Sharing.....

[Guest guest]

***** ALERT******

The following are shared not to brag, but to simply encourage you and

to share with you. These things that I am about to share are not for

me to get " Way to go " s or encouragement, as I already have that

encouragement. These are shared simply to encourage YOU. This is

one of the things that I have a hard time doing, as I try to be very

careful not to be " me " centered, but I know that to not share this

would be more " me " centered than sharing something, as it may help to

encourage someone else, even though this is so deeply personal.

Last night, I pitched a nine inning softball game. It was a tough

game, extra innings, lots of running, etc., and I was able to make it

through the WHOLE game! I ran, I hit, I pitched, I fielded, I hate

typing I that much, but I (there it is again) just wanted to share

that this is a wonderful thing! It is a blessing to be able to be

this active! Oh, and we won again. We needed to win to take second

place, and we did!

Last year, when I finally could play, I could not do much the next

day. I did not have the energy to play whole games (I actually

hardly played at all), and when I did, the next day I was a basket

case. Well, this year I have pitched every out of every inning, and

can do all kinds of things the next day, like work in the yard,

exercise, play with the kids, etc. Today, I toured Mashpee on my

bicycle. The ride started with my going from my house to the end of

Great Neck road, on the other end of Mashpee, having a cup of coffee,

then back on the bike. It started to rain, so I thought of going

home, but the rain relented, so I headed all the way back to the

middle of Mashpee, into Southport to say hi to my folks for just a

minute. They were very busy (they started a new business, running

the grill at the new golf course at Southport), so I just said a

quick hi and went back on the road. This time, I headed toward the

commons, rode around behind Stop and Shop, then over into and around

the commons, down past Deer Crossing, and over and back through the

Commons. After that, I went down 151 to the Quashnet River trails.

There, the adventure got REALLY interesting! The trails start out as

a combination of hard and soft packed dirt. Here I am with my Camel

Pack (2 liters of Crystal light in it), my CD player with one of my

favorite Bible Teachers in my headphones (studying the Book of

Judges), my cell phone, my pager, my wallet and a few other things in

the pack, set up and going through the woods, wires hanging from my

ears under my helmet. I was the only person as far as the eye could

see in those woods the whole time. The rain drizzled off and on, but

it was a BLAST! Finally, after about an hour and change of riding

through the woods, I caught the power lines. I knew that if I went

one way or the other, it would bring me somewhere that I would

recognize so that I could start toward home. The power lines are

hard to ride, in that they have hard trail running into soft patches

of sand, but I was holding my own! At one point, I was able to ride

uphill on a hard packed, bumpy dirt section along the side of the

trail, actually yelling out " WOOOO HOOOOOO! " twice as I jumped up and

over some dips..... then it struck me... I am having a BLAST, and I

am not bored, or tired!!! This is just like being a kid again! The

hills, the riding, the not worrying whether I can get back to where I

live, the whole thing was just overwhelming. I stopped, turned off

the headset, and I thanked my Lord for where I am today. The morning

started with my being very bored and a little sore (I got hit in the

ribs with a line-drive last night and have some achille's

tendonitis). Now here I was, wildly riding a trail, actually

verbalizing delight out loud, at almost 40 years old! It is great to

have this new lease on life! After a few more minutes, my cell phone

rang. It is a new one, with a setting that answers the phone if the

headset is plugged in. It was my wife. She and the girls are out

doing a ladies day out with some other women from church. She asked

how I was doing. As I was puffing and pedaling, I excitedly shared

with her how excited I was and how much fun I was having. When she

comes home, I have to remember to thank her for her part in all of

this. Some guys come through this process and start looking for a

newer model (this is not picking on a previous post, but simply

stating something that I have read about in another group that I am

in, where the divorce rate for people post-op is pretty high), but I

can truly say that there would be no such thing as trading up in my

case. She is the best!

Anyway, to make a long story short (why do people say that when it

has already been a long story?), last year, the trip to the end of

Great Neck Road and back was all that I could do, and even that was a

task. Today, I rode for the better part of three hours, and I could

go out right now and do it again if it were not for the rain! What a

blessing it is to be set free from the body that I was trapped in!

Even at this time last year, I was happy with how well I was doing

just a couple of months out. Now, I am thrilled beyond measure!

After I came off of the power lines and hit the road, I took a trip

through the sand pit area, down behind Casey's Landscaping and the

Atrium, rode over to the Dunkin Donuts on 151 for another coffee,

relaxed a bit, then rode the road back home in the rain. That is

when I remembered the child I was who never knew that I was going to

be fat. I noticed that he had reawakened to realize that it is

finally here: I am not fat anymore. I am set free. No more fear of

it coming back, no more beating myself up, no more needing

affirmations from anyone... I have arrived, it is over, I have been

set free. This is truly just now hitting me. I walk in the house

and go to the mirror. The 407 pound man is gone. He will not be

back. Thank you Lord for this gift!!!

God bless,

Joe

<><

[Guest guest]

Joe, what a beautifully written description of your adventure! I really

enjoyed reading it. I caught the excitement you had and it was very

invigorating and inspiring. But my brain cells are sputtering and wondering

WHY I recognize Great Neck Road. Where are you?

Debbie in Gig Harbor (170cm medial)

ladybostons@...

http://www.cafeshops.com/copsstore

[Guest guest]

Joe,

Thanks for letting us in on your great adventure. Congratulations on

letting yourself enjoy it.

in Austin

RNY April 1998

----- Original Message -----

> ***** ALERT******

> The following are shared not to brag, but to simply encourage you and

> to share with you.

[Guest guest]

Joe writes: " The following are shared not to brag, but to simply

encourage you and to share with you. These things that I am about to

share are not for me to get " Way to go " s or encouragement "

Hah! I ALWAYS brag about my accomplishments on this board, and I

LOVE the " way to gos " ! Who else other than people on this board can

really understand that things which seem small and normal to non-

wlsers are a huge accomplishment for us? Ride a horse? SCUBA? Learn

to ski? These are MAJOR to me! I love hearing from others about the

new things they can do, and the wonder of living a fuller, more

physical life.

So brag away. I will.

Smiles,

Vicki

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

Cape Cod, I believe. :-)

Ziobro

Some mornings it doesn't pay to chew through the straps.

RE: Sharing.....

Joe, what a beautifully written description of your adventure! I really

enjoyed reading it. I caught the excitement you had and it was very

invigorating and inspiring. But my brain cells are sputtering and

wondering WHY I recognize Great Neck Road. Where are you?

Debbie in Gig Harbor (170cm medial)

ladybostons@...

http://www.cafeshops.com/copsstore