What Comes Around
Recently, I celebrated one year since my brain tumor surgery. Baby step after baby step, I have crept along, finding my “new” way. Learning to stand, to walk was a challenge I never thought I would face, but being in a wheelchair was not an option. I learned, struggled, yes, but learned and slowly but surely got out of the chair and began using a modified walker and eventually a hiking/walking stick. That chair, the one I came home in, was put away that very day, never to be used again.
While I didn't have to use the equipment long, I had been advised by my Physical Therapist to hang on to everything, the chair, the walker, for at least a year. When you're a fall risk, like I am, you never know when a setback might knock you back a step or two. I rolled my ankle walking just the other day, not badly, but it can happen. Not to mention, seeing that chair gathering dust in the corner of my bedroom was great motivation and an undeniable reminder of how far I've come. Marking my anniversary with the donation of that wheelchair back to the rehab center that donated it to me was the perfect symbolism to move forward.
I didn't make a special trip to the hospital. I was scheduled for an MRI and Oncologist appointment shortly after my anniversary and would drop off the chair then. Besides, visiting the therapists that had helped me so very much was always fun.
With the corner of my bedroom void of that chair, I get a feeling of accomplishment and progress. I know I need to keep working to accept my new way and improve on it. I don't always exercise as much as I should and often allow more help than I need but moving backwards in my progress will never happen. That wheelchair is with someone who needs it...and that person is NOT me.