Freeky Friday: Inspiration

Hey, Freeks! It's back to Freeky Friday, and today, Freekware asks...


Who inspires you?


I have multiple answers to this question. Though two of them include celebrities, I want to refrain from people in the media, as I don't actually know them as people, just as who they present themselves to be and do.


This post involves three people I personally know and love.
(Note: All pictures are mine unless otherwise stated.)


The first is my wonderful, loving mom, Phyllis. She is the strongest woman I have been blessed to know. She raised two kids alone, with virtually no help from anyone else, broke, desperate for money, and still stood her ground. She has been one of my best friends since the day she brought me into this world, and always a mom first. She always knew exactly what to do when, and exactly what to say when. She has not only been a great mom and friend, but she's so much more than that. She's also a teacher, a tutor, a coach, a chauffeur, a chef, a bank teller, a nurse (and she's a real one now!), a maid, a contractor, a gardener, a landscaper, a vet, a counselor, and anything and everything in between. She has been and continues to be everything a mom should be, and beyond her required call of duty. She is also simply a terrific person, holding within a heart of gold which she lets open only to those closest to her. I hope that if (yes, I said IF, MOM!) I become a mother one day, I can be even half as awesome as she is.

The second person who inspires me is my absolutely amazing boyfriend, Danny. I've posted about him before, because he's just that awesome. He is, without question, the best man I've ever known. He is the most honest and truly genuine person I've ever met, and I am so grateful to have him to call mine. I am not writing his name here simply because he is my boyfriend, or that he is loving, kind, and considerate toward me. He knows how to treat people, not just me. He always does the right thing, and never questions his morality. He respects everyone, unless they prove they don't deserve it, and even then he's still nice. I know that he's never once lied to me, and not just because he can't (seriously, he's the worst liar in the world; he can't hide anything), but because anyone who spends more than two seconds with him knows he can be trusted with anything. He is the most trustworthy person in my life, and I have absolutely no reason to say otherwise. You never get any kind of feeling or "vibe" with him that lets you know he's anything other than honest. He's the needle in the haystack of horrible men who lie, cheat, abuse, and do every other atrocious thing that people do in relationships. And he chose me, and I will forever be grateful for that. I wish that there were not only more men like him, but more people with his character.

The third and last, but certainly not least, person I chose who inspires me is one of my best friends, Debbie. If you live in my area or anywhere on Long Island, you may have heard her story. On February 13, 2010, while taking a shower before work, Debbie suffered a violent seizure, causing her to fall and hit the water spigot and handles. Scalding hot water continued to pour over her face, neck, shoulders, and back, as she lay unconscious in the water, with one nostril barely above water. Her dog, a black pomeranian named Gangsta, flew down the stairs (which she NEVER did; she refused to go down the stairs at all) and furiously barked outside the bathroom door, alerting Debbie's sisters and dad. They got inside, turned off the water, and tried to pull Debbie out of the tub. As they did so, her skin was literally sliding off in the their hands. When she finally woke up, she was in excruciating pain, and after the ambulance arrived, the EMTs informed them that they saved her just in time, as only a little while longer in the water and she would have died. Thanks to Gangsta, her little stubborn superhero pomeranian, Debbie survived. 

(Picture from Debbie!)

With third degree burns over much of the left side of her body, Debbie has undergone many surgeries, including skin grafting and surgery to her left eyelid. Her next is scheduled for early October 2011, when balloons will be put in under her skin to expand the scarred and burned skin, which is very tight and often painful. 
I visited Debbie in the hospital when this all first happened, which her and her family refer to as her "accident." She spent 38 straight days in the burn unit at Stony Brook hospital. With bandages around her head, face, and most of her body, she was still upbeat. She was laughing and joking with all of us, and though that may have been partly due to her pain medication (she was pretty darn funny on that stuff) and didn't exactly know what was going on half of the time, I know it was also due to her fighting personality. I've seen her covered in bandages in the hospital and finally home with only some bandages, to only a few, to only one, but still in pain. I've rubbed cocoa butter on her wounds to stop the dryness and itching, and I've held her hand in the doctor's office with her as she received agonizingly painful steroid injections to break up the keloids on her skin, and while some of these things caused tears, she has never given up. She always remains hopeful, confident, and strong. She still jokes, laughs, and isn't afraid to open up and talk about what happened and what her next step to recovery is. She gets better every day, and her body is healing at a rapid pace, and she improves every time I see her. This is not to say she is never sad or upset. She is only human. But when it comes to her health and her recovery, she is consistently flourishing with optimism. She is an unwavering, continuous pillar of strength, and I couldn't be more proud of her, her attitude, and her diligence in her road to recovery. She is a survivor in her own right.

Thank you to everyone in this post for the inspiration. I love you all!

So, how about you? 

Who inspires you?

You can participate in three ways! Head over to Concrete Jane to see how, be entered to win this month's prize of yummy Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies, and have a donation made in your name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! What are you waiting for?