I’m a disabled Veteran. I hold a disability rating of 100% with full benefits, which I would trade back in a heart beat to be back to health! My abilities are what I mainly focus on instead of my disabilities. It sounds to negative. To give you a better picture I will explain my limitations. My sensory nerves are dead in my hands to my wrists and partial feeling up my wrist. More prevalent is the nerve damage in my legs. Like my hands I have absolutely no feeling in my feet halfway up to my knees. Learning to adapt with the hands was easy, I just use my sight when I use my hands. Yes, I break stuff all the time. From griping to hard to not hard enough, Unloading the dishwasher usually costs a glass or two.
As for my legs, this is where the challenge comes in. I walk by site and leaning up against things. My doctors tell me to use my cane but, I don’t like it. This has caused my doctors to pull my drivers license. NOT FUN! Anyway, I guess your wondering how I can run a marathon if I can barely walk. As strange as it sounds it is easier to run than walk for me… My doctors tell me you use less touch-points to balance when you run. Since you are moving faster your brain has a chance to get feedback from other senses to tell how well I am balancing. Don’t get me wrong it is still not easy. Also just like amputees I get phantom leg syndrome. Sometimes it is an itch or strange felling that wont go away other times it is extreme pain. It feels like my legs are being passed over fire. The worst of all is what I call flaming needle syndrome. It is like hundreds of flaming needles are being pressed into my skin all over. These pains last from minutes to days!
NOW… That being said, I manage. I have wonderful friends and a loving Wife that help me get around to my clients and sometimes just get out of the house. My faith in God and his purpose get me threw the day also. There are also other complications that I will spare you. I don’t tell you all of this to get any sympathy. This is to inspire people. I may be limited in what I can do but, I plan to do the most with what I can do!!!
So, here we are the full marathon. I ran the CMM Half 2 years ago and did ok. Hey I finished! Last year I payed for and planed on doing the half again but, my health would not permit it. Now is time to raise the stakes to a full marathon.
Please follow me threw my journey over the next 197 days. Feel free to comment and please do. My first day of running training is tomorrow. Wish me luck…
