Voice of Youth - Faith: It’s what makes the difference

Sydney
11 May 2003

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Voice of Youth - Faith: It’s what makes the difference

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Voice of Youth - Faith: It’s what makes the difference

By Anthony Succar

It has been eight years since the tragic day when I was involved in a motor vehicle accident which left me paralysed from the neck down.

Today I am a third year computer science student at the University of Sydney and the elected president of the Society of St Peter at the university.

Recently I heard about Christopher Reeve’s visit to Australia as part of a promotional tour for stem cell research.

Here we have a man who has obviously lost a lot in his life, from being a famous movie star to being paralysed from the neck down and dependent on a machine to breathe.

It’s hard to cope with such a loss, but still to this day I have not seen him once on television without him complaining or giving a wishful statement of an upcoming cure.

Not once have I heard him say that he is happy and content in life, despite his very comfortable financial position and having a family who loves him; he is still searching in all the wrong places for hope.

Life is not easy when one is so dependent on others for even the most simple of tasks in life, things that most people do not even notice they do.

It is a challenge, but a challenge that I have fought and still fight. Sure there are times when I feel as though I want to give up and stop fighting, but there is always one thing that keeps me going, one thing that fills me with hope and gives me the strength and courage to face life - my faith; not my faith in science or any proposed upcoming cure, but my Catholic faith.

Before the visit by Christopher Reeve, I had received an invitation from Premier Bob Carr to the convention where Mr Reeve was to make people aware of stem cell research and to provide hope to those who have suffered spinal cord injuries.

I could not stop thinking to myself how someone so unsatisfied and unhappy in their own lives could supposedly provide hope for others. Was he trying to provide others with hope or himself?

This was a question I could not ignore; being so content with my own life I wondered why I should put my hope in a possible cure.

Do not get me wrong. I, more than most, would love to see a cure but not at the expense of living my life.

I often wonder how different my life would be without my faith, to suffer without understanding why, to wake up every morning and find no meaning in my fight.

It frightens me, and makes me aware of how valuable my faith truly is. It is not to say I do not complain or bicker from time to time - everyone does - but it is my Catholic faith that amplifies my love for life.

A cure will come along one day, and when it does I will still be here. But I do not want to spend my entire life looking for a possible cure. No. Instead, I want to spend my life living.