Eighteen inches.  A foot & a half.

In golf, an 18-inch putt is no gimme, especially for Tiger Woods!  In football, a foot & a half can sometimes seem like a mile when going for a first down.

But I never -ever thought eighteen inches would become such a formidable barrier with my multiple sclerosis.

Use some scrubbing bubbles on that tub!

You see, that’s the distance I must hike my legs to get in or out of our shower.

It wasn’t a big deal for a long time—but now as MS has comfortably nestled itself in my body like a cat on a pillow—this foot & a half has become a stubborn challenge.

(Note:  “stubborn challenge” is a polite way of saying “pain in the ass.”)

Grab under the knee & hike the leg

For a couple of years, I’ve had to physically lift my right leg when climbing stairs.

At sporting events it is interesting to see the horrified faces of people in the stands watching me as I climb the stairs like a possessed Jeff Dunham puppet!

But on this particular day, I got into the shower fine, I just couldn’t get out!  After over-doing it during the day, it was a struggle to lift either leg (good leg-left, bad leg-right) over the edge of the tub.

A hand under my knee, I attempted to lift my foot over the mere 18-inch lip to no avail.

Both my right & left legs were both too fatigued to make the climb.

How was I to escape my wet imprisonment?

Living on the edge.

It would have been too easy to sit on the edge and lift my legs over–but that thought didn’t even occur to me!

I figured I had three options.  One, live out my remaining years in that shower as the “world’s pruniest man.”  Two, I could cut off my feet using a loofah sponge.  Or three, give it one more heave-ho.

And with that I hoisted my left leg out while dragging my right over the top.

Yes, finally I was free!

I was exhausted too.  And covered with sweat.  (Wait, that was water from the shower.  I hadn’t dried off yet!)

If you are wearing shorts, just pull on the legs to raise your foot!

It’s time to consider a shower chair, I know.  Just another way MS creeps in and takes over our lives.

What gives you the most trouble?  Getting into showers?  Up stairs?  Through doorways?  Climbing into cars?  All of the above?

With MS, the smallest steps sometimes seem to be the biggest obstacles we face.  It’s our job to find the way to get over those challenges.  And I know you will—because you have MS.  And like the rest of us– you’re a tough ‘ol bird!

Today, everything has become corporately-owned, even many prisons!

You may even begin hearing commercials for prisons advertising for greater recognition.  How would they sound?  Click on the title at the end of this sentence to hear a :60 mp3 commercial for Northeast Community Corrections

“Northeast Community Corrections” was written by My Odd Sock and produced by Tony Gialluca Productions.

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What is Tiger Woods looking at with his intense, legendary focus?….

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 Ah, now we know!