Silver Linings

Do these clouds have the silver lining? 

“You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining.”

-Pat Jr., to Dr. Cliff Patel, from the film Silver Linings Playbook based on the novel by Matthew Quick. 

I know that going to physical therapy is good for me; however, I arrived at my appointment with my usual lack of enthusiasm. It’s not convenient to leave work mid-day and miss my time to relax and eat lunch, only to get stuck in traffic trying to get back to work.  I was anxious to get in and get out. I can do whatever they ask me to do, and I can do it fast.

Since the injury was work related, the PT must document all the moves I can or can’t do for my job. As we were going through those moves, Pat (not her real name) said to me that the injury wasn’t such a bad thing to happen to me. I replied that I would much rather have not been injured in the first place. I did, however, admit that it’s been an opportunity to learn about how things work and how to take better care of myself.

She reminded me that the work we have done has been developmental and good for me. My legs are stronger and amazingly more flexible than they were before my injury. Learning to walk normally again has not exactly been a cake-walk, and Pat told me I could do it anyway. (Keep your foot straight, heel down first.)  She’s helped me pick better shoes. She motivated me to go to the gym so I would have access to the equipment I need to do the work on my own. She taught me how to tape my knee to lessen the stress on the joints so I can continue to be active without too much pain. She taught me how to slowly build myself back up. Rehab is a very patient process, and I get no brownie points for patience.

My knee is finally healing to the point where I don’t notice every move I make. I am seeing the light at the end of the rehab tunnel and I now believe that it’s possible for me to do everything that I could do pre busted knee cap. I see the possibility of continuing to build the strength in my legs over the winter so that I don’t have to start from square one when I get back on my bike in the spring, and doing so slowly with the patients and planning of Pat.  

Pat is a silver lining lady. I guess when all you do all day is help injured people attempt to get their lives back, you gotta be. Maybe it saves her sanity, as well as motivates those of us who are in the rehab process.  Every step forward I make is part of that silver lining. 

I am not by nature a silver lining person. Perhaps, if I strive with the patience and planning of Pat, I can overcome dreadful realism and become one.  One can hope. 

Peace! lw