A Hit and a Miss

Yesterday was truly a red letter day. It started out in the morning with a visit to Barcs, the animal shelter where I volunteer. They were having a huge event with members of the Ravens, Baltimore's football team. On Sunday, I baked vegan chocolate chip cookies for the bake sale, and Jerry drove me over to deliver them. We figured while we were there, we'd socialize some cats. I generally head to the back room where the bite quarantine and sick kitties reside. They often get forgotten, so I like to make sure they get some good attention.

After we left one of the rooms, one of the volunteer coordinators approached me to ask if I'd help some of the Ravens volunteer group who wanted to spend time with cats. They had a huge group and both volunteer coordinators needed to help those who wanted to walk dogs-- which was most of the group-- so I said yes, even though I was apprehensive. I'm self-conscious about being in a wheelchair, but I figured if Barcs needs help, I was not going to say no.

The group of about 10 volunteers was anxious to help. I laid out the ground rules and showed them how to pick out the cats that would be appropriate for beginners. I hung out with them, helped them, and it was absolutely wonderful. Barcs gets a lot of corporate groups coming in to volunteer, and the next time they need a cat wrangler, I will not hesitate to lead a group. Not only was it fun, but it gave me some of the self-confidence that had faded away since my accident.

While the morning was exhilerating, the main event would come in the afternoon. At 3 pm I had an appointment with Mark, my prosthetist, to be fitted with my leg!

He clipped it on, and after a few adjustments, it was just right. He had me standing with a walker to make sure eveything was good. It felt so great and natural I had no problem taking my hands off the walker and rocking back and forth a little to make sure everything was even.

I left it on for the evening, and even took a few steps with the walker to get to the bathroom.

I am still using the wheelchair, of course, but I know I am getting closer to really being able to walk, and I couldn't be more optimistic and hopeful.

The day was exhausting, and despite my excitement, I slept incredibly well. I was woken by my phone ringing a little before 7 am to tell me that my 9 am physical therapy appointment was cancelled. It was to be my first appointment in the process of learning how to walk again.

Surprisingly, I was only mildly disappointed. I have another PT appointment on Thursday, so I'm only delaying the start by two days. After more than a year of delays and disappointments, this was just a minor glitch.

So, this morning I will head back over to the shelter to spend time with kitties waiting to be adopted, and then this afternoon I have an OT appointment to comtinue work to get my arm fully functional.

A tiny setback, but still heading in the right direction. I'm a happy girl.