My apartment was only three to four city blocks from the EL (which took me to my classes) but to me it could have been three to four miles.Īt the time, I wasn’t wearing any braces on my legs and each step felt like I had stepped in wet cement. And then to my first week as a freshman in college in downtown Chicago. Upon hearing his words, my mind immediately flashed back to countless times after surgeries when I had to “get up and walk” despite excruciating pain, to my parents instilling confidence in me by maintaining expectations for me to have the same household chores as my siblings. It’s counter-intuitive thinking, but we had the X-Rrys to prove it. He said that when bone is stressed it actually in turn becomes stronger. He further explained that his only conclusion for seeing such strength in my bones was owed to the fact that, through everything, I had never stopped using them. The orthopedic surgeon, who has worked extensively with children at Shriners Hospital, was amazed at the a-typical results from a patient with my condition, Spina Bifida. The X-rays showed leg bones that were strong, healthy, and fully developed. He thought, due to the misalignment in my right leg, that the joint was suffering damage, which could eventually lead to the need for a total knee replacement.Īfter gathering multiple X-rays to try and determine if surgery could be done to correct it, we were all quite astounded by the images that glowed back at us through the lightbox in his exam room. It was nothing new but had been growing worse. This quote rings true with many areas of my life right now, whether it be our family’s journey into fostering, continuous struggles with my health, or simply the courage to make various decisions that I know in my heart are the right (but not easy!) ones to make.Ī couple of years ago, I saw an orthopedic surgeon about pain I experience in my right knee. Y ou gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
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