Yesterday, I received word that a childhood friend of mine died suddenly over the weekend from a brain aneurysm. After processing the news for a few hours, I decided to write a letter to his mother. Everybody deals with loss differently so I could be way off base here, but I imagine that after the immediacy of this tragedy passes, she might appreciate hearing some stories about her son and what he meant to the rest of us.
To all of the patients – children, adolescents, and adults alike – who show up in our office looking to manipulate their bodies in hopes of fitting in and gaining acceptance, and to all of our own family and friends who seek to do the same, it is important to keep in mind that in the end we are often not remembered, respected, and appreciated for what made us the same, but rather for what made us different.