(69th Entry) My talk in Irapuato

Last May I went on a meditation retreat. It was a great needed weekend of peace and quiet. During that weekend I met a Doctor by the name of Eugenio. He’s a pediatric orthopedic surgeon for CRIT, Centro de Rehabilitacion Infantil Teleton or just Teleton. Telethon is a clinic for disabled children in Mexico. They now have 11 clinics and aim to have one in every State. At that retreat he casually asked if I would like to come to CRIT and give a talk. I of course answered yes, thinking that the likelihood of it actually materializing would be minimal. Well shortly after that weekend I began hearing from both Eugenio and the Human Resource director of Teleton in Irapauto, Guanajato.

To make a long story a little shorter on Thursday, July 31st, I’m in a car with my two interpreters heading towards Irapauto. Most people only need one interpreter, but I always tend to do things with a little more fanfare… Makari and Nataraj are good friends of mine. Nataraj is the person who has helped with all of the videos and Makari was my Spanish tutor until life just got to hectic. Makari who is from Mexico City understands 90% of everything I say so therefore Nataraj, a Canadian by birth, fills in the 10% gap. Now you understand why I had two translators.

Telethon arranged for us to stay in a hotel for the night. Our friend Eugenio, Dr. Eugenio de Pavia M., picks us up for dinner. We go to the old Sanborn’s in downtown Irapauto and talk for a couple hours. It’s at that time that I discovered that my talk was to be in front of 125 people. I had known that the talk was to take place at 7:00 a.m. which is why I had asked Nataraj to bring a coffee maker. I didn’t realize that I was speaking in front of 125, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists… in other words the entire staff of the clinic.

I had brought with me some notes from previous talks. When I returned from dinner I spent a couple hours reviewing the notes. I created my outline… approximately 18 words on a single page of paper… The title of my talk was “HOW TO LIVE WITH, FEEL COMFORTABLE AND BE PRODUCTIVE WITH A DISABILITY”

We arrived at the clinic at 7:00 a.m. where we proceeded to the auditorium. I was introduced and began my talk. It was an incredible experience. I had never given a talk where I had to have it translated. It was an amazing experience. I learned so much. By having it translated I was forced to slow down, say only a couple of sentences at a time. By doing this it forced me to collect my thoughts, think about where I was, think about how it connected to what I had said and where I wanted to go. I realized that I had included just as much or more substance than if I had just been speaking for an hour and ten minutes with no translation. I realized that I was focusing on the audience, watching there reactions. I wasn’t just in my head, talking. There were several times that I paused, looked at my outline and regained my cadence.

It was an incredible experience for me and I hope for those listening as well.

After the talk, several of us had breakfast together at the little café on site. Afterwards two individuals, Angel Zavaleta (HR dirctor) and Dr. Guadalupe Reyes Mail (Chief of Staff) proceeded to give Makari, Nataraj and myself a tour of the clinic. I think we spent two hours touring the clinic. I kept thinking back to my days as a young child going to the old Scottish Rites Hospital in Dallas. What a difference time has made in the ways we deal with the issue of disability.

This clinic was incredible! Not just in the facilities, but also in the philosophy. First, architecturally the building and grounds were open, airy and colorful. Second, the facilities were a good as I had ever seen. State of the art equipment was everywhere. Third, the philosophy was one of treating not only the whole person… body, mind and spirit; but also the whole family. I could go on and on. It was just a moving experience for me… for the three of us from start to finish.

To have a dream means to have desire. To have desire means to want to accomplish something. To want to accomplish something means to have the confidence, the self esteem and drive necessary to make it happen. There’s a line between confidence and arrogance. In my Mission Statement I make clear what my goals are… I started the blog back in November of 2008. While I haven’t accomplished all of my goals, I’ve made tremendous strides. Dreams sometimes seem to be bigger than reality… sometimes they change over time and sometimes they come true or sometimes you just give up! Sometimes you just keep going when all logic says… it’s impossible!

We have 8 out of 24 employees who are disabled. I gave a talk that lived up to my dreams. Not that it was perfect… But it was! I have a few video clips… the beginning of another dream. What more can I ask in eight months?

Sometimes I question my dreams. Am I really capable of doing…? Do I really have what it takes to do all that I say…? At the risk of sounding arrogant… I think I do!