THE POWERS THAT DRIVE

For the person or persons in one’s life that makes us, not uses us for their own benefits, but rather for our capabilities, our own resources, prosperity and power to drive us to overcome our obstacles in life, and the obstacles of other lives in the process.

I have been gifted my entire life with many family members who taught me the ins & outs and the rights & wrongs when the help was needed to drive me to accomplish many of life’s problems, aside from school.

School was good, and expensive, but a mathematician I was not, not then and not now, but school can’t teach you everything that you need to see firsthand on how to drive yourself for greater things in life.

And I did, but my epilepsy kept me away, always, to do more for others as they were driven to do for me. So let’s flash forward 27 years since I was ten, to June 7th, 2017, on an anniversary road trip to Portland, Maine.

(Note: A trip that I will share with you soon)

At 7a.m. after the bellhop had our luggage, which was way too much as always, on that very last minute leaving the hotel room, a broken right leg occurred caused by seizures in both a bad time and place. This should not drive you into certain circumstances that is out of your control or fault, but the pain remained, thriving since then having to walk on a broken leg while grasping the wall in a Hotel with long hallways and to stand and hold my ground, waiting for the valeted car to arrive.

And some of us take it as a test; a test from The Lord to see just how strong we are and in all actuality, it is the drive that keeps us waking up every morning, always expecting THAT day to be better than the last.

And June 7th was no different, having to hold my leg up with both hands on our entire 5 hour road trip of hills and bumps, hi-way traffic and street traffic back to New York, keeping the pressure off my leg, never to touch the ground. I had the strength and power to drive myself to do such a thing, so, I used it to the best of my capabilities.

A broken leg is sometimes just a broken leg, and we are not gods, but we are God’s creatures and children, so, we drive ourselves to find ways to better the condition that was handed down to us, and so, a double layered fiber glass cast was ordered by my doctor due to the matter of epilepsy, our best of two options which was first that surgery with a steel bar and screws would be more painful to a person suffering from falling issues.

We make choices on how to cooperate with the issue at hand to show others the way we live with what we must use to get by day after day, night after night to drive us to do good for others rather than yourself alone.

My doctor gave me some insight which is that every one pound of body weight is ten pounds on your ankles, meaning that my body weight x ten is 2,100 pounds of pressure and with all that, I have kept myself in shape so that that would have never of been an issue normally.

On crutches, in and out of wheelchairs, and on scooters lifting one leg up while the rest of you rolls yourself around homes and city streets, we find ways to recuperate by the drive that is given to us to wait as long as it takes to get the job done.

We must never forget the sacrifices that others do for us, family or friends, that gives to you all the help that they can offer to keep you in check day by day, and sometimes a bit too much before they get hurt from things they do, like straining muscles bringing your things from one place to another. This should give you just one realization - the power that drives THEM.

Depending on the severity, the problem can take up to 6- 8 weeks, 6 months to a year and then some on the recovery process, especially if the problem keeps occurring, and for an epileptic like myself, whose issues won’t falter, there is one thing that keeps me in check every day, which is

My Power to Drive to do better things for the lives of others!

SAMMY, ONE AMAZING DOG!

Sammy is now 10 years old, born on July 10th . It all started at a puppy mill in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Amish country on August 27th 2005 by my brother Michael, making the dog now 64 years old. The ratio in case you don’t have a dog is 7:1 but 1:1 their first year to humans. Sammy is a fun loving Jack Russel Terrier, very smart and very strong. His breed is something special, one of the smartest of all and I have a true story to prove it. Jack Russel’s are small to medium sized dogs, on average 15 to 20 pounds and definitely a Terrier. They are a hunting breed with a long snout, speed and strength and what hunters love most about them – catching rabbits mostly.

Sammy is older now and weighs in at 26 pounds.    

He runs like a bullet, made his own track in our backyard at a previous house which he enjoyed compared to the new house he has lived in the past five years. The first five years were perfect for him to grow and run and have fun. The rest of us, besides my mother were working at the time and two brothers in school. The first year my mother hated Sammy, despised him. She would ask all of us at the dinner table many times this question while in an angry tone. “Who would you guys prefer to live with, Sammy or me, make your choice”.

My brothers Chris, Michael, Anthony, Dad and I every time yelled out “Sammy”. She knew that she was not going to win so the question stopped. After that Sammy started to grow on her to become her most favorite in the family. He would chase the cats away constantly, but they would return because Chris fed them, always. I’ll get back to that later. Sammy learned English and Italian, some tricks and how to respond by making funny sounds which he picked up from Michelle who he fell in love with. In 2012 after our wedding with me at my parents he noticed me back everyday, but the weekends and this is when he became my personal Watchdog.

Now a watchdog is a trained as a puppy for the needy of all sorts or as Canine Cops. Sammy was already seven, much older but just as smart. Dad told him one thing and one thing only which changed him - “Sammy, stay here and watch Bruno”, and that was all it took. For fours years so far he has stayed by my side always, in his bed when I sat on the couch I dread so much, only rose when I did and swung my hand to give him the signal to come and run to the back door or stayed with me while I ate at the table. He knew when and if I fell, always stayed by the bathroom door to listen. When we walked, he knew where the stairs were around the house and made sure that he was by my side on my right to keep me safe as well and he turned his head around to make sure that I was still there with him.

He truly is an amazing dog!  He loves birthdays and Christmas mostly because we allow him to open all of the presents and even look at what’s in the box to get his approval, from toys to shirts and ties, I kid you not. He is adorable when he smiles and you can just wonder what he is thinking. My little NY Ranger.  

Most of the time that I look at him I know that even though they aren’t saying anything that he’s smarter then we are. Michelle always says herself “If he could only talk, I wonder what he’s thinking”. I just tell her that “I think if he could Michelle, it would be pretty creepy”.  Michelle loves The Gremlin’s which is always what she’s referring too, the one that turns into a scientist in the Second movie. Would be funny, but that would mean all talking!

Any baby, child or dogs/cats, his breed is 100% safe. He loves any young creature, goes up to babies and stops in his tracks and puts his little wet nose onto them and turns away. Only my 2 year old cousin Nicholas has ever been knocked over, fallen and giggled along with every adult as well laughing because it was not intentional.

Sammy chases cats always as dogs do, but jumps right over the kittens aka his friends to chase the big angry ones that have the intention of hurting him. He barks and barks along with adults until you pet him, become his friend and he will remember you always and forever. But from chasing those 12 cats left and right, he ended up injuring his back legs/ knees (deteriorating joints) to where he was unable to bend them, forcing him to hop on his hind legs like a rabbit. Sammy spends most of his time in his bed away from even me, afraid and embarrassed of himself. He went to the vet twice who put him on pain killers and steroids because he was not eating a thing and losing weight, and it’s now October. He had lost a few big teeth on his right side in December 2014 and June 2015 and needed to have soft food only, not hard as the doctor ordered. I always gave him that kind and Michelle bought him many soft snacks, but then he stopped eating them as well. The steroids help for a bit but he refused to take pain killers unless he is tricked to, using cheese or fortune cookies. He stopped almost everything, would not follow me anymore as well as not walking up stairs, if he went out for his business, he would not come back in and had to be picked up. The 1inch stoop by the front door he refused as well, and has to be assisted.

On Sunday October 18, my brother Michael and his fiancé Despina got married and we needed him for pictures like at my wedding 4.5 years ago so he was called, not walking well but that somehow changed the next day. This can be possibly because we had 50 people in my parent’s house or more and the same amount the next day which is why I think Sammy decided to give it a shot and walk again. We all saw his legs walking like normal almost round and round. I was just worried of him getting stepped on accidentally. I was soo happy as was Michelle, many others outside of my immediate family did not know of his problems. I had Michelle with me almost the whole day to do what I wanted, to stand. It was a party and the seats were for a few people that needed to sit and eat so I stood and sat when the time was right and available.

Sammy is a one of a kind dog that will never be a replaceable nor would we want to. We plan on having him for as long as is possible! He keeps me company always and will forever. All dogs do go to heaven, this one will break my heart more then any pet ever has if I cannot see him smile in his bed everyday or napping next to me always wherever that may be or to see him waiting for me at the top of the steps or by the outside doors to keep me safe or hear him running with his dog tags on his color around his neck dangling.  

FUN FACT ABOUT SAMMY:

For the past five years since the central vacuum system in the house was installedSammy became what my mother calls him -

"The Vacuum Cop/Police".

Now Sammy knows where all of the central system vents are and absolutely must be the one to show my mother from the first to the last when she takes out the hose. He oversees every crevice in the house which is not the funniest part of Sammy around the house from top to bottom. He runs to each of these central vacuum vents, but then races back to me because he is terrified like a baby of each vent and jumps on me.

I have to save his shaking little body all day and yet he jumps off of me right back to do it all over again. :)