Gimp Tennis

My prosthetist (that’s an amputee technician) Gary Berke, invited me to a tennis clinic for all of us physically challenged. I went to support him but didn’t think I would play. After all, look at me.
Before I knew it, they had 8 of us on the court doing little drills first from the baseline and working up to the net. I was surprised at the stamina I had in the 90 degree heat. My workouts are paying off.
There were three women. Myself, a much younger gal who hid her prosthesis under jeans, and Renee who was healthy and fit and hit the ball harder than any of the guys. My friend AJ, ( a young athletic guy who was in a head on collision while on his motorcycle while his parents watched in the car behind him) was out of sorts from being out all night drinking with his buddies. I was surprised to see him without a cane. In fact, I was the only one with a cane and I started to think about how I don’t really need it that much anymore (or do I? Hmmm.). I walk a bit around the house without it and I think I will try to do more. It would take a lot of effort since I would walk like a penguin and wack out my back if I didn’t concentrate on trying to walk straight.
Anyway, towards the end they started to make it more competitive by making us hit certain targets over the net and then a process of elimination for those that couldn’t hit within a certain area. Of course, I won. It felt good to hit some balls again. It’s been a very long time. I don’t miss it much. I still enjoy the game and watch it on tv.
As I talked to Gary about wanting to walk without a cane, he reminded me that AJ is much younger than me (over 30 years). I thought about that and reflected that a lot of the reason I have been able to accept my disability is that I did play tennis and won many tournaments, I did Bay to Breakers, I have done many mountain bike trips. I, fortunately, did a lot of physical things when I had the youth, health, and ability to do those sports. and enjoy them. For younger people who have many more years before them it will be a much larger handicap.
Our lives are very similar in the sense that we all have some handicaps, strengths, weaknesses, poor health and good health at any one time or another. Just as it is…..
I just smiled when a very smart gentlemen from my writer’s group approached me and said “I suffer with horrible back pain every day and the doctors say there is nothing they can do. But I wake up every morning and thank God that I didn’t have to experience what you’ve been through.” I smiled because being drug free and pain free, I could have said the same thing about him. LOL!