It’s time for a good note! Well, it’s close to ten years of having MS. It’s here to stay, of course, but we do what we can. It was a long and lethargic morning, but I managed to go to campus. I had thought that Irene’s reading was today. Ops! It’s next week. It was good, though, to see some friendly faces. I’m like a fixture in the English Department. I checked my email and managed to write to my students while there. I knew that today was the day that I was to get my ankle braces. I was somewhat excited, but I did not entertain thoughts of some magical transformation. MS is a cruel beast, after all! Oh, in the morning I had some kind of protein shake. It really filled me up and has only 250 calories. I didn’t have lunch. I did have some trail mix, though. I have become such a calorie counting freak!
Back home I took a nap and tried to clean a little upon waking up. John was to take me to Peter’s Orthopedics to get the ankle braces. He was there as promised, of course, and we headed to Peter’s Orthopedic. It was a bleak day. The sky was gray, and the wind was chilly. Mid forties is not that bad though. I like it fairly cold, anyways!
John dropped me off, and I waited in the waiting area for Tracy, my compassionate ankle brace guy with very blue eyes. The friendly receptionist then took me in and asked me to wait for Tracy in room three. He came after tapping on the door gently; he had the braces in his hand. Hmmmm… I wondered how those skeletal structures were going to help me walk. Tracy helped me get the braces into my shoes and asked me to try walking in them. Oh, and Tracy is a guy, by the way. A very friendly, articulate man with azure eyes. So I started walking…
Holy cow! I felt like floating. I could not believe that those little inserts could help me walk with 20% of the effort I used to put into walking. Wow! Amazing!!! Tracy was so thrilled that the braces helped me walk better. I did look fairly robotic in those, but at this stage of the game, who cares!?!?!?! So I got braces today, and with them, a new lease of life. I can stand better; they support my posture and gait. I’m not used to feeling this good. It’s been several years. I hope this feeling remains. This comfort. This ease.
The first thing I did after returning home was writing a facebook status. I got quite a few inspiring comments. Ah, I love good people. They make it all worthwhile. I feel so light after so many years. It’s not like my MS has gone away, but I do sincerely feel better. I feel I can make something out of this life. I wasn’t that sure this morning. I’m thankful to Tim… John… Jan… Tracy… and everyone responsible for my new lease of life. I just hope this is not some dream. I’m just not used to it.
Angel and I were thrilled after reading your post. You have fought long and hard and are deserving of this new lease on life. I do hope we get to see you soon. My daughter just had a baby that we so desperatley want to see, she lives in Chicago. So if we get a chance to see her I will definetly pay you a long awaited visit. Much love to you, from Mike and Angel.
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