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Lili Beechinor: We're Not Alone

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When Lili Beechinor’s family desperately needed help, they discovered they weren’t alone.

My husband recently returned to work after seven months of recovery from a massive stroke. From on the floor, immobile and unable to speak, three weeks in the hospital, months of speech, physical and occupational therapy, and now, back to work as a clinical oncology pharmacist. He has worked extremely hard to get to where he is today. He has been called a force. A wonder. A man of courage and strength.

All of it is the truth. He is an inspiration.

How does a man with two young children and a pregnant wife recover from a near-death experience you might ask?

It’s simple. He didn’t have to do it alone.

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We were drowning, and it is through the strength of community that my husband is where he is today. Our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, provided us with the life raft we desperately needed. We were saved through meals, play dates, notes of encouragement, monetary donations, grocery drop-offs, prayers, and love. No act of kindness or compassion was too small because it all mattered so much.

I look back on the past seven months and almost can’t believe any of it was real. Except for the part where our community showed up—that part I know is true. We’ve spent a lifetime cultivating the very best of relationships and friendships. We couldn’t have known when or how deeply we would need our people, but there they were.

In a world where we’ve all been isolated from each other, neighborliness, and the love of family and friends are still important. These relationships are there to bring you back to life when you’re not sure you can go forward.

We are full of gratitude for our community. I fall asleep most nights wondering how they’ll ever know how much it all meant to us. I wish I could write them all a love letter and record it on public radio to say, “Thank you, from the depths of our hearts, thank you for loving us so hard. We are eternally grateful.”

With a Perspective, I’m Lili Beechinor.

Lili and Ryan Beechinor live in Davis and are expecting their third child any day.

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