My little red tether is my anchor in running with my friends. A beautiful guide dog has been my tether/anchor in mobility and independence for 17 years: 1. Pantera 2. Cricket, and now my beautiful 3. Georgina (Georgie). A life of family and friends is my joy and anchor in life.

The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. CC Scott

Saturday, November 8, 2008

It could be worse ...

The memory of my summer of 2000 came up in a conversation a while ago so I thought I'd share. When I broke my first arm in June 2000, a friend said well, it could be worse - you could of broken both arms ... 10 days later I did!

I broke both of my arms on two different tandem cycling rides (yes, I know one should learn after the first one!) This was a challenging experience to say the least, however I must say I was in the best shape ever this summer -- I took up running (the legs were working fine - even won a couple 5K's in my division (okay, there was not a lot of competition in the runs I did for women w/a disability in the 35-45 range). I needed help eating so the munching was not as easy. Fortunately, the doctor was able to place the left arm cast on enough of an angle so I still was able to walk with my guide dog - I can't figure out why so many people asked me if I had been in a horrible accident! This summer gave me such an appreciation for all I can do with my arms. I even yearned to be able to clean the house during this time. Now, I am sure if this had of been long-term I could of learned the adaptive skills of how to manage life without the use of my arms but it was only 2 1/2 months so I sure appreciated all the help our family receivied during that time. Our family went to DisneyWorld this summer (there was also a Foundation Fighting Blindness Conference that we were a part of) -- If you can avoid, Florida in August with two hot casts! Pantera, my guide at the time, seemed to know to walk a little slower to accomodate for my added challenges.

2 comments:

Karen said...

What an unbelieveable time that was for you. The guilt we felt being in Europe for a good part of that time I can't even revisit. Your courage was amazing!!

Hope Oregon was great

Love

Mom - I am trying to get modern and blog!

Becky Andrews said...

Mom - NO guilt! You are fabulous! Love ya!