(We are excited to publish this letter from 15 yr. old Alyssa S.!)
Dear Tim,
I wanted to formally express my gratitude for all that you have done for me. It is hard to find the words to explain how I feel, but I will try my best. You have given me my life back, brought back the fun and freedom I experienced before the accident, and made me feel like there was always hope. I thank you for not only the service you have done for me, but for my team, friends and family. It was painful to watch my family suffer at my expense, see the pity in my friends’ eyes, and the worry hidden behind the comforting words of my teammates. Every time I came to see you I became better, I felt more lively and more like myself, and it was worth the poking and prodding to see the creases of concern etched upon their faces fade.
You filled me with a hope that many of my doctor’s had torn away from me, and for the first time, made me excited to go to the doctor’s. Although I cannot say truthfully that you were the sole reason I improved, you were definitely the glue that held my treatments together and formed the final end product of my recovered self. This was not only about your treatment plan, but the way you acted around me when I came into see you. You never looked at me with pity, only determination, a thing that we both appreciate as far more useful than pity. I admired your steady hope and endless amiability; it was like being treated as an old friend instead of as a new paycheck. Your companionship helped draw me out of my shell and for that I am eternally grateful.
I greatly enjoyed talking to you during my appointments; it was almost like going to see two different therapists at the same time. Your endless humors were not forced, nor were your interactions with my parents. I am grateful for how inclusive you were with them in my treatment plan. You always let them and me know what you were doing and getting to learn something new every time I went to see you was worth the endless prodding of painful spots.
I am thankful for you being open to see me during your cancellations, at any point in the day. I am thankful for your passion towards your profession, and your dedication to a patient’s full recovery. I will never forget what you have done for my family, or me, and I believe this is a debt I will never be able to pay off. I can only repay what you have done for me by spreading the information to other people, like I once was, who are full of pain and out of hope. Thank you for my life back.
Yours truly, Alyssa