Birdwings

One can never consent to creep

when one feels an impulse to soar

- Helen Keller

 By the time she was seven, Helen Keller was already in despair.
And it was not bleak because she could not see or hear but because nothing had a name. And, she admits, she was spoiled rotten. Every plea for attention (every tantrum), was rewarded by silencing her with sweets.

Helen, the graduate, and Annie, circa 1904

And then came Annie Sullivan.

And water felt like it sounded, spilled into her hand. And doll - the thing itself could be smashed across a wall, but the name? The name remained, carved, curled, into the palm of her hand.

There is a picture of Helen dancing with Martha Graham, reading the lines of the faces of political heads like Reagan, Roosevelt and Nehru, laughing with Alexander Graham Bell.

Expecting the worst, she saw joy because the right person entered her life, and fought for her, advocating on her behalf only for a while, until Helen had the language to do so herself. And on those birdwings she flew and flew into the limitless skies.

Helen K with her long time friend Eleanor Roosevelt, 1955

The consultant wasn't there yesterday. In her stead was a junior registrar, in no position to deal with the fierceness of my own advocate, my brother. She was a lovely young doctor, very cheery and glowing with six months pregnancy, but she was not the face I needed to see. And yet... I see this as part of the learning curve. Today, I need my brother to advocate for me so I can learn the tools, the very language of successful negotiation (his is more than a skill, it's an art!), so that tomorrow, I can do so myself.

And when tomorrow comes, these butterflies will turn to birdwings.