A Letter to My Sister With Cri-du-chat Syndrome

I write this knowing you may never be able to read it, but also realizing it needs to be said. For you, my dear sister, are my hero. 

When people think of heroes they think of burly men in capes with superpowers who fly across the sky fighting the bad guys. However, what society fails to realize most of the time is that heroes are all around us. They are quiet. They are misunderstood. And they are absolutely brilliant. 

You have been my hero since the day you were born. When everything was fighting against you, you fought on. When the doctors told our mother you wouldn’t see your teenage years, you battled every diagnosis and came out smiling. You are fighting even now, and you never cease to amaze us. 

People on the street see you in your wheelchair and look on with pity. They are saddened by your apparent lack of ability. But when I look at you, all I see is strength. I see a hero. 

You may not be able to fly across the sky or fight the bad guys, but you have taught me more than I have ever learned in all my years of schooling. You showed me the importance of gratitude, enlightened me with a sense of humility and taught me to always see the good in the world. You do all of this without saying a word. And when everything in my life seems to be going wrong, I see your smile or hear your sweet laughter and suddenly I realize everything is going to be OK. You have made me who I am today. 

You deserve more than a letter. You deserve the world. You may never realize how much you have done for me. You may not realize how much you’ve touched my life and enriched my soul. I do. 

So thank you. For being you. I am eternally grateful.

For more information on Cri-du-chat syndrome, head here.

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