Never Say Can't

"I would never tell you 

that you can't do something. 

Why would I do that?"

- my physical therapist

not my physical therapist

"Let me guess.

He got kicked in the head,"

my physical therapist ventured.

Yep. That's exactly what happened.

As Dr. Joe was stretching out my leg I was yapping about yesterday's Taekwondo competition.



He continued, "When that happens, guys like that will usually say 'Nice kick' and really mean it."



Wow.

That's right.

That's exactly what Andrew did.



"Yeah, I've been rehabbing injured martial artists for years. When you get that high a level, you're not in it for the trophies any more, you're in it for the experience."



Wow.

That's right.

That's exactly what Andrew said.



"I bet he's still talking about what a great shot his opponent got in. That's the thing about the martial arts. There's an appreciation for the art itself. When you get to a certain level, you don't have that pressure on you to constantly prove yourself and you can really get into the personal development end of it."



Yeah, Dr. Joe.

I think you're right.

I guess that's why Andrew was smiling yesterday after he got kicked really hard in the neck and crumpled to the mat like a sack of leaves. He now knows where his weakness is. He knows what he has to work on. He'll be better next time.



I couldn't stop talking about the competition yesterday. Dr. Joe said he'd been to those day long events where parents bring coolers full of food and people know they're in it for the long haul.

I made some comment about only being able to watch since I can't do martial arts with my new knees.



"Yes, you can," he said matter of factly as he manipulated my sore leg.

"I can?" I asked incredulously.

"You won't compete but you can practice martial arts. I'll show you the braces you would need to wear to keep the knees stable," he explained, "And you'll need to modify the movements to protect your prosthetics, but you can do it."



Dr. Joe gave me some new exercises today. My ab muscles were trembling along with my breathing. He told me I sounded like I was laughing. That made me laugh.



He said he was trying to find something that I was unable to do so he can challenge me.

I pushed hard through the weakness to the point of fatigue. At this point in my rehab I am to stop when I reach that point. Not when it hurts but when it hurts to the point of oh-god-please-make-it-stop.



I worked on the big-girl-steps machine and told him how much I HATED it. So when I reached 10 in my reps I announced that I was going to do one more just because I hated doing it so much. He didn't say anything till after my session.



When he dismissed me he said,

"Phenomenal work as usual."

Then bowed martial arts style.

I felt undeserving.



Maybe he's impressed with my determination.

I won't be impressed with my determination until I can infect others with it.

What good is being determined in a defeated world?



If I can get over my can'ts

I can teach others, too.



*Lisa's Video Pick of the Day*

Want to know why you don't have

a flat belly fter all those crunches?

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