Heroes, #2: The Cousins

These distant cousins were much older than I am, and I only met them once, years ago, in their small rural town.  They are so singularly wonderful in how they live their lives that they have inspired the entire family for many years.

Their parents were deceased and there were two boys and a girl.  The oldest of the three was Leonora, a divorced woman without children, in her forties when I met her.  She worked for a professional company and lived a quiet life.

The middle sibling was Josh, a single man in his late thirties, a very successful businessman who was actually very handsome.  Josh was unmarried although he had been engaged several times.

The youngest sibling was the "wild child," Abe, then in his mid-twenties.  Abe was a paraplegic with brain damage.  His injuries were the result of a car accident when he was eighteen years old;  he was speeding in the country and hit a tree.

After Abe's horrible accident, when it was apparent he would live, Leonora and Josh started planning.  They agreed that they didn't want Abe spending the rest of his life in a nursing home.  Even with their two incomes combined, they couldn't afford it.  Nor could they afford private care at home.  At that time, Medicaid was not an option.

Here's what happened, and why I consider the cousins, Leonora and Josh, Heroes.  They decided they would dedicate their lives to Abe's care.  They bought a small house and adapted it to Josh's needs.  Leonora quit her job to stay at home with Abe, starting from the first day he was discharged from rehab.  Josh provided the income and helped with Abe's bathing in the evenings.

The three of them, Abe, Leonora, and Josh were a very happy family.  Although Abe could not communicate except by grunting noises, he was alert.  No one ever did a newspaper or TV story about the family, no one ever gave them an award.  But they did what had to be done, with love.

There are so many genuine heroes, we don't have to look far. I know of two women raising their grandchildren when their daughters were not capable.  What love to provide a stable home for a child!

Dear Lord, we thank You today for showing us how to love, for inspiring such love in such amazing people!