Reader's Digest - USA (2019-07)

from the book the defiant mind by ron smith.

copyright © 2016 by ron smith, ronsdalepress.com.

“They’re my legs,” I told her, “until

Poppa gets better.”

The sorrow I felt choked me, and

if my lips had parted, the whole

neighborhood would have sworn

they’d heard a lone wolf cry in the

wilderness. As

they were leaving

the next morn-

ing, Flora said,

“Poppa, please

get better.”

A year would

pass before she felt

confident enough

to approach me

and wrap her arms

around my legs. By

then I was walking

with a cane.

Meanwhile,

my weeks of out-

patient therapy

were monotonous, but the benefits

were immeasurable. I pedaled a

stationary bike, climbed steps, and

did leg lifts, squats, and arm pulls. I

was finally able to pronounce a word

without confusing the vowels and

consonants.

My emotional control was still

fragile. I would weep when I saw

scenes of poverty on TV. The silliest

jokes could give me unstoppable

giggles.

I’VE LEARNED THAT there is nothing

smooth or predictable about stroke re-

covery, but there’s

also no limit. The

old notion that

there is a finite

window in which

to achieve reha-

bilitation is simply

false. So, like most

stroke survivors,

I expect full recov-

ery. It’s unlikely

I’ll return to be-

ing the person I

once was, physi-

cally, mentally,

or spiritually. I

have both lost and

gained things that define who I am as

a person. But with the advances in

treatment and therapy, I believe I can

continue to repair and rebuild, and

find a place for myself in my reconfig-

ured world where I feel both valuable

and valued.

Not Facing Facts

I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of

them as stray eyebrows.

janette barber, humorist

rd.com 113

Health

The author and his wife, Pat, who

nursed him through his recovery

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