Connections IN OUR MIDST A SERIES OF ARTICLES ON PEOPLE, PLACES AND PERSEVERANCE IN YELLOWSTONE COUNTY Written by Judy Hughes
polio and the doctors advised my parents to put him in an institution. Instead, my dad and mom worked with him every day doing what is now referred to as Passive Motion Exercises. The rest of the family helped by making him laugh, taking his mind off the work my parents were doing. He eventually walked and lived a pretty normal life.
YOU HAVE HAD SOME PRETTY SERIOUS HEALTH CHALLENGES IN YOUR OWN LIFE. THEY DON’T SEEM TO KEEP YOU DOWN FOR LONG. HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO DO THAT? Oh, believe me, I get down, but I try not to stay there. One day I remember… chemo was dripping into my arm, I was feeling so sick and so tired I wanted to just give up. I woke up the next morning and realized I had a do-over. We all have do-overs every single day we wake up. I decided that day that my disease was not going to define me. I had a lot more to do and I was going to do it!
Bev Thorn comes to the Alliance on
a regular basis. She is one of those people you just want to hang out with. Kindness and compassion seem to define her. Even her cute little orange car with its eyelashes looks happy.
BEV, YOU ALWAYS SEEM SO UPBEAT. HOW DO YOU DO THAT? I think I am who I am because of my parents. We had a good life, but not a perfect one. Growing up we always felt listened to, encouraged and loved. My brother had 22
APRIL / MAY 2021
SO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR DO-OVER BEV? WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES? I am my husband’s caretaker. This takes love which is easy, but also patience and compassion which some days are more of a challenge. To be the best person for him, I need to take care of myself as well. I am working on that by developing new interests like painting, writing, even a little home maintenance! I try and learn something new every day. , I believe this helps me be 1% better each and every day.
Bev adds joy and a bit of sparkle wherever she goes. We can all use more of that in our world.
