First thing this morning Christian and I drove to the Burn Center in Phoenix.
This is a very sacred place for us and always will be.
Valleywise Health (formerly known as Maricopa County) is in the process of building a new beautiful hospital
with a HUGE new burn center.
We drove around before going inside so we could inspect the new building and its progress
There is so much progress!
Going there still makes me cry with every emotion possible.
This beautiful new hospital and its long building process symbolize what a survivor is.
And we all know the (re)building process takes a lot of time.
Many will go to this new facility to find healing, be rebuilt and patched up,
find purpose, and for some- like me- a new chance at life.
Like a survivor, this new hospital and burn center
has had and will yet undergo more big changes before
she's built and functioning, and thriving.
And like a survivor, along the way, the building will experience some setbacks,
financial worry, impatience, heartbreak, and expectations not met.
But when it's finally done and built, it will be majestic and glorious
and resilient, having undergone heavy pressure and hardship.
It will be a triumphant sacred place once again for the many
souls who walk her hallways.
I am so excited and grateful for all the many
donors and the hundreds of fundraisers
that have made the building possible.
It would go straight there if I had a few extra million dollars.
(I am still trying to talk the burn center into naming a room after me.
I want a piece of me there forever and ever.
How about a bathroom? A closet? What do you say, Nate!)
I have a lot to think about in carrying my pack
and how long I'll be on my feet each day.
I don't want to compromise my skin grafts.
I am super grateful that Dr. Foster and other doctors
and nurses will be on this climb
so if I or Christian or any of the other
burn survivors need anything, they'll be there.
#RiseTogether
