Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

Zealand and I went to Toys 'R' Us today to escape the rain and play. We were walking around together (very relaxing, actually, to be in the midst of the chaos of the holiday season and not planning on buying ANYthing!) and a lady in her 60's approached us. She asked how old Zea was and I said 22 months.
I saw in her cart a bunch of toys for about Zealand's age and said, "looks like you are buying for about this age." She said her grandson was 3 and opened right up and told me that he had lost 3 limbs to meningococcal disease (aka Meningitis). She was trying to find some toys he could use with only one hand and not get frustrated and I think was hoping that she would be able to ask what exactly a 3 year old would normally like. She moved on but I said that I would think about what toys would be appropriate as I had worked in a preschool before having my son. We parted ways and I got to thinking...

A kid with 1 arm. That's it. That's tough.

I didn't think I would see her again, but she found me in the books. More information: this boy is the youngest of 5 kids, he only has 3 fingers on the only arm he has, he needs a lung transplant among other things, and this all JUST happened. Poor kid and poor parents. I can't even imagine! I gave her a few more ideas and we parted ways again. I came up with a few more ideas for him - more along the lines of psychological development. I figured that this kid would feel powerless for a while and frustrated with his inability to do things that he was previously able to do. Remote controlled toys and magnets might do the trick. Grandpa was there too and he was a little less concerned about what the kid might not be able to do but more about what he would have to learn how to do. I liked both of their perspectives. Yes it's sad, but everyone is going to need to get over it.


What do we dwell on that we need to just get over? How many of us say we can't do something that really, we can, we are just afraid to?
Also, what abilities do we take away from our kids because WE think they cant do it? What powers could they have if we gave them the opportunity?