He is blind and homeless and now recovering after getting hit by a car

My friend Levi, who is homeless and living in the Nashville area, was recently hit by a car along with his mother Debbie. I wanted to post this about a week ago, but he insisted I wait until he gets out of the hospital. After speaking with him tonight he said to go ahead and post it.

Levi who is blind, was walking across a busy intersection with his mother when a car struck the two. It left Levi with a shattered ankle that required surgery. It left his mother with scrapes and bruises, but she too is doing better. She also has a boot on her left leg that she has to wear, although I don’t know how long.

The car that struck the two fled the scene and Metro Police have been unable to track it down. Of course Levi could not see the car which was not realized by officers until several minutes of questioning, according to him. Debbie did not see the vehicle and was likely busy making sure Levi was okay after the incident.

Life changes in the blink of an eye for everyone, no matter the social level. However, when those changes take place when you are already down, it makes it even harder to get up.

Luckily for Levi, it looks as if he will not be on a walker for long. However, being blind, homeless and on a walker won’t be easy for Debbie who is in her sixties or for Levi who is in his mid-thirties.

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, English novelist (1797-1851)

Laughter can be everything

A few days back I visited my homeless friend Levi at his Nashville camp and dropped of a little dinner for him and his mother. One thing he always does is joke... which is good as laughter is great for anyone.

A Jewish Proverb I once read stated, "As soap is to the body, so laughter is to the soul." I believe that, laughter makes you feel better almost instantly.

As for Levi, he is blind and his joke of the day this past week was, "I'm going to look directly at the Total Eclipse, all it could do is help," among a few other Eclipse ideas.

Levi, who lost a daughter about 8 years ago to death at only about 5 months of age struggles daily, but gets through. I can't imagine #1 The death of a daughter and #2 Being blind. For that matter, I also have a hard time imagining being homeless while struggling with number one and two.

Laughter is medicine:

In a medical article about “Patch Adams,” laughter is described as a natural medicine.

Hunter Campbell, M.D., the American physician whose life inspired the 1998 movie “Patch Adams,” took laughter therapy to a new level.

“Hazardous to illness, humor leads to laughing, smiling, and good feelings” (Bakerman). It’s undeniable – both humor and laughter can make you feel good and take the edge off of seemingly difficult situations. Humor is a great communication tool to relieve tension between people and facilitate relationship-building. As a coping mechanism, humor helps people diffuse difficult emotions such as anger, fear, grief, and sadness. In hospital settings humor can help both patients and their families by giving everyone permission to laugh and relax.

Humor and/or laughter can also alleviate emotional stress, which enhances health by helping to prevent stress-related illness. Remember that the sustained release of stress, or “fight or flight,” hormones can contribute significantly to hypertension, nervous system disorders, and other health complications. Besides diminishing stress, humor and/or laughter can simply make us feel better and put us in good spirits." - HeartMD Institute.

Judging - Worth Reading...

After he got out of jail the first thing he wanted to do was to hold his cat that he had not seen during the time he was behind bars.

As I sat in his dimly lit motel room with stained sheets on the bed, I watched him play with the young kitten. The world around him was silent. The cat was the one thing in his life that fully accepted him. Despite his drinking, cursing or even anger… the cat was the one constant that never judged anything that he has ever done.

I have used this quote before, but I like it:

“Judge tenderly, if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you are not having to fight.” ― Traci Lea LaRussa

In the case of the man photographed:

• His father, who served in Vietnam, died of cancer when he was only a teen.
• One of his twin daughters died at five months of age. The other daughter who is still alive today, has lived with a distant family member since the death of her sister. The last time he saw her was when she was three. Today, the family member lives in another city and will not allow him to see her. Today, she is about 12.
• He has lived on the streets for multiple years fighting alcohol and life.
• One more thing… He went blind at age 15. Today, he is 34.

It’s easier to understand where someone is in life, once you know a few more details about their past.