7

I had my parents over at my place for dinner tonight. They are so worried about me and want to spend time with me, so I invited them to my place. To get to my apartment after work, I got off the bus and then turned into the lane to walk over to the entrance with no stairs. I missed my footing a few feet into the lane on a pothole and went down. Since there was no way I could get up on my own, I called out to the first person who walked past and asked for a hand getting up. The first person was this black dude who came over and offered his hand to help me up. I don't have the strength in my legs to get up with just a hand for support and he had to pull my body up.

As coincidence would have it, my parents drove into the lane right as he was lifting me up. They stopped right away and jumped out of their van. By then I was standing and stable but they ran to me and my dad grabbed me. The guy took off and I didn't get a chance to thank him. I think they scared him away, rushing over so fast. My mother later told me she thought I was in a fight with him. That's ridiculous. I called out a thank you but I'm not sure he heard me. That really sucks, and I feel bad, because most people are conditioned to say "no" whenever approached on the street, and this guy helped me out right away.

It's really easy to imagine right now how hard it would be for someone in a wheelchair to get around. I notice the little things like the sidewalk ramp depressions on the street crossings for people to wheel themselves up on.. things that are just taken for granted. On the flip side, I also notice how relatively easy it is to get around; elevators are everywhere, and there are ramps almost everywhere that there are stairs. Twenty years ago that wouldn't have been the case, but it still doesn't make it easy. I'm taking a longer route to walk to work from the bus stop in the morning, but there is less chance I will fall down.

Last week I was really depressed from going to see a bunch of doctors and not knowing what was happening to me. Thursday and Friday really lifted me up, as did Sunday. I was really depressed on Thursday and didn't even bother going to work after finishing with the neurologist. I went to the opera on Thursday night and even though it's not my thing, I'm very glad I was able to spend time with some close friends. I would go again just for that. On Friday, I went out to the Caprice and even though I sat for most of the night, I still went up and danced a bit, holding one of the girls' hands to keep stable. Besides.. someone had to watch the alcohol while everyone was up dancing. I also now know that it takes two Heinekens for Mike to go up on the dance floor. On Sunday, a new friend I met about a month ago called me up in the afternoon because she had thought of me and had bought an herbal treatment that she thought might help. She wasn't home when I picked it up but had left a card with it. That card is now in my living room next to my photos.

I will do something special for everyone close to me. I just need to think of what to do.