A Bless Day

The prettiest season is here again . . . SPRING!!!!  I love the colors of the flowers, and blooming Dogwoods, Tulips, and Redbud trees. The most beautiful sight is taking a drive to Luray, Va. It can be the dreariest of days, and and rain is threatening to fall. But still there is beauty surround

 As part of my job as a nurse, I had to drive some students to Doctor appointments that was in a nearby town. I loved taking the back route into Woodstock, VA. As we drove down the wet road to the appointment I asked my student to look out and see how vivid the Red Buds were. Their pink color was so vibrant against the gray skies. It made you see the awesomeness of our Lord God. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Later, as we drove back from the doctor’s office. My charge started to understand why I loved this view. She was pointing out other types of blooms and comment on which looked the best. By the time we arrived back the Academy I had the student laughing and enjoying the ride home.    

We lived in Front Royal for over twenty years. My husband and I bought a small two story home. It was perfect for the two of us. During the years of living in the house, there was a slight bone of contention. I wanted to have a Pink Dogwood and/or a Red Bud tree.  I shopped around looking for the best price for a small tree. But I found that the prices were way out of our range. The Shenandoah Valley is so full of these trees that you could stop along the side of the road and one dig one up. But there is a hitch. Don’t get caught. The Redbuds are protected just as our own state flower is, the Dogwood. People were caught and prosecuted.

Twenty years later, one afternoon I was cleaning up some debris from the front lawn. I put the clippings into the trash bin and turned around. Low and behold there was a huge Redbud tree growing in the side yard. I stopped what I was doing went inside and got my husband. I said, “You gotta see this! We ‘ve got a huge Redbud growing in our side yard. Robbie replied, “You’ve got to be kidding!” We walked outside and started to laugh and realized God has blessed us with the most beautiful Redbud creation of our own in our side yard. 

The Doctor Said What?

After I had my Achilles tendon lengthened about a year ago, I found that I was still tripping over the right foot. I thought I was walking though my gait correctly. But alas, as I watched my reflection I could see I was pulling my foot around the gait instead of through it. This made me limp just as bad as I had before. I was very frustrated about my walk. The end result of the first surgery was successful but, I still limped. Especially, when I was tired.

Finally, I went back to Dr. Carpenter and asked him for some physical therapy. His reply was, “You already know the exercises, just do them. You don’t need physical therapy.” At first I was happy with that news. But, as I did my exercises I realized I needed to see a therapist in order to make certain I was doing the exercises correctly. I returned again to the doctor’s office again and asked for some physical therapy. He still said, “No, you don’t need it.” As a result, I relearned my old walk. I swung the leg around the gait instead of through the gait and still had a noticeable limp.

Papa was furious with the doctor. He asked me to make a third appointment and he met me at the Doctor’s office. After introductions were made, my father went straight to the point. He asked Dr. Carpenter, “Why isn’t my daughter receiving the physical therapy that she has requested?” The doctor replied to my father saying, “She doesn’t need it. She already knows how to do the exercises. It is not warranted.” My father became very angry and then he responded, “How dare you tell my daughter she doesn’t need Physical Therapy. She wants to walk through the gait and not around it. If you don’t give her the therapy that she requested I will report you to the American Medical Association.”

The Doctor finally relented and I got my physical therapy but it was too late. Finally, I went to a physical therapist a year later. The therapist was very surprised that my doctor didn’t prescribe the therapy which would have helped me immensely in returning to a normal walk. I worked hard on doing the exercises.

One day I decided to ride my bike to the therapist’s office. I told my parents that I could do this because I wanted to see if biking really did help stretch the Achilles Tendon. After I arrived, I walked into the therapists office and hoped the she would notice.  Just as I predicted she noticed immediately that my foot was able to be manipulated very easily. She asked me what I did and I said, “I rode my bike.” She was amazed that I was able to ride such a long distance but, I knew I could do it. I’ve ridden my bike so many a times. After each ride I walked normally for approximately ten minutes before the heel would start to pull up. Walking on my heel was such an exhilarating feeling for me. This caused me to walk slower and making sure the heel touched the floor in a normal fashion.

Sometimes, I felt like I was doing the exercises for no reason. Seeing my shadow bobbing up and down clued me in that my limp had returned. At times I would trip and fall and skinned both knees and elbows. It was quite embarrassing.  As the years flew by, I tripped more frequently and most often I was able to catch myself. But sometimes it was quite embarrassing for me after tripping and falling. Some people would help me up others just stared. I would reprimand myself at times because I wasn’t able to keep my right foot from rotating outward or tripping over the foot. Oh, how frustrating it was.