LIVING LIFE TO ITS FULLEST

I saw them today for the first time since late April.  There they were, walking in the "underground tunnel" at Hutchinson Hospital and the moment they saw me, they shouted out a greeting...."Hey, where have you been?  We thought you'd 'fallen off the wagon' ." As I stopped to greet them for a moment, I explained that I'd fallen off a "little bit more" than the wagon.


You know I can't even tell you their names but the 3 of us had been seeing one another pretty much non-stop every day from January until the end of April.  It was always bright and early...way before the crack of dawn.  They always beat me there and no matter how hard I tried, when I walked into the tunnel at 5 a.m., they had already done a couple of laps already.  


The surprising thing about them, at least to me, was the fact that they told me once their ages.  At an age where many of their peers had already found themselves in nursing home care, these two women, in their early 90's, were out there every morning, "picking them up and putting them down."  And they couldn't be any happier.  


When we passed by one another, you could always see them laughing and smiling and carrying on as if they were a couple of 7th grade girls deciding which boys in the 3rd hour Algebra class were the cutest.  And I always thought, "Man, I hope I grow up just like them!"  They enjoy life to the fullest. 


 It doesn't matter how long it takes them to do their 2-mile walk each day....what does matter is that they continue to do it, day in and day out.  And TODAY, they read me the "riot act" for being gone so long.  And I hang my head in shame, they well should have.  I deserved it.  LOL


Those two women inspire me every time I see them out there, walking their legs off.  I told them so once and they looked at me with surprise.  I'll never forget what they said....  "Well, THAT must be the reason we are still here for.  You know, we've been wondering!"  


As I prepare for my Friday return to the "land of miracles", I keep thinking of those two women.  Although you'd never hear them complain, I have to think that they have their fair share of aches and pains.  But they both appear smart enough to know that if you don't "use it then you will lose it" and they are not taking any chances.  Way to go ladies!  You are my heroes!


My physical therapy continues to be done by me here at home.  On Friday, "Kim the Taskmaster" is going to re-evaluate my condition and make the determination if I need to see PT therapists here in Hutch.  I am not sure what his verdict will be, but I'm guessing there's a chance he will suggest it.  The picture below shows the current condition of "old lefty" side-by-side to the right arm.  The difference is easily determined.  Not a pretty  sight but one that I have come to accept these days.

My main goal has been to continue working on getting the wrist to completely lay over, so that my palm is up.  It doesn't seem to be wanting the same things I do.  But I keep trying and trying and trying.  And sometimes I wonder if this is what the doctor meant when he said before surgery in Wichita, "You don't expect to have a normal wrist again, do you?"  I guess we'll find out sooner or later.


Most of the hand is still numb and even though the thumb is moving, it still can't remember how to bend at the joint.  And I find myself sitting there and looking at it trying to get it to bend.  No matter how hard I try, doesn't seem like I can stare it down long enough to "will it" to make its move.  Swelling continues, no amount of contrast baths seem to make a difference.  Yet, I am still more determined than I am afraid, and have NOT given up, even though sometimes it seems like it would be the only sane thing to do.


I have had some wonderful teachable moments at school in the past couple of days.  Some of the kids have asked to see what it looks like so I've removed the splint for them to take a peek.  You know kids have some great questions and in their innocence, they mean no harm by asking any of them.  I try to answer as best I can and if I don't know the answer, I try to find out.  I always figure that the best way to answer their curiosity is to be honest and open.  If you give a kid the straight answer then they don't get the wrong idea about things like this.  We sometimes underestimate just exactly what kids can understand.  The bottom line is this-they appreciate our being honest with them....they've got that figured out at a very early age.


Time for bed friends-Take care of yourselves and please remember to enjoy this wonderful life that we've all been given.  It's so short, way too short.  Live it to the fullest each and every day....  Good Night All!  :)