3 Lessons I Learned From My Daughter When She Was Bedridden

It was 1 am, and we were in a deep sleep. Suddenly, we heard a thud, followed by shrill crying.

I knew at once it was my daughter.

She had fallen down, and in just two minutes, my world was upside down.

She had broken her thigh bone and experienced a femur shaft fracture. We immediately took her to the doctor, and she was operated on the next day at 4 pm.

She has been advised to be on bed rest for at least three months. But, the doctor has left the healing process to her.

"Children know their bodies better than we do. She will know when to move or lift her leg. Do not force her," he said.

We left it to her, but we've learned so many lessons from her through the healing process:

1. If you can’t walk, crawl. Always keep moving.

My daughter couldn’t walk or run.

But so what? She could crawl, and life is all about moving.

The day she started crawling, a new chapter began.

She could now move all around the bed, and she didn't need us to be with her every minute.

We would keep all her favorite toys and books on one corner of the bed and let her play.

She could now take care of her needs almost all by herself.

2. Find alternatives in life.

If you're stuck at one place, don't wait along the straight line. Find an alternate path.

So what if my daughter couldn’t walk? She could still move, and that was the most important thing.

It was now the end of June, and she was so much better. She still couldn't walk or stand, but she could go out for strolls in the pram and sit without support.

3. Never stop dreaming, and never stop wishing.

One evening, we were strolling in a nearby park. I looked at the full moon and pointed it out.

My daughter exclaimed, "Mom, I asked moon for a wish." (Wish? To the moon? Where did she learn that?)

"I wished that when I start walking on my birthday, I will celebrate my birthday on an island. There will be fish and sand and a lot of friends."

I don’t think I could've dreamed something like this if I were in a wheelchair. I don’t think dreaming would have been a possibility for me at all.

Adults focus on the results, not the moments. Had I been hurt, I would've been sulking, thinking about all the things I'm missing out on by being in the bed.

Sometimes, I feel this is the reason we have children. They remind us that life is being created continuously.

We have children in the world to teach us the lessons we keep forgetting while growing up.

We smiled and promised her that if she starts walking by her birthday, we would celebrate it on an island.

This article was originally published on Women's Web.