Update:
Thankfully I was able to get an appointment with my prosthetist, Leah, on
Tuesday afternoon and she made the necessary adjustments so that I am
comfortable walking once again. As long
as I am losing weight, I will most likely need regular adjustments made to my
prosthesis. It is rather amazing how
quickly a few pounds lost effects the size of my stump and thus the fit of my
prosthesis; I wish it would reduce the size of my gut as quickly and
efficiently!
I am midway through my second week on my diet. About a week ago my need for insulin
plummeted. For the last five days, I’ve
not had to take any insulin at all and my glucose readings stay in the
90’s. I have been eating a healthy diet
for some time now; but just recently drastically reduced the amount of food I
am eating and even cutting out healthy snacks between meals; that has made a
dramatic difference. The first week of
the diet I felt hungry much of the time.
Now I don’t have those kinds of hunger pains—it is more mental. I want something to snack on. I want to eat for the sake of eating. My stomach has been shrinking because now
just a small amount of food satisfies me and I am training myself to
immediately stop eating when I feel full.
I can keep doing this—it’s all a mental battle for me. I am choosing to restrict my food intake and
its working. I must admit that it has
taken me years to get to this point both mentally and physically. Over the last year I’ve made major dietary
changes through a series of stages; so it is not like I suddenly decided to
stop eating cold turkey (actually that sounds pretty yummy right now); it has
been a long time coming. I’ve got about
50 pounds to lose, so I’ll be traveling this road for some time. But I am making progress.
After my appointment, my daughter, Kate, went with me to Chippewa
Valley Growers (a local nursery) to pick out some flowers to plant at my
house. I have a couple of large pots
that I am not using and decided that flowers would be pretty outside the front
door. I know my wife will appreciate
them. At the nursery, the floor is
covered with that black cloth weed barrier.
At first glance, the floor looks nice and even. Trying to walk on it with my prosthesis, I
found out that it is not.
It actually gave me a good workout walking through the greenhouses (of
course the flowers that I wanted where in the last one). With the floor all black, I couldn’t get a
lot of visually clues, so it was good practice stepping out in faith and using
my focused attention to continue to walk well.
Since my ankle only bends with pressure and I don’t get the resistance
and feedback of a normal foot; I have to tense my leg muscles and make them
rigid for each step I take with my left leg.
That allows my weight to cause the ankle to flex. If I
don’t concentrate and do that, my knee is pushed way out of line as the ankle
stays straight. I naturally stumble with the momentum of my knee headed
downhill if I don’t concentrate of what I am doing. I would guess that eventually I will be able
to walk on uneven terrain without thinking about it. But right now it takes a lot of energy and
focused attention to walk on that kind of terrain. I used to have to concentrate like that
walking on a hard surface, but now I do it without much thought. Stairs and ramps still take a bit more mental
energy for me to traverse; but I’m getting there. Practice; practice; practice.
I have two identical silicone liners so that I can alternate their
use. While I am wearing the one, the
other has a full 24 hours to air and dry out.
The problem has been in the morning I can’t remember which one I wore
the night before. Today I had the idea
of placing a key tag on the liner that I am supposed to wear next. Hopefully that will end my morning confusion.
Thought for the Day:
“Remember, it’s the finish, not the start, that counts the most in
life” [John Maxwell, Sometimes You Win…Sometimes You Learn].
That phrase really got me to stop and think. It is how you finish that counts the most in
life. It is not how you began. It is not how you did in the middle of your
race. It is how you crossed the finish
line that counts the most.
Many of us didn’t have the best starts in life. Circumstances, health, family issues, all
conspired against us so that we may have started out a little behind the eight
ball. An example for me is grade
school. About the third grade I hit a
rough patch. Until that point, school was
fun and enjoyable but then they had to go and introduce the times table (1 x 1
= 1; 2 x 1 = 2, etc.). Not only did they
want me to understand the table—they wanted me to memorize it! That began my downward spiral which made me
despise going to school. I got behind
and then struggled to keep up with the class and my grades suffered. It wasn’t until about the eighth grade that I
finally climbed back up on top and began to like school again. Freshman year algebra almost did me in, but
through hard work and many hours of toil I managed to raise my grade from an F
to a B by the end of the year. Since
then I’ve managed to earn a Bachelor and Master degree and complete some
coursework at the Doctorate level.
When I think about the family dynamic that many people were raised
under, I am amazed how great they have turned out as adults. Then again, “Remember, it’s the finish, not
the start, that counts the most in life.”
By the choices that people have made, along with hard work,
determination, and faith—many have turned their lives around and established
themselves as good, hardworking, dependable folks.
Some people had the luxury of growing up in a solid, bible-believing,
church-going family. From a young age
they were taught about godly character and living a pleasing lifestyle before
God. Others come from totally heathen backgrounds
never hearing the name of God mentioned unless it was involved in swearing. No matter where we start from—all that is is
a beginning, not our final destination. Who
we were in the past does not equal who we presently are or even who we will
become.
“Remember, it’s the finish, not the start, that counts the most in life.”
That phrase also reminds me that no one can rest on their laurels. When it comes to judging a life, we don’t
just look at the last day; we don’t just
look at the major accomplishments decades in the past--we look long term and
what they have done recently. It is not
just whether that person has led a good life or accomplished something some
time in their lives; it is whether they are continuing to live in that
manner. Are they still accomplishing
good? You cannot look back 15 or 20
years and say, “Well, I used to…”. There
needs to be a consistency that flows from now until the finish line.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Don't
you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize?
So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training.
They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal
prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not
just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what
it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be
disqualified.” (NLT)
I am encouraged by that phrase because no matter where I am at this point
and time, I can choose live my life from this point forward in a prize-winning
fashion. It is never too late to start. Whether that is being a better spouse, a
better parent, a better child, a better friend, a better employee, a better
person, or a better Christian. Start
training now so that you run the race with endurance and finish strong.
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