Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "If you can’t fly then run, ..."

 I posted this on Reddit in response to

"Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.' What are your life examples of this?."


My son Tor was very ill with pulmonary vein stenosis, a narrowing of the veins between the lungs and heart. Between ages 4 and 9 he was hospitalized about 10 times often needing 10 liters per minute of oxygen or a CPAP. Back then, his diagnosis was "Idiopathic Pulmonary Hemosiderosis" which was usually fatal within 10 years of diagnosis. In the summer of 2009 when he was 9, he had been hospitalized for about a month and was taking 1 gram of prednisone a week (that's a lot anyone and he weighed 50 pounds). He was at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia fighting for his life. He had not been able to sit up in bed for about a month, he could not stand, he had a feeding tube going through his nose, and his spine had fractures caused by the large doses of prednisone. He told us at one point that he wanted to die.

When he got slightly better, he started giving two thumbs up whenever anyone asked how he was doing. Make-A-Wish foundation came to visit him because everyone thought he was going to die. They asked him what he would wish for if he could have anything. He answered, "I want to walk". They said, "After you are able to walk again what would you want to do?" He said, "I want to just walk, walk, walk." They left and said to alert them if Tor had another wish.

It took a month of intense physical therapy, but eventually, he was able to stand, and another month before he could walk 20 feet with 10 liters a minute of oxygen. Then next month got him up to 40 feet. Then next month it was 80 feet.

Make-A-Wish foundation returned to visit him. They said, "You can walk now! So, what is your wish." He replied, "I want to run!".

It took about 3 more months before he got out of intensive care and could return home and another 4 months before he was off of oxygen and could run.

Make-A-Wish foundation returned to visit him. They said, "You can run now! So, what is your wish." He replied, "I want to go to Disneyland". They paid for the most wonderful trip to Disneyland. Thinking about it almost brings tears to my eyes. He was first in line for everything. He got to speak with the actors after the shows. Make-A-Wish foundation paid for trips to the other parks in the area. We stayed at "Give Kids the World" where you could order great pizza at any time and have ice cream for breakfast.

A few month later, Tor got in school detention for "running and dancing between classes".

For the next 3 years, Tor was on the lung transplant, but then he got kicked off "for being too healthy". Today, Tor is rather healthy and doing well. He should graduate from High School this year. He still struggles a bit with his illness, but he has not been hospitalized since 2016.


"If you can't run, you walk, and if you can't walk, you crawl, and if you can't do that... you find someone to carry you." - Malcolm Reynolds


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