My dog.
I got his MRI report back today. He’s bust 2 discs out, one of which is compressing his spinal cord by 80%. The rest aren't look too clever either!
But he doesn’t really care. He’s just living his best life, and when he can’t feel his leg and consequently falls over, gets back up and gets on the best he can.
But just imagine if he were like my other dog, who when faced with even the tiniest bit of pain, curls up on her bed and won’t move.
He’d be so miserable.
But he’s not one to dwell on things.
He just gets on with it.
Just as I am. Because let’s face it, that cord is either gonna get severed by the other stuff he’s got going on in his spine, or he’s gonna bulge the rest of the disc juice out and compress it completely.
So he’s going to lose his legs, probably his bowels, and consequently get put down...at some point.
But what’s the point of me sitting here, wasting energy, envisioning the ins and out of every stage of that. Trying to establish when it’s going to happen. Thinking about ways I could prevent it from happening. Crying at the inevitable and burying myself in grief?
There’s none. It’ll happen when it happens, or he’ll just keep on going until something else gets him.
In the meantime I'm going to do the best I can for him, by taking him to hydrotherapy, doing his physio every day, keeping his muscles as strong as possible, and enjoying what time he has left.
Because time waits for no one. Not for him. Not for me. Not for you.
So we need to make the most of it NOW, as opposed to wasting it.
So the motto of this story is two-fold:
1. Stop wasting energy getting utterly consumed with worrying about what may or may not happen. Just get on with it and deal with each thing IF and when it arises. Unless inaction is going to make things worse, of course!
2. Stop giving yourself grief, just because you’re not cat walking to your goals. Simply stand your arse up, get walking, and if you fall over, stand back up and keep on going, no matter how much you're wobbling.
Charley has me by his side and with a sling to hand, for those times he just can’t get himself up.
Because sometimes we all need a little hand. That’s the way life is.
Sometimes it’s necessary, so we can live our best lives.
So, if you don't feel you're living your best life at the moment, and are having a bit of a wobble about how to achieve your goals as quickly as possible, then you know where I am.
I draw a line at chronic flatulence though. Only the mutt gets away with that one.
Your Personal Trainer (and temporary doggie physiotherapist),
Alex
Charley, in 2012, aged 12 months.
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