I awoke today, as I do nearly each morning, looking at the face of my lover as we lay in bed. "I love you" we tell eachother. She is up and in the shower, on schedule for helping her mom get some work done this morning, and so I opt to try and catch a couple extra hours of some much-needed sleep. Another late night had me up toiling till 4:30am.
As I begin to pull my consciousness from my lazy dreams, I open my eyes on the cusp of a smooth, deep inhale. Feeling relaxed and revitalized (Empowered!) I scoop myself out of bed, propelling myself into the day. I feel I am shedding any old, unserving skin and anchoring myself in the maxims that I know allow me to create my life the way I do. It's just after 9, and I lay in bed another ten to twenty minutes taking my time to diligently visualize the major things that I am grateful for today. The list is long and powerful. I then gather my thoughts about the things I'd like to accomplish today. Not the gargantuan, rolling list of work that seems insurmountable... but quite a many tasks (both large and small) that I know are reasonable for me to accomplish in one days time. There's a list of plenty to-dos, and my happy heart begins with brushing teeth, sliding on some clothes, and making my way out into the household where the rest of my family are gathering themselves to venture out into their respective worlds. Sarah J to work at the salon; Desi to check-in with her teacher at school.
Sarah J says to me:
"So Alan, my dad calls me this morning. He tells me that there is something he wants to talk with me about. He says that they haven't told me anything yet... but there is a new procedure being performed in parts of the world that have been having some positive results and are minimizing the symptoms caused by MS. An "experimental" medical procedure. The kind that doctors in the U.S. are not performing yet. The type that aren't covered by medical insurance."
The procedure basically places a small inflated balloon into vessels in your brain, dis-allowing the constriction that is caused by MS, which creates the symptoms associated with the disease.
He continues to divulge to her - and she to me, "Well, there are two surgeons in the U.S. which have begun to perform this procedure. Yesterday, in Long Beach, I had the procedure done."
Now Sarah J has been living with her dad's condition since she was a young girl (thirteen'ish.) He has been confined to a wheel-chair, for the most part, the better portion of a half-decade; and has been living with symptoms for just over fifteen years. His hands are often too drawn to grasp pencils or a cup.
She continued her story, "He told me, Alan, that about 1/3 of patients that undergo the surgery do not notice any dramatic results or seem unaffected. He then told me that after the surgery, yesterday, and throughout the rest of the day and night, that he had felt no different. No change. Both he, my mom, and the doctor all felt a little disheartened that no differences were felt (and my understanding is, often, some change is felt immediately.)
Upon waking this morning, rather early, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. The difference was, he didn't use his wheel-chair... he sat, stood, and walked... like he hadn't in years.
Almost unbelieving the turn of events, he woke his wife and gave her the warmest hug. Also, unlike the hugs of recent years - where she had been accustomed to bearing the majority of his weight upon her, during such times... this time he stood his own ground; legs steady and holding; embrace warm and energetic."
Miracles happen every day. All around us. Large and small. Some we create. This one I witnessed. I was awed.
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