Heroes

I have been watching the new show on NBC called "Heroes." It is about a group of people who have discovered that they have special powers. It is definitely a geek show and one of the characters that the geeks really love is Hiro Nakamura played by Masai Oka who in real life is a geek like us. Hiro's power is the ability to teleport through time and space. Last night's episode he went back in time to try and save the life of a waitress who was killed by the villain in the show. He discovered that even though he had these super powers he still could not change history and save the woman he had fallen in love with.

I think last night's show will really resonate with anyone who has ever been a care giver. I moved in with my mother a couple of years ago to help take care of her. She has a very bad heart and one of the most difficult things is to watch when she is suffering from a heart incident and know there is nothing I can do. Her heart is failing and nothing will change that fact.

Hiro said in last night's episode that he had failed because he didn't save Charlie's life. He loved her but he couldn't save her. I think in real life care givers face the same feelings. We love the person we care for but we ultimately can not save their lives. Does that mean we fail? The answer to that is no we don't fail. We may not be able to save their lives but what we do provide is the love and care that makes their lives easier and happier.

Ultimately what life comes down to is what can you realistically accomplish? Can I make my Mom's heart better? No I can't. Nothing can do that. Can I care for her and make life easier and happier for her? Yes I can do that. I can do the shopping for her. I can help her around the house. I can be there to listen to her when she needs to talk. I can hug her and tell her I love her.

You do the best you can and even though you can not stop the hands of death you can make the lives of those you care for better. You are not a failure. You are a hero.

The picture is called "Protector."