Hard work is a great deal of effort and endurance. The determination to get something done, to get the end result you have set in mind is overcoming the obstacles, the hardships. I believe in hard work.

When I was 14 years old I remember sitting in the hospital hearing, “you will never be able to walk again, sorry, we’ve done everything we can.” During this time I spaced out while the pain sat on my shoulder controlling every thought. I kept thinking about the last 3 months; the first month going from doctor to doctor trying to figure out why my leg was purple then blue, in pain when just the air went by, then the next nine weeks spent in the hospital and the countless hours spent in physical therapy trying everything I could just to get a slight wiggle in my toes. The physical therapy was unforgettable and unbearable. For the longest time I was persistent, hardworking, and determined to achieve walking again, but later I became discouraged after seeing no progress. I began to not want to go endure the hour of torture.

After going to Boston and seeing other patients who overcame where I was I became determined to prove the doctors wrong. I didn’t want to be confined to this chair.

I spent six weeks living in Boston going to physical and occupational therapy for five hours a day. Day after day I was making progress. From moving my leg, standing, using crutches and then to walking. After those six week I arrived home, walking.

If I had not believed in myself, determination and persistence, listened to the doctors, stopped when they told me to or stopped when I thought I would never get anywhere I would not be any close to where I am today. All the lessons I learned along the way took me months to understand the importance of hard work, I didn’t care if the odds were against me. Hard work is what makes me the person I am today.