Six days ago today, a neighboring district endured a horrible tragedy. Many children were hurt, physically and emotionally. The news surrounding unfortunate event went for on for days poking and probing while children were laid up in the hospitals and in their homes recovering from not only their physical wounds, of which some more serious than others, but the mental anguish that accompanies a horrible experience such as the Franklin Regional Stabbings.
Today our district is honoring these children and acknowledging their bravery. I find this to be commendable. I believe when people need help, encouraged and supported during tough times, communities should gather together in support of them. I believe that not only the children that were intimately involved in the Franklin Regional Stabbings have a long road of recovery ahead of them but the entire school and district need to work together, and enlist the support from neighboring districts and other children to encourage and bully and violence free environment. I have encouraged my children to wear Franklin Regional colors to acknowledge their bravery, perseverance and recovery.To encourage them to grow from the horrible occurrence and move on to be better individuals. No one person is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, but people can make and effort to be better and do better. I believe Franklin Regional can overcome this hurdle.
Four months and two days ago, my son endured his own personal event, his own tragedy a lifetime in the making. He underwent open heart surgery to close multiple holes in his heart. Upon his diagnosis, he was prohibited to walk to school, prohibited to carry his books or back pack, prohibited to participate in sports or gym class. He pondered for a month prior to being cut open on the statistics of the surgery, the mortality rates and what his limitations might be afterward. He plowed the month away and woke brave on the morning of the surgery to face a challenge no child should ever have to face. His recovery is going well and he was back to school one month from the date of his open heart surgery with no grand show of support. He has physical wounds healing, emotional hurdles yet to overcome. He has medications and limitations, he has a leaky heart and lifetime of disease and potential problems to face. He is a warrior, the bravest of the brave, to walking knowingly into a room not knowing if you are coming out. He may not have an act of bravery that was news worthy, tweeted, facebooked and broadcasted. He wasn't acknowledge by the district in which he is enrolled or any other but he vowed to make a difference. He gave it his all and was heard and acknowledged by local municipalities and our greater metropolis area, our State Senate and Governor, surgeons and staff at CHP interested in his diagnosis and story. He had family, friends, other heart warriors along with their families and his teachers from kindergarten to 7th grade who were encouraging and supportive. He has taken his own tragedy and turned it into something good... to help and encourage others, to promote awareness to fund for research and he even speaks publicly about the # 1 birth defect in the country and world.
I am confident that if one boy, with limited resources, recovering, weaken by open heart surgery and facing a lifelong battle can make a difference, each of the children that were involved in or effected by the Franklin Regional Stabbings can overcome their tragedy. Together, with not only the encouragement of their district, other districts, government, news broadcasts and social media country wide, they can rise above their tragedy and vow to make a difference. Not only better themselves but help others that suffer from the same battles with bullying and violence.
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