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"So
many of our dreams
at first seem
impossible, then
they seem
improbable, and
then, when we summon
the will, they soon
become
inevitable."
Christopher Reeve
Recently, for the
first time in 5
years I simply went
out back, put my
cane down, and
started walking. I
made it 42 yards.
Today I walked 5
miles.
My medical team had
said this would be
impossible. My brain
could no longer send
the signals for
walking because
those nerves in my
spinal cord had been
destroyed. Though
certainly
unintentional, my
doctors did take
something very
important away from
me: hope.
A while back, a
psychologist pal of
mine urged me to try
to help myself. I
was angry. I said,
"They're four
of Boston's leading
neurologists. They
all said I'd never
get any
better."
"They could
have all been
wrong."
"They said
there's nothing I
can do! No
rehabilitation. No
physical therapy.
I'm not putting any
effort into trying
to walk and then be
miserable when I
fail."
"Trying is
never failure."
I'd get steaming mad
at people like her.
What did they know?
They came out in
droves. I heard
various things I
should try: a
soy-based diet,
massage, Yoga,
acupuncture,
positive thinking.
All of these
well-meaning
non-experts believed
that traditional
medical doctors do
not know everything
about human
potential.
However, there was a
common denominator
in my friends'
advice. And that was
the word,
"Try."
What made me finally
try? The answer is
simpler than I'd
have ever imagined.
That day I tried
walking on my own, I
had simply said to
myself, "Why
not?"
When I walk I have a
Frankenstein-style
gait. I get
embarrassed so I
explain. I met
a gal who said,
"Stop excusing
yourself. Walk
proud!" She's
just one of the many
who've taught me
that if I open my
heart to acceptance,
the world is filled
with support teams.
I've also resolved
to open my obstinate
mind and really
listen to others,
experts or not. This
not only fosters my
own sometimes-frail
belief in my
abilities; it
fosters faith in
miracles.
One morning my
husband, Bob, said
there was a huge
present for me in
our driveway. He had
researched
"bicycles for
disabled
people." It was
a 300 pound cycle
for two. The seats
were side by side.
He could pedal while
I sat by him and
enjoyed the outdoors
again.
Um . . .
did I mention it
came assembled with
a set of pedals for
me too?
Now, hundreds of
miles later, after
exhaustive hours of
pedaling along
beautiful bike
trails, I only wish
that we owned stock
in Ben-Gay.
Bob needs a tube a
day to keep up with
me.
Last week he
repeated,
"There's a huge
present in our
driveway." He
led me outside.
"Voila!"
he said. "Oh
no," I moaned.
Bob dubbed it
"The One-Woman
Dynamo Power
Bike."
"Sweetheart?
You know I can't
bike on my
own."
He laughed sweetly.
"I know. And
you can't walk
either. Then why
does the pedometer I
bought you have 74
miles on it?"
And so, I made a now
often repeated
declaration that I
am praying others
will say to
themselves as well.
"Yes. I
can."
Think I love my
bike? You bet. Think
I love Bob? Of
course. Think I love
life again after
cloistering myself
in a self imposed
no-can-do closet?
Goodness! You have
to ask?
How do we find hope
when hope seems
impossible? Do we
simply believe in
our hearts, our
minds and our very
souls that we can
beat the odds?
Yes.
Christopher Reeve
said, "When we
have hope, we
discover powers
within ourselves we
may have never
known. Once we
choose hope,
everything is
possible."
His immutable words
still ring in my
heart and I so hope
they will in
everyone else's:
"And you don't
have to be a
'Superman' to do
it."
Life isn't about
waiting for the
storm to pass...it's
about learning to
dance in the rain.
By: Saralee
Perel
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