Goal Met!

I continued my exercises and walks with mom and the dogs and now I added walking on the treadmill. I started with ten minutes on the treadmill at 2mph and would speed up to 3 or 4 mph for short intervals, boy, I was really moving. My biggest fight was my O2 levels, they would fall sharply, and I would need to get off the treadmill and rest until my levels would get back to at least 90. I made sure I walked for ten minutes but with all the rest it would take me close to an hour to finish the 10 minutes of walking. The dogs would watch me with dissatisfaction that we weren’t outside walking.

When it was just me and mom, I had her help me start driving again. It started with getting in and putting on my own seatbelt which proved one of the toughest things to do. I had to look at everything my hands needed to do. If I could see it, I could do it. We started driving around the yard and I practiced backing up and parking, then we moved to the dirt road. With mom’s support we quickly realized that my driving skills were fine, it was just the damn seatbelt that would give me fits. We practiced all week and kept it to ourselves. Deb and I had made plans to take the kids to a pumpkin patch for a fun afternoon that Saturday. When we got ready to leave, I grabbed the pickup keys and got in the driver’s seat. The look on everyone’s faces was priceless; nobody said anything at first, they just looked at each other with very concerned faces. It was great, finally Deb asked, “Are you good?” with a big question mark in her voice. I responded with a smile, “There’s only one way to find out,” and to my surprise everyone got in. It was a quiet ride at first, all eyes were on dad ready to jump in to save us.  After having my fun, I let them in on my secret and everyone seemed to relax a little. It was a great day; it was fun watching my grown kids relive their youth, relax, play and have fun. It was a hot day, and I spent a lot of it finding shade, sitting and resting. I was still weak and even though I was regaining some weight, I was pretty fragile. Ever since my kids were little, I had always been a stout, confident guy. So, when I overheard Sara telling Cassie that she had never noticed before, but dad is just a little guy. I laughed and understood, because I saw it too. Even though I knew I was blessed to be alive, for the first time in my life I felt like a so-called little guy, and you know I was ok with it, but I was working on it.

 

In my mind I was needing to get back to work but thankfully, due to my accumulated sick days and an awesome school district I had time to get ready without rushing it. It was agreed that I would come back after Christmas for the start of third quarter.

I would have Zach take me to the shop to practice my welding and to my surprise my welding skills were still intact. The smoke was the hard part. I could only handle the smoke for short times at first before I needed a break. We would also spend some time organizing the shop and getting it ready for classes. One day a colleague came in to see how I was doing. After some small talk the real question came out “So, how do you feel about the covid shot now?? and What would you tell someone if they asked you if they should get the shot or not?” That question did not surprise me, most of the people I worked with had gotten the shot and even though they were all very sympathetic and supportive, it felt evident that many of them blamed my illness on me for not getting the covid shot. The funny thing was I never tried to tell anyone not to get the shot; I might have made it clear I wasn’t planning on getting one, but I never tried to convince anyone else not to get one, except for maybe my kids.  I thought about it for a second and answered, “Probably the same as before. It’s a personal choice. If you do your research and it makes you feel safer, do it; if after the research you don’t feel safer, don’t.” He didn’t seem very satisfied with that answer, so I went on to explain what the nurses at the emergency room had told me and that only ONE out of all my doctors that I had seen, and I saw a bunch, actually suggested it. I shared that I had two second cousins die shortly after getting their covid shots. I told him about Zach’s experience at college football where several players that he knew who got the shot and now have heart problems and one could no longer play football. Trying to be politically correct, I finished with, “I don’t know, this whole thing sucked. I was told by one of my doctors that the shot wouldn’t have helped because of my teeth; when I got my teeth pulled it opened a superhighway into my system. The shot wouldn’t have helped me.” He said, “Oh that’s surprising,” and politely left the shop to get back to work. As he left, he was slightly shaking his head. I could only guess on what he was probably thinking, what a stubborn man and if that was what he was thinking, he was 100% correct, it’s kind of my superpower.

I continued training for the walk/run benefit until I could walk a mile and even run a little without my oxygen tanking. On the day of the event the whole family went, all my kids, my mom and Deb. I was ready, I found a pair of sweatpants and put on my walking shoes. I was excited but a little nervous to see everyone. They had a nice turnout. It was also special because we had friends that drove across the state to come.  The benefit had a silent auction, and an auction for big items, lunch and the walk/ run. It was humbling to see the turn out and support. It was a wonderful day. Everyone in my family participated in the walk and we all finished, even my 80-year-old mother. No one knew how much walking this mile would mean to me, I have no words other than GOAL MET! From the outside I looked almost back to normal and that’s the way I wanted it. On the inside, I was still a mess. Because of the stroke everything I did took longer and I had to concentrate on every movement. Most people never noticed, but I sure did and it was exhausting.

I will give you a little insider note; we received a blanket that had been made with all the pictures and special moments from that day. Pictures of friends, family and community members. We have it hanging on a wall in the spare room right in front of the treadmill where I still walk and I still use that day for motivation.