Watch CBS News

Sen. Tammy Duckworth Reflects On Hardships That Have Defined Her

(CBS) -- Sen. Tammy Duckworth became the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office with the arrival of Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, her second child, on Monday. But before she gave birth to Maile, the 50-year-old double amputee and junior senator from Illinois reflected on some of her life's milestones, in a note to her younger self.

Dear Tammy,

I know you're busy focusing on acing that test or winning that next track medal, but I want you to take a step back.

No matter how hard you try – and you will tear yourself up inside trying – you will never achieve that 4.0 GPA and you'll never be that high school track star that you and your parents wanted you to be. But you'll learn that perfection isn't what matters. It's how you respond to hardship and failure that defines you.

You'll see it in your daddy's eyes when his failure to prepare, make tough decisions or set his ego aside leads to years of struggle for your family. You'll be hungry, relying on food stamps to feed yourselves. You'll be nearly homeless, having lost almost everything of importance to you. You'll learn that gratitude is essential, and you'll learn how to survive a tough time – which is good because you're gonna need that skill again.

You will join the Army, and you will have two very different lives. Your first will be on a path towards a happy life and happy family, with achievements in the military and a chance to travel and see the world. But that wonderful life will end so abruptly it will feel like a death, and it will put all the rest of your plans – for your family, for your career – on life support.

You will almost die, but you'll make it – just barely.

Your survival won't have anything to do with your own abilities. You'll make it out alive completely because of the grit, sacrifice and outright heroism of others. You haven't done anything to be worthy of their sacrifices, but these heroes will give you a second chance at life anyway. Your second life begins when you wake up a few days later in agony. Non-stop, unrelenting, seemingly endless agony.

But you will re-emerge.

Sure, you'll be angry, vengeful and scared but, most of all, you will dig into the deepest part of yourself and find a way to survive it. You'll be so grateful and proud not just of your husband who becomes your champion, but all those who sacrificed to keep you alive. You'll have to learn to walk, eat, bathe, and do everything again by falling, crawling and pulling yourself back up. You'll remember that you are a soldier and that you will never give up, and you will never abandon the mission and as an officer, it is your responsibility to take care of your troops.

Because of that mission, you'll meet a powerful man, Sen. Dick Durbin, who, instead of seeing someone pitiful and broken in a wheelchair, sees you as someone who can help make your nation better. He'll challenge you to once again serve your nation, but this time by running for Congress.

And you will fail. You'll lose the race. But this time, instead of just a personal failure like a bad grade or a swing and a strike, the world will know that you failed. But somehow, it won't be as devastating as it would have been in your first life.

And just a few years later, you'll find yourself in the best position you've ever been in to repay those who sacrificed to save you. You'll be a United States senator. You'll see the difference that you can make in people's lives. Your achievements now can actually make your nation a more perfect union. And you'll be proud of it all, but as happy as you are to be able to help people, the best part of your second life will be you finally getting to have the family you've always wanted.

Sen.Tammy Duckworth

Watch more from our Note to Self series.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.