I Can!

Well, today I didn't recieve quite the news I was hoping for. It seems as thougy my hamstrings are a bit weaker than my quads (sheesh - even I could have told my physical therapists that.... with all the quad and glute strenght I've got, I could crush cans with my legs.... or something of the sort) and as such, they want to give me another week or two before I start engaging my hamstrings with running.

So for now, I'm still off the running.

But in spite of my slightly saddened mood, upon my drive home, I realized that there were still plenty of things I could do.

And - even better than that - that I'm able to do inspite of breaking my back.

-I can and will walk normally (well, as normal as normal is for me).

-I can drive a car

-I can swim to my heart's desire - and as such, have my FIRST open water swin race next weeked. Yes, on June 1, I'll be swimming in the Crawfish Crawl Open Water Race - or something like that. Just as long as the organizers scare away all the 1)alligators 2) cottonmouth snakes (very poisonous, aggressive, black snakes that live in the waters around these parts) and 3) bull sharks (which have an amazing capability to swim and survive in fresh water... gulp) - than I'll be fine. If anything, that'll give me extra incentive so swim out as fast as I can.

-I can cuddle up with The House Monster and read on the couch

-I can walk (pain free) up a flight of stairs. Or 10 flights, if you want.

-I can perform 270+ lunges. (And still counting)

-I can jump away from Little Green Snakes as they chase me in the forrest

-I can do flip turns and set personal records on my 200s in the pool (not kidding about that one).

-I can balance on the Swedish Ball a la circus elephant.

-I can tickle Nathaneil and am speedy enough to get away when he realizes what I'm doing.

-I can lay on my stomach, read my morning blogs, drink coffee, and eat grapefruit all at the same time (something I never would have attempted had my back not been broken).

-I can hand cycle so hard that the machine makes too much noise for those around me.

-I can drive stick shift and start from a dead stop at the top of a STEEP hill.

-I can do an upside down handstand (with a touch of assistance, naturally).

-I can pick up The House Monster. All 19.2 pounds of her. (Yes, we're up a pound. I think it's sympathy weight for me. I'm up about 4 pounds from where I was pre-crash)

-I can void my bladder without a catheter.

-I can do housework - but somehow my "back" has procluded me from getting any of it done. Oops!

-And there are so many other things that I CAN do... It seems an awful shame to focus on the one thing that I can't.

SO am I a little bit sad? You bet your bottom dollar. But as each day passes, I'm THAT much closer to accomplishing my goals, having my dreams of running come true.

What can you do?