For two years now we have had a Christmas Eve Eve tradition of going to the casino just North of Topeka. Last year we all lost money, but this year I made $300!!!! I see a new pair of cowboy boots in my future… that or a new windshield. Sometimes it sucks to be a responsible adult….
While I was sitting at a slot machine the woman next to me and I began chatting. After we established that the creeper who kept coming to talk to her was NOT her spouse/boyfriend/friend and just a creeper in general we got a good laugh out of it. We continued to chit chat and she asked me why I was on a crutch.
SIDE BAR - I don't mind talking about it at all (heck, I BLOG about it), but the last couple of weeks have been trying, mainly because I should have been done with the crutch…. and well… I still have to use it to get around. I'm not going to lie, I have been having some pretty big pity parties about it at home in the evenings the last few days.
I explained to her what they did and she asked when I had it done. I told her the beginning of October and that I was hoping to be walking by now, but things were just not progressing the way I thought that they should have been. She told me she had surgery in September at KU Med as well, it was her 34th and final surgery…. she had part of her leg amputated. She initially had gone in to have bunions removed and…. well, clearly something went wrong.
She wasn't bitter about it, she wasn't angry about it and she was by no means looking for sympathy for it. She had accepted it for what it was, and was going to make the most of what she has in life. She shared pictures of her children with me and told me all about her husband, her kids and their animals. She told Kevin and I about the adorable puppy that her husband brought home one day, and told us how she had trained him to be a service dog for her to help her get around in case she happened to fall or needed assistance. Her outlook on life was so positive and yet so realistic.
Driving home last night really made me think about a lot of things…. While I may still be on a crutch, and things may not be progressing as quickly as I would like for them to be, I still have so many things to be thankful for in life. I knew that recovery was going to take an extended amount of time, I am not a super hero (although I like to think that I have super hero powers some days). I really do need to get over this pity party and DO SOMETHING instead of feel sorry for myself!
I read a quote a few years ago, it has always stuck in the back of my mind "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about…" Isn't that the truth!
Kevin and I wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas! God's Blessings to all of you reading this!
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