{"id":11355,"date":"2021-05-20T20:41:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T20:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spreading-sunshine.org\/?p=11355"},"modified":"2021-06-11T15:38:27","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T15:38:27","slug":"three-small-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spreading-sunshine.org\/blog\/three-small-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Small Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It\u2019s just three steps. Three small steps. It could have been the Great Wall last night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A year ago, I didn\u2019t worry about ramps and handicap accessibility. Only a year ago, but it\u2019s also a lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I simply assisted her up, had her hang on to the wall or sit on a bench, and went back for the chair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A year ago, if we wanted to do something, we made it work. If we wanted to swim, I helped her slowly into the water, and then helped her out, on her own two feet. People asked, \u201cHow will you do this with the wheelchair,\u201d and my response was, \u201cWe can make it work. If she wants to, we will make it work.\u201d Was it really only a year ago? It had to be, but it seems impossible tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Stumble, a Fall and the Hard Truth<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Anyone could slip once getting out of a pool and hurt their finger. I teased her good naturedly for making a big deal about that. The truth is, every fall terrifies me because I see her head hitting the surface, or a bone being broken. This fall was fluke; it was tiny. We were fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We sat on the pool chairs and she told me how she hated what was happening to her body; the things she was losing; the sound of her voice changing. \u201cValidate her feelings,\u201d the experts say. \u201cOne day at a time. You are doing great.\u201d I try to. I tell them I understand. I do, cognitively, but in my Mama heart it makes no sense at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n