Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Member of the Month!

I've been trying to smile for about 8 months; by which I mean smile with both sides of my mouth. So far I've had no success, but it will come. Sadly, I'll work out the palsy too late for the photo they took of me at the gym yesterday to immortalize me in laminate as "Member of the Month" for August.

Being made Member of the Month was great; it felt like an acknowledgement that I have put in a lot of effort to my recovery, and that although the recovery itself and the improvement in my health and physique are reward enough, the effort did not go unnoticed by the staff at the gym. I tend to be at the gym five days a week, now, and I find that if I slack off, then I deteriorate. I'm still functional, just not as good. I hope at some point to have consolidated some of those gains, but I have no idea how long that might take.

Until then walking evenly is deliberate; it takes conscious effort. I could relax and limp and stagger, but that isn't good enough for me. I guess that's why (and I mean no disrespect to them) I feel some modest kinship with some of the Olympians and Paraolympians. They put in an almost superhuman effort to become the best in the world at what they do, while I'm doggedly plugging away with my above-average work to get back to normal function. They concentrate to nail a landing, I concentrate to land each step.

Gaining an understanding of the level of effort, consistent daily work, required to compete at the level of demigods has spurred me on; I can work harder. I may not be the generation they're talking about, but I'm certainly inspired.

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