I have a friend that is roughly 30 years older than me. He has been one of my favorite people growing up through our school system (he was one of our School Resource Officers). Last spring he was in a really bad car accident and lost part of his left leg, from the knee down. He had to stop working a job he loved - as a detective - and lay around having people help him all day long. He hated it, he would try to find excuses to get out of bed, but found it very difficult to get around on just the one leg. His life changed drastically. The things that were so easy and so natural for him, they were some of the most difficult tasks to manage.
One day I went to a different grocery store than usual. I just felt like I needed to go somewhere different. I wasn't having a very good day and I didn't want to see anyone I knew. As I was walking out of the grocery store I kept hearing my name called. When I finally turned around I saw him. My eyes lit up and I ran over to my old friend. He was missing part of his leg and I was able to stick around and hear his story. He told me all of his plans for that day when he would get a prosthetic leg. He told me how he was planning on training for a 5K, then a 10K, and then a half marathon. He was so hopeful and so eager and so excited. Seeing him completely changed my attitude and my outlook for the day.
Today as I was on my way home for lunch I drove past the hospital. There he was! He was walking... with two legs! He was walking with such ease. He was making the block and trying to get used to this new addition to his body.
I forget how convenient it is to have two legs. How wonderful it is to be independent of constant care and having to keep crutches near by just in case I want to get up and get food or go to the bathroom. It is something I take for granted. We don't realize how fortunate we are to be able to do what we need to, when we want to, and get there by our own two legs.
He has so much hope for the future with his new prosthetic leg. He has so much training left to do, starting with walking around the hospital. He has two legs again and he is most hopeful that he will be better than he was before. His plans exceed what his life looked like prior to his accident.
