I guess I need to do a little explaining here. First off, I didn't harm her nor do anything mean to hurt her feelings.
And she wasn't crying like THIS (click to see). Nope, it was one of those little eye-moistening kind of tears, where the eyes get a little glassy, but it disappears with the blink of an eye. (Click here for an example Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life )
So what was it that I did?
I made the innocuous comment, "Honey, I walked to the train after work." My route to work
I know, I know it's nothing like Ali Macgraw's "Preppy, Love means never having to say you're sorry" from that 1970 tear jerker "Love Story" or Gale Sayers' speech from "Brian's Song."
Nope, just "Honey, I walked to the train after work." And as you can see from the "My route to work" link its not that far of a walk, but sometimes you have to ratchet down your expectations when faced with a new set realities. As is the case here.
You see, prior to this MS thing I was active and athletic, usually running 20 miles a week, while commuting 4 hours a day and keeping up with a household filled with 3 growing children, a wide variety of pets and a perpetual motion wife. Thirteen years hence; the children have grown, we still have a number of pets, my wife hasn't slowed at all, but the progression of the disease has severely limited my physicality (Physicality Defined). So now even walking the dogs around the block can sometimes be taxing.
When I landed a new job, the distance from the train to the office was a point of concern. Would I be able walk the distance in a timely manner without causing too much physical stress to my body? The fare plus tip for a cab was about $5.00, so cabbing it was doable but I knew that finding a late night cab could be a problem so I wanted a backup.
At an appointment with my neurologist I mentioned the issue of walking to and from the train and he suggested I try a new drug that was designed to improve walking for MS sufferers. I was leery at first. The literature warned of a high risk of seizures and went onto say that they didn't fully understand how the medication works.(Click for Ampyra information) It sounded dicey but I decided to give it a go despite the risks. Because of the risk of seizures, a half dose of 1 pill a day is administered for the first week, and if all goes well, the full dosage of 2 pills a day follows.
After getting my new work routine down I began taking the medication. I felt such an improvement after the first dosage that I decided to walk to the train after I got off work. There are a number of routes I could follow to get to the train station. I chose to walk by a heavily travel road so I could grab a cab if need be. My stride was smoother and I didn't tire as I usually do.
I was pretty excited and I let my imagination get away from me. I seldom dream when I sleep, but every so often I awaken from a dream about running. As I walked to the station I had this Walter Mitty like experience where I imagined myself running on the beach, much like I did when I lived on the East Coast. My Vision (theme song added) If this is how I felt with a partial dose, I wondered what I would feel like once I began the complete regimen.
Unfortunately, I learned that the additional dose only lengthens the improvement but doesn't magnify it.
So once again I had to alter my expectations and be happy with the improvements that I was feeling.
Anyway, that was the night that I brought a tear to my wife's eye. Or maybe it was just another Walter Mitty (Wikipedia on "Walter Mitty" ) moment for me and the tears might have actually been mine.
Nope, just "Honey, I walked to the train after work." And as you can see from the "My route to work" link its not that far of a walk, but sometimes you have to ratchet down your expectations when faced with a new set realities. As is the case here.
You see, prior to this MS thing I was active and athletic, usually running 20 miles a week, while commuting 4 hours a day and keeping up with a household filled with 3 growing children, a wide variety of pets and a perpetual motion wife. Thirteen years hence; the children have grown, we still have a number of pets, my wife hasn't slowed at all, but the progression of the disease has severely limited my physicality (Physicality Defined). So now even walking the dogs around the block can sometimes be taxing.
When I landed a new job, the distance from the train to the office was a point of concern. Would I be able walk the distance in a timely manner without causing too much physical stress to my body? The fare plus tip for a cab was about $5.00, so cabbing it was doable but I knew that finding a late night cab could be a problem so I wanted a backup.
At an appointment with my neurologist I mentioned the issue of walking to and from the train and he suggested I try a new drug that was designed to improve walking for MS sufferers. I was leery at first. The literature warned of a high risk of seizures and went onto say that they didn't fully understand how the medication works.(Click for Ampyra information) It sounded dicey but I decided to give it a go despite the risks. Because of the risk of seizures, a half dose of 1 pill a day is administered for the first week, and if all goes well, the full dosage of 2 pills a day follows.
After getting my new work routine down I began taking the medication. I felt such an improvement after the first dosage that I decided to walk to the train after I got off work. There are a number of routes I could follow to get to the train station. I chose to walk by a heavily travel road so I could grab a cab if need be. My stride was smoother and I didn't tire as I usually do.
I was pretty excited and I let my imagination get away from me. I seldom dream when I sleep, but every so often I awaken from a dream about running. As I walked to the station I had this Walter Mitty like experience where I imagined myself running on the beach, much like I did when I lived on the East Coast. My Vision (theme song added) If this is how I felt with a partial dose, I wondered what I would feel like once I began the complete regimen.
Unfortunately, I learned that the additional dose only lengthens the improvement but doesn't magnify it.
So once again I had to alter my expectations and be happy with the improvements that I was feeling.
Anyway, that was the night that I brought a tear to my wife's eye. Or maybe it was just another Walter Mitty (Wikipedia on "Walter Mitty" ) moment for me and the tears might have actually been mine.
