Wake-Up Call

I went to see a physical therapist about my right hip recently. I’ve been really annoyed with the constant tightness that’s plagued my right side from my lower back all the way down through my groin and hamstring. It’s affected my ability to lift exactly how I want and has kept me up in the night at times. Basically, I’ve been feeling sorry for myself and thinking my life is over. I was definitely due for a wake-up call.

I arrived at the PT office early and found a seat on a box near the door. I had my trusty Kindle with me so I figured I’d just sit there and read until my appointment time. It was uncomfortable to sit as my nagging hip continued its constant reminder that something isn’t right.

Although I couldn’t see anyone else in the place, I could hear some conversation coming from a back room as one of the PTs worked with a patient. It seemed like a normal small talk conversation with intermittent fan bike noises as the patient did some interval sprints. Eventually, the PT and his patient came out to the main room where I was sitting. The patient was a young kid who couldn’t have been more than 13 or 14 years old, and it took me a second to register that he was missing a leg. I sat there quietly while this kid and his PT worked through some floor presses. From their discussion, I learned that this dude recently finished a round of chemotherapy and was missing a leg because he had bone cancer and had to have it amputated. Holy hell…here I am sitting there feeling sorry for myself because my hip is kind of sore, and this kid is bravely and casually facing the rest of his life with only one leg. What a wake-up call. I wanted to kick my own ass for being such a crybaby about my circumstances.

Get your head out of your ass and quit feeling sorry for yourself.