Perseverance

An eident drap will pierce a stane. (A steady drop will pierce a stone.)
- Scottish Proverb

Isabel's Robertson family comes from a long line of Scottish Highlanders believed to be descended from a Scot by the name of Robert the Bruce. The legend of his hiding in a cave and watching a spider weave its torn web again and again, tells us how he mustered his own perseverance to struggle on. "When life seems stacked against us, where do we find the perseverance to continue?"

This family legend was told to Isabel as a child and has inspired her on several occasions throughout her life. We have all seen evidence of her dogged determination in the midst of adversity of the last 36 months. Isabel and her two "think-outside-of-the-box" Respiratory Therapists have challenged the idea that weaning off the ventilator needs to happen only in acute care in Saskatchewan.

Isabel had a goal or "bloody mindedness" (as a Scottish friend suggests) ~ and pushed on day-in-day-out hour by hour.

As we celebrated the Christmas season, Isabel and her therapists worked on. Mum would email us each day between Christmas and New Years saying: "6 hours off", then the next day "8 hours off", then "10 hours" and so on.

And now it is February..., and she is comfortably completely free of the vent.

Like the steady drop of water, Isabel's perseverance to gain as much health as possible is pure perseverance!

(with thanks to Caitlin Matthews for the inspiration for this posting)