I want to relay a wonderful story this week, the story of Molly’s Army. Molly is a young woman with a wonderful husband and three young children. Professionally, Molly has devoted over 15 years of her life helping primarily children with autism spectrum disorders. Molly is Founder and Clinical Director of Learning Together LLC, an organization dedicated to developing and implementing programs to improve the quality of life for these children. In this capacity, she employs therapists that carry out her prescribed therapies. Molly earned a very specialized Master’s Degree from Columbia University in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). She has also worked as a consultant to the Washington, DC and Eastern Shore County school districts on developing and standardizing an ABA-based curriculum for special needs programs.
Choose to respond positively to challenges!
In a completely unexpected plot twist, Molly and her three children were in a horrific automobile accident in July 18, 2013. Miraculously, her three children were discharged later that day. Molly, however, suffered catastrophic damage to her spinal cord. At this point you might wonder when the wonderful portion of the story begins. The answer is in the way Molly and the members of her family have chosen to respond, which leads to three distinct observations:
- Positive attitude: They have all chosen to respond with an incredibly positive attitude. In one post on her Facebook page, she has created a long list of things for which she’s grateful, from her children not being harmed to having access to really good dark chocolate at Whole Foods….from serious to a bit lighthearted. I saw her mother the other day, who looked positively radiant….I don’t think that can be faked; it is a reflection of a family who faced the impossible and chose the high road in all respects.
- Innovation: When she finally got back home, one of her sons asked her to help him build with these big, cardboard blocks he has. She told him she couldn’t really do that, and he said “sure you can Mommy, I’ll pick up the block and you can show me where to put it!” Sometimes you just need to view a problem from a different perspective.
- Blindness to Superficial Attributes: An older person might see Molly as someone in a wheelchair; for her son, she’s just his Mom and he actually gets to spend more time with her now that her mobility is limited. What surprises might we uncover if we moved beyond superficialities?
We can and all should learn from Molly and her family….grace and resilience in the face of adversity! Please visit her FB page when you have a moment and, if you’re able, consider sending a donation her way.
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