Heroes Or Not

A while back I saw the beginning of an online argument.  It was your typical, "I don't agree with you" crap.  It was the subject of the argument that made me wonder though.  The topic of the argument is about what makes a hero.  My friend said that she had several "hero's" many of whom had RA.  She was saying that the fact that they get up and do difficult things on a day to day basis to her proved that they were indeed hero's  Someone said, that they disagreed with her, that "just having RA, doesn't make someone a hero."  The thing is, my friend never said that, that is what she thought made those people hero's.  Like my friend, I have many other friends who I consider my hero's, yes a great many of them have RA.  The fact that they have RA alone makes them strong individuals, but what makes them hero's in my eyes?  It is the things they do, the things that take great sacrifice and in most cases a lot of pain, that makes these people hero's to me.  I have one friend who makes some of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen, she does this despite have RA.  Another that works harder than most of the "healthy" people I know.  The one thing all of these people have in common is the RA.  Unless you wake up daily and know that pain, you can't possibly understand what it takes to get out of bed every single day.  For years I got up daily knowing, there was no cure for my disease.   For years I knew that my doctors would either ignore me, or tell me there was nothing else they could do.  Still I got up, I lived life, not for myself but for my children and my husband.  Don't get me wrong I do not consider myself a hero, but my daughter recently did a school project about hero's a decided to use me.

I think the point my friend was trying to make is that she indeed felt that even getting out of bed on those really horrible days does not equate to being a hero.  She gets out of bed to help others.  She runs page upon page to make sure others have an outlet.  She does it all at considerable cost to herself.  Not always monetary cost either, but the cost of her emotions and the cost of her precious energy.  For a person with RA energy is a rare and valuable resource.  We always need more, but never even get our fair share of the stuff.

For the purposes of this blog I want to point out the definition 1,D.

In my mind you don't have to go to war to be a hero.  You don't have to face a gunman and come out alive.  Yeah I know extreme, but my point is that every day we are surrounded by hero's and we have no idea.  Just because someone doesn't go to war, or face the gunman, or put themselves in harms way, doesn't make them any less of a hero.

So yes I do believe that the my RA Heroes are well and truly Heroes.  They daily face pain that would send most people to the Emergency Department begging for relief.    They face that pain, yes sometimes we all complain, but for the most part with few people knowing the true impact just walking makes upon them.  I think it is extremely short sighted of anyone to say those people don't deserve the title of hero, in my mind they embody what a hero truly is.  In my mind we take NOTHING away from the war hero's, the police, the firefighters by proclaiming my hero's Heroes...

plural he·roes

Definition of HERO

1

a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

b : an illustrious warrior

c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities

d : one who shows great courage

2

a : the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work

b : the central figure in an event, period, or movement

3

plural usually he·ros : submarine 2

4

: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol

 See hero defined for English-language learners »

See hero defined for kids »

Examples of HERO

1. He returned from the war a national hero.
2. the hero of a rescue
3. She was a hero for standing up to the government.
4. His father has always been his hero.
5. He has always been a hero to his son.
6. A motto of his hero, Thomas Edison, is inscribed on a favorite sweatshirt : “To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” —Britt Robson, Mother Jones, May/June 2008

Who is a Hero?

www.modelingfutureheroes.com/Heroes.htm

A hero deliberately and courageously overcomes obstacles for the benefit of others without regard to personal consequences.

Qualities associated with heros are determination, loyalty, courage, dedication, intrepidity, valor, selflessness, conviction, gallantry and the will to make sacrifices.

A hero is any person that when faced with overwhelming circumstances, rise above it and do things that ordinary people would run from.

What Really Is a Hero, Anyway? | RESPONSE ABILITY Project

raproject.org/blog/entry/what-really-is-a-hero-anyway

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." .