Hope

A Message of Hope

by James S. Reinhard, M.D.

May 27, 2005

This week I joined about twenty thousand psychiatrists in Atlanta for the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.  There were hundreds of seminars and workshops to choose from on topics ranging from neurotransmitters to the impact of world terrorism.

Amidst all this wisdom and information being shared by national experts I was most impressed by a speaker who was not a scientist, psychiatrist or clinician.  This person had done no research and had little formal knowledge about the field of psychiatry - yet she clearly drew the largest attendance of any presentation at the conference.

Monday evening I sat spellbound along with several hundred other psychiatrists and clinicians as we listened to the author of the best selling book "I am the Central Park Jogger."  Perhaps you have seen Trisha Meili interviewed on Larry King Live or other morning news programs.  Ms. Meili kept her identity private for 14 years after the trauma that occurred the evening she went jogging in New York's Central Park. She was attacked, had her skull beaten in, raped, and left to die.  She lost nearly 85% of her blood volume and was comatose when she was found and taken to a New York City Hospital where she miraculously survived.  She awoke from the coma after 6 weeks and was not expected to be able to do much in the way of speaking, thinking or be able to use much of her body.

In spite of the prognosis, Trisha Meili began the slow and painful process of recovery.  She recounted the months and months of rehabilitation that required her to literally learn how to speak and use her muscles as if she were learning it for the first time.  It was grueling work where small steps were mixed with frustrating setbacks.

During her speech, Trisha reached underneath the podium and pulled out a medal attached to a ribbon.  She said that shortly after regaining consciousness, among the myriad of cards and letters of encouragement, there was a letter from a man who said he was so moved by her story that he had decided to run the New York City Marathon in her honor.  A few days after the race, the medal that the man had received for completing the race arrived in the mail.  He wanted her to have it to honor her and inspire her on her road to recovery.

So picture this.  Here is a woman who has accomplished amazing things: She has written a best selling book, she has been able to quit her job as an investment banker and now is a highly sought after motivational speaker.  She is in a satisfying relationship.  She has nearly full use of her mind and body that was believed to be nearly impossible by some of her physicians.  And, several years ago, she herself trained for and completed the New York City Marathon in about 4 hours and 30 minutes, running past the place where she nearly lost her life!

And yet, did she show us her own NYC Marathon medal?  No. The show and tell that she held up in front of a packed auditorium with loving pride was a medal originally belonging to someone else... someone who had given her the message of hope...given at just the right moment on her road to recovery from her devastating injuries.

Trisha Meili has a powerful story of recovery, determination, and the strength of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable odds.  Her story reminded me, again, of how critical it is that we provide a message of hope to the people that we serve.  We may be the one person sending the medal.  We may be the one person sending the message that no one else has sent.  It may be the one message that keeps them alive.  It may be the thing that helps them to do what no one thought possible.  It may be the thing that they will always cherish, always remember, and always show the world with pride.

"Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings; hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings."

-Elie Wiesel (b.1928) Rumanian born U.S. writer.
Nobel Lecture, Oslo, Dec. 1986