MS MuSings
Monthly Online Magazine
By and For those living with MS,
Multiple Sclerosis
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Monthly Online Magazine By and For those living with MS, Multiple Sclerosis
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Tables of Contents: More Contents:
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By Stephen Baron One of my most cherished memories is the day I did laps in our backyard swimming pool with our daughter Alexis. It occurred on a warm July afternoon. I was 40, she was 7. Already an accomplished swimmer, I was accustomed to doing about 1000 yards daily at the college pool where I taught. But that was almost twelve years earlier, before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now I had difficulty just walking not to mention swimming. Actually, swimming was easier because the water supported my weight. Nevertheless, I was anxious because it had been a while since I had been in the water. Mustering my fortitude, I ventured out the back door, down the steps and toward the pool. Without the assistance of a walker, I would never have made it. Sometimes I relied on forearm crutches, but this time I used a walker. Safer, I thought. Step by step I inched my way to the pool. One mistake and I would become one with the sidewalk. To hear me describe it, and the way it confronted me, one might get the impression that the pool was hundreds of yards away. Actually, it was less than 20 yards outside the back door, although it seemed much further. Getting to the pool was only half the battle. Getting in was a challenge all its own. How to negotiate the ladder, I pondered. Delicately, I began lowering myself down the four steps into the water. One slip, I realized, and I would go crashing helplessly into the pool. Not a prospect I relished. After what seemed like an eternity, I made it all the way in. Feeling rather proud of myself, I meandered around, showing off you might say. Shortly thereafter, Alexis came bounding into the pool. A gregarious seven year old, she was also an enthusiastic swimmer. In camp she was frequently the first into the pool and the last one out. In that regard, she took more after me, as I am the water lover in the family. I proposed that we swim laps together. As we had never done this before it was an experience. Sure, we had played in the water, but never seriously did laps. Here was my big chance. Perhaps the one thing I clearly did better than Alexis’s mother. My being disabled presented obvious difficulties. Most notable among them, my legs would drag behind me in the water. I compensated for this by affixing children’s arm floats behind my knees. This had the salutary effect of keeping my legs afloat while I stroked with my arms. Not perfect, but not useless either. Sufficiently prepared, Alexis and I set to the task. What a wonder! Side by side we swam laps. I cannot recall exactly how many we swam, but the distance was not the important thing. The very fact of our swimming together was. It gave me great pleasure and confidence. As a significant part of being a father is doing things WITH your kids, rather than just for them, being disabled presented a challenge all its own. Doing laps with Alexis lifted my spirits. It demonstrated to me that being disabled need not be an insurmountable barrier to being a good father. Reach Stephen by email to comment: sbaron@twcny.rr.com |
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