~2 minute read
A guest blog …
Courage isn’t something I think about very often, at least not as it applies to me. Every day strong women endure hardship and shine despite life’s challenges.
I am especially in awe of the strong women in my family, from convicts arriving in Tasmania, early settlers on the shores of the Hawskbury, those who left their rural homes in their mid-teens to find work in a big city, those who survived the depression and who held the fort when loved ones went off to war and again when they returned changed by the horrors they had seen and the injuries they carried.
I love to set myself physical challenges – 200m butterfly and 1500m freestyle in my 20s, child birth in my mid-30s, a half marathon at the age of 40, the Kokoda track at 50 and I worked as an executive in organisations where integrity and authentic leadership were paramount – but these were nothing compared to the courage shown by others in their daily lives.
Every day strong women endure hardship and shine despite life’s challenges.
Yet sometimes it is our responses to the unexpected that life throws at us that, if we look closely enough or in a different light, just might to be courageous.
When I fell pregnant with our second child in 2004 at the age of 39, the usual medical tests ensued to assess the health of our unborn child given the risks associated with pregnancy at that age.
Most usually these tests detect conditions such as down syndrome and others including one chromosomal abnormality known as mosaiscism which results from an error in cell division after conception. It can result in intellectual delays and disabilities, abnormal physical appearance, heart and other organ defects, irregular skin colour, the occurrence of seizures, brain development issues, sterility. Sometimes children with a resulting condition do not live past their first year.
The testing of the condition via amniocentesis is of itself not without risk. Despite the testing, the interpretation of results is difficult and ultimately we had to await a chromosome test on cord blood once our baby was delivered.
The risk was extremely low (1%), but a risk nevertheless.
That’s when faith takes over – at least it did for us. We had to have faith that the baby would be healthy and free of any abnormal chromosomes or at least with no major effects should an abnormality be present. Perhaps even faith that we could deal with whatever might eventuate.
For 5 long months we eagerly anticipated and then celebrated the birth of our son. A paediatrician was on hand at his birth to immediately test for cell abnormality. With God’s grace, with our choice to continue with the pregnancy and take whatever chance he had intended for us, we were rewarded with a healthy baby boy.
Courageous or just blind faith? Either way we are thankful every day for the blessings we have received through our children, the love of family, and the courage they have given us to take our chances in life.
Anon.
When this story was first shared with me, I didn’t have the words to express how honoured I felt and how lucky I am to have this strong woman in my life; I felt my heart fill with her love and generosity. When I think of this wonderful friend who has shared her story with us all, I am reminded also of her kindness, her authenticity, how she has stood by me through thick and thin, how she (and her husband) has always looked out for me, how she truly lives her values. She is so courageous and I just know that her story has inspired you, and perhaps, given you hope.
Thank you for being in my life,
@CourageChick
aka Dinzzo
#celebratingfriends
Leading with courage 