all a game designed to make me feel better.
No one is less than a whole person.
We claim to believe we’re all created equal, but racism, immigration, gender bias, and acceptance of public mocking of the disabled by a president ought to at least make us wonder if some are more equal than others.
What about our 22 kids? What about kids born in a brothel, kids from another country, kids cast aside by nearly everyone? Are they less than equal, less in need of hope, less deserving of our grace and our help?
Occasionally someone asks, “Why did you choose these kids?” My answer is simple: Lots of kids (sadly) need our help. We might have chosen any of them. There’s nothing special about this particular group of kids, except that each was created in the image of God…which makes each one amazing and unique and entirely whole.
At the FREEDOM TOUR we cycle to bring hope and freedom to kids rescued from human trafficking. We can’t help every kid. We can support our 22 kids, give them an opportunity to become who God designed them to be, to know Jesus, to become equal members and even leaders in their culture. So we do that.
We need *you* to join us. Only a couple of weeks left before the April 30 deadline. Multi-day tours, a one-day ride, lots of levels and ways to participate. You can ride, or volunteer, or donate.