“I made the decision that this would never hold me back, and I told him the same before he went under. Gotta look forward. That’s what life is.”
– Triple P, NCIS: New Orleans
Season 2, Episode 7, “Broken Hearted”

What do you do when something bad happens, and it changes your life forever? For Triple P, as he likes to be called, he moves forward. He was in an accident of some sort, one that left him crippled and stuck in a wheelchair. Lots of people, going through that, would curse the world and their lot in life, for the things they can’t do anymore. They’re already defeated. But that’s just part of life, and you can’t really avoid it. You can’t look back and change the past.

So Triple P looks forward. He doesn’t just stay alive, he lives. And he’s absolutely right, he made the decision that his new handicap would not defeat him. It’s easy to lie there and feel sorry for yourself, but it takes a decision to stand up (figuratively speaking) and move forward no matter what. There’s a problem? Solve it. You can’t do things the way you used to? Adapt. It’s hard and painful? Welcome to “Life.”

What makes this even more pointed is how Triple P is mourning the loss of a friend, one who was very much like him. They only knew each other briefly, but theirs were kindred spirits: young computer geniuses who were dealt bad hands, facing down the odds with courage. Triple P is just a bit older, and has already endured something similar to his young friend’s plight, albeit with better odds. He gave his new friend what strength he could, before the boy went into major surgery. Things could have been great for a long time, but the surgery failed. The boy died, and before completing his greatest work.

Another loss. Another bad hand. Something else that could make someone curse the world for being unfair. And Triple P keeps looking forward.

That’s just what you have to do. That’s life.