Quitters

For every finish-line tape a runner breaks - complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras - there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about.  -Grete Waitz

I'm not sure why I did, but I signed up to run cross country once in high school.  I can't remember why I did it other than a "friend" talked me into it.  She knows who she is, I won't call her name and embarrass her in front of the whole country and point out that she lied to me saying it was so much fun and not hard.  Oh my, did she lie! She couldn't have been more wrong.  I never really trusted her after that. Well as I said, it wasn't easy and it wasn't fun. I ran  at practice and one meet and I decided that cross country was not the sport for me.  What a dumb sport! It's not like you were running up and down a court or around bases! There wasn't any point to it.  I was going to quit.  Period.  No doubt about it.  But then I had the whole "you live under my house, you live by my rules" thing pulled on me, and one of their big rules was that we don't quit what we start.  Dang.  I tried everything I could think of to quit - tantrums, playing dumb, leg/ankle injury, begging, bribery- you name it I tried it.  They were totally stonewalled.  Dang, dang.  To make a long story short, I finished each race and the whole season and didn't quit.  I even set a few records - the first sophomore in history to run a mile in 32 minutes- and that was stopping to cry and throw up.  I learned a few lessons from that cross country experience - 1. I could never trust Tobie , ahem, that girl again, 2. I am not made for speed, 3. I'm not really a long distance runner, 4. I'm not a quitter.  I had done something I hated but I stuck with it and I finished.  My parents had taught me a life lesson that I would be so grateful for later in life.  Many years later, I decided that running was not so dumb and decided I would run a 5K.  I still don't really love running, but I needed to do it.  All the signs were against me doing it.  During one of my runs, I was destressing and using the alone time to sort out some important issues.  I was thinking  about how much I loved Doritos and desperately trying to keep the Indian underwear from crawling, when my dog ran by me. I hadn't gotten very far down the road and my dogs are lazier than me so they don't run- especially away from home.   Now, what I saw was a sign- a sign I should stop and go home.  My dog ran past me with a CORNDOG in her mouth. I don't mean a corn dog stick or even a half eaten corndog.  I'm talking a full uneaten perfect yummy corndog.  I think she may have even been smiling.  She was for sure taunting me, I think she wanted me to quit and follow her to the land of corndogs.  I didn't quit though, I just kept on running. 

Heath has come such a long long way.  The Yankee skin has made a tremendous difference.  It has actually been the big band-aid we have been waiting for.  Those doctors might really know a thing or two.  The burns are still painful and red, but are so much better.  The fight now he is fighting is healing itself.  The skin that is now beginning to heal, itches like crazy.  Itching is a good sign they tell us, but you tell that to the man who has to direct someone where to scratch and how hard.  The constant itching is somewhat relieved by plain ole Benedryl and the simple kindness of others.  Tightening and stretching is another road block.  The skin will tighten and pull as it begins to heal.  If this is not corrected as it occurs, you may have irreversible effects or create a situation that only surgery can fix.  As many surgeries as he has had and as many as he is going to have to continue to have, we don't want any that can be avoided.  The skin can tighten so much it can cause limbs to draw up, mouths to not open, or hands to look webbed.  The thing that combats all of this is physical therapy.  His therapists are top notch, just as every nurse or doctor or staff member that has laid a hand on him. Shannon, his OT, is working him over.  She couldn't wait to get her hands on him.  She loves the fact that he wants to do therapy and he has a drive and a passion to get things back to normal.  She is going to be a major factor in his healing.  The physical therapy was halted for a few days so that the Yankee skin could adhere and toughen up.  Now the green light has been given, and all I can say is that it's on.  Therapy is painful.  The joints, skin and muscles are all sore and tender. The stretching and moving is agonizing. Right now he can only do his arms and hands and can't do those without something for the pain.   He can feel every inch of skin stretch, each muscle move and every joint pop.  She works on him about an hour. He doesn't tell her to stop.  He just keeps on even though it hurts.  He knows it has to be done.  He breathes through it and I'm sure wants to stop, but he doesn't.  He was raised by the same people I was, he doesn't quit.  I told my parents on day 3 that they didn't raise quitters.  WE DON'T QUIT.  That's how they raised us.  We don't give up and I told them Heath wouldn't ever give up, I knew he wouldn't.  He hasn't and he won't.  Quitting is not an option, it never has been and it never will be. 
Heath is running a slow painful race.  Even though he doesn't want to run it, he's not quitting.  

'Til Tomorrow