I would like to share a story with you as I think it contains some meaningful messages.
Last weekend two friends with a truck drove me to Yakima (on the other side of the State) to pick up a piano for my office. (That is a different story.)
On our way back we took a little detour so I could drop off some CD’s for my best friend. . . . .but I need to explain.
We have been best friends since we were two years old (and that is a long time!). She had as close to a perfect marriage as anyone I had ever known and after her husband died it was painful to watch her health decline. It was as though she was dying of a broken heart. She lost 80% of her heart capacity, and could barely walk across the room or speak in full sentences. About a year ago she called me and said she had her energy back and was feeling great. She explained she had met up with an old high school friend and he had taken her dancing! I suggested she continue whatever she was doing as it was obviously working.
I went to see her last Christmas. We went out for dinner, reminisced and laughed a lot. It was just like old times and I was so relieved to see her doing so well. Then, on New Years Eve as she was sitting in front of her TV eating dinner, she had a stroke and has required around-the-clock care ever since. She has been confined to a wheel chair and her only walking has been with the help of her physical therapist using a gait belt.
So back to the CD’s I took to her, one of which is my favorite, Beegie Adair’s newest album, “Swingin’ With Sinatra” (GreenHill Music – it’s also the music you hear when you call JoViPak.) She called me the next day and was so excited. She loved the music, especially “You Make Me Feel So Young,” and said, “my friend came over and WE DANCED TO IT! I said, “You what?! Did your friend have to hold you up?” She said, “No, he couldn’t, he has a bad back!” I considered it something close to a miracle and it reminded me of the value of friendship and the power of music. Also, as I’m sure every therapist will agree, there is no greater satisfaction than knowing we have done something to make someone else’s life a little easier.
Tags: Exercise, Personal, Self-Care Class