My story begins in 1950.......
The little chubby one??? Yep, that's me with my gloriously beautiful sister, Donna Rae.
The very best grandparents any child could wish to have........with Donna and me.
This photo was taken on Easter Sunday, 1952. The following spring we both got polio.......the dreaded disease of the era,...sadly, just before the polio vaccine. My sister got up one morning and crawled to the bathroom......when my mom asked her "what's wrong honey??"......she answered that she couldn't walk. And then........me. My poor parents.....two very sick children. I cannot even begin to imagine how frightened and worried they were. My sister had a much worse type of polio than I did and passed away, on Easter Sunday, shortly after becoming sick. She prayed with me every night though, from her iron lung, until she couldn't speak any longer. What a precious girl. I still miss her. They told my parents I would never be able to walk again......
If you look at my shoe you can see the little bracket used to attach my brace. Yeah, you just don't tell a little girl on the go that she's not going to be able to walk, so I defied the odds and, by golly, I learned to walk.........without braces or crutches. My Mum did therapy every single day for me at home. The March Of Dimes was VERY instrumental in my progress. I am soooo very grateful. A therapist came to our house several times a week to help my Mum learn the therapies.
I had five or six surgeries to help make is possible to walk over the next 16 years.
Well, walking with 95% muscle loss can have its drawbacks.........I had overtaxed my muscles for years and by the time I was about 20 living with pain became my life. Now, let me tell you, this is just no darn fun. On a scale of 1-10, mine is about a 9 every single day. The doctor diagnosed me with Post-Polio Syndrome (symtoms: pain and fatigue). You may even know someone with this disease. Ok, I'm tough.....I'm going to trudge along and make the most of my life...........
Until............
May 25th 2003...........SIX whole years ago today.Yep, that would be my left femur. Ugly, isn't it? Can you say OUCH???? Whew....let me tell 'ya......that REALLY hurt. I was in my garage and was carrying a picture my husband had brought with him from Hawaii. I was going to ask him if it was OK if I sold it at the garage sale. I tripped and while I was falling I was trying not to break his picture. Boy, I sure wish I could replay that day.
Yeah, two weeks in the hospital.........lots and lots of blood transfusions..........and LOTS of screws. Fifteen to be exact................mmmmmmmmmmmmm..........yeah, lots of PAIN!
Ok Spencer, you can go home..........you cannot even TOUCH your foot to the floor for four months. WHAT? (Oh, and by the way, for two weeks you can give yourself this little shot in your tummy). Then after four months you can touch it to the floor to rest it, but you can't put any weight on it for TWO more months..........Six months so far, right? After a couple more months I could begin therapy to begin to straighten my leg and after a couple more I could learn to walk all over again. Now, let me tell ya.........that just stinks! For months my Mum drove to my house every single day to take care of me. I couldn't do ANYTHING by myself. She cooked. She cleaned. She did my hubby's ironing. I would have had to go to a nursing home had it not been for her. Oh, how I loved my Mum.
So, nearly a year later I finally walked again...........Boy that hurt. It wasn't pretty.
Yeah, well, the party still isn't over.
Because of the polio I have crummy bones. Every step I took made those lovely little screws make the hole in my bone bigger........Yep........OUCH!
Another visit to the hospital..........ten days, more blood transfusions.........do you know that your femur is stronger than concrete and it plays a HUGE part in your blood supply???
They did bone grafting and put in more screws. Oh, and I got to give myself shots in the tummy AGAIN.........
I learned to walk again.
A year later..........yep, the screws were moving around in there again. Boy, did that hurt. The doctor thought it would be a good idea to just remove all my pricey metal.........dang it....I spent a lot of money on that stuff. So, ten more days in the hospital. More blood transfusions. Two weeks of shots in my tummy. Physical therapy. Learned to walk again........you get the idea..............oh, and by the way.... DO NOT FALL! You still have a huge hole in your bone where the bone grafting didn't "take".......your bone isn't stable.
Oh, and now you get to limp which realllllllllllly makes the 'ol hip hurt and I'm just not as young as I once was. Oh, those were the days! So now it's Post-Polio syndrome........a yukky femur and what the heck, for good measure, let's throw in fibromyalgia AND Mixed Connective Tissue Disease....(an autoimmune disorder).
Now, I'm really not telling you all this so you can feel sorry for me. I have a wonderful life, an awesome husband, the best daughter ever and a grandson I adore. I HAVE so much and I'm soooooo grateful. I was stuck in a wheelchair through so much of this and I can at least walk now. Nope, it's not a pretty walk, but I SO appreciate being able to stand up at the sink to do dishes and being able to get stuff off the shelf. I don't take anything for granted. I thank God all day every day for my blessings. Trust me.........I am SOOOOO BLESSED.
Sooooooooooo..........I believe with all my heart that God said......Ok honey, walking's going to be tough on you, so let me give you an extra measure of creativity. I am NOT saying this to brag at all...........please don't misunderstand, but I just know how to do things. I know how to put things together. It's not me, I take NONE of the credit..........Sweet Jesus made a way for me to have pleasure in a different way than other gals. Isn't God AMAZING??? I give Him alllll of the credit for everything I accomplish. God will make a way. He just does.
Ahhhhhhhhhh gosh..............you hung in clear to the end of this story???
Well, God bless 'ya!
I have met so many wonderful gals through the internet and have been blessed beyond measure. I appreciate every single one of you.
Maybe you have a story to tell too........
Wishing you a wonderful week......
Hugs and Kisses,
Spencer
