Hope, true hope, has proved as important as any medication I might prescribe or any procedure I might perform.

Hope, true hope, has proved as important as any medication I might prescribe or any procedure I might perform.

False hope can lead to intemperate choices and flawed decision making. True hope takes into account the real threats that exist and seeks to navigate the best path around them.

True hope is cleareyed. It sees all the difficulties that exist and all the potential for failure, but through that carves a realistic path to a better future.

Hope can be imagined as a domino effect, a chain reaction, each increment making the next increase more feasible... There are moments of fear and doubt that can deflate it.

Hope gives us the courage to confront our circumstances and the capacity to surmount them.

To hope under the most extreme circumstances is an act of defiance that permits a person to live his life on his own terms. It is part of the human spirit to endure and give a miracle a chance to happen.