Most of the people who know me are aware that when I was born, my parents learned that I had hip dysplasia with a few added complications. Wrapped up and lying down, you’d never know. If you removed the blankets and examined me from head to toe, you would have seen that one of my legs was shorter than the other, at an odd angle, and you would likely have been told to be gentle with my hip. Other than that, everything was in working order.

This was new to two young parents who already had two toddlers at home. Any parent knows that when you look at the child in your arms, you begin having dreams about what that child will be like, who, and what he or she will become. That’s really hard to do when you can’t even look beyond the next year and whether or not your child will sit, crawl, stand, or walk.

My parents have told me a story of two doctors.

The first doctor examined me, and came to my parents with his prognosis. He shrugged, and told them that modern medicine was making great strides and who knows, I might be fine. But, he shook his head, he didn’t know. There weren’t a lot of cases like mine. He couldn’t promise the leg would grow. He couldn’t promise I’d ever walk. He thought it was possible that my leg might have to be amputated.

Within a few days, my father was called in to speak with his CO. He was asked “What’s going on?”

“Well, Sir, my wife refuses to see that doctor again.”

“You’ve been assigned a doctor. You need to see the doctor you’ve been assigned.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. I have to back my wife on this one. We would like to be assigned a different doctor.”

We were assigned a new doctor.

Dr. Roeser examined me, and came to my parents with his prognosis. He looked at them matter-of-factly, and informed them that there weren’t a lot of cases like mine. He couldn’t tell at this point whether or not I would ever walk. But, he shrugged, modern medicine was making great strides, and he and his team would do everything they could for me, and it was entirely possible that I would be just fine.

Dr. Roeser would eventually become my Godfather.

As it turned out, modern medicine made greater strides than my first doctor could even imagine. I was blessed to have been seen and treated by some of the top doctors in the country, who donated their time and services for me and other children in need. My case was studied in medical schools. I have walked since I was a toddler.

Today, wrapped up in every day clothes, you’d never know. If “unwrapped,” evidence of surgeons’ skilled handiwork is visible in the ever-fading scars that line my lower limbs. But unless it’s been raining, you won’t even perceive a limp. Modern medicine has been pretty amazing.

The primary difference between the two doctors? Both were most assuredly skilled. But one – one gave my parents HOPE. That was enough. That was all they needed. They took it from there. If there is anything I have learned in my life, it is the power of HOPE.