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!

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE EPILEPTIC

On Saturday, November 14th after a late brunch in Bayside, we took a 4:28pm LIRR for 20 minutes to Penn Station and went to some places that Michelle wanted to show me like Bryant Park, which during this month and next for Christmas has about 30 to 40 booths, lots of sellers of ornaments mostly for tourists and an ice skating rink with a line of children wrapped around it. There is no Christmas tree yet there or in Rockefeller Center which made it easier to walk around without the over-crowded sidewalks and streets for a tree that is decorated the same every year. We walked around the Park and then to Lord & Taylor’s Christmas window displays under their gold lights which was beautiful.

After that Michelle knew a place that is open all year long, Christmas on 5th which is a very wide, long and Holy store with beautiful ornaments small and large as well as Nativity Scenes I do plan on purchasing, but we were short on time. Directly across the street was my favorite store - Barnes & Noble with a lot of movies and music - and vinyl’s on the second floor. I grabbed some books on the way out and onto St. Patrick’s Cathedral which had just been renovated beautifully all around, Michelle and I lit a few candles, said a few prayers and made some donations on its soon to be completion and then I noticed something on the right side of the church near the back - a Pieta’.

  A replica of Michelangelo’s who is widely regarded as the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance. Among his works are the "David" and "Pieta" statues and the Sistine Chapel. Most of his work was done there in Rome where he passed away at the age of 88 in 1564. This one shone here though in New York is a little different and far less famous.

I purchased four prayer books in the gift shop and left. It was now 7:30 and we were off to our 8 o’clock dinner reservation at Ted’s Montana Grill, we reserved a booth because Michelle and I noticed from the past that there are only 6 booths and a reservation is necessary which I remembered and told her to call earlier. At 7:45 we were there and the booth was ready for us. After all of that walking I had not one problem from early in the day to Ted Turner’s Montana Grill when I noticed a saying from Ted Turner himself on the wall above us which reads: Do something. Either lead, follow or get out of the way. Funny, but true as well.

And then this happened on our way back home in Penn Station...

A problem which has happened 2 times before at different times and days, both in Penn Station. It was about 9:45pm and we were waiting for a 10:18pm train home that Michelle and I were trying to catch with hopes that this time, since the day had gone so well already walking around town – even though we were tired after leaving the restaurant, but not so much that we couldn’t walk back to walk off the food we had just ate.

We reached the station escalator fine, but as soon as we got on with people all around, I had a drop attack seizure and it seemed like I was up against a wall. More of a dream really; rather a nightmare. As I opened my eyes again finally I found 4 people, 2 couples - Good Samaritans - who had pulled me off of the escalator with my 200 pounds of dead weight which then felt like much more (a body soaked in water so to speak). Michelle could not have done it alone.

A woman had asked my wife, “Is he okay, he looks like he’s falling down” she grabbed her husbands’ arm across the escalator and Michelle told them I was having a seizure. I was then grabbed along by his friend/family member and they pulled off and sat me down on the ground. There were at that time people Michelle and I remember walking on by around me, they would have walked on me not caring if I was dead or not, just kicking me aside.

As I finally woke up I started to speak to them, dazed at what had just happened and yet being in Penn Station it was no surprise, more like a curse destined to happen. As I started to say thank you to them the first woman looking down at me, after Michelle had told them that I was ok, "he’s had a seizure, he’s been Epileptic for about 30yrs", said to me that she has family members with seizures too so they understood my problem, no need to explain. They had also called some cops over to help me up, 6 Officers arrived and they wanted to call an ambulance for me, but I told them to hold on and give me a minute.

As I stood up and took off my now dirty leather jacket I handed it over to Michelle and they had a stunned look on their faces, I recall. They looked me over and saw that I was not hurt and I said thank you anyway but I’ll be fine. Although not 100% and still a bit shaken-up an officer asked us where we were headed and walked us over to the seating area about 300ft away and asked the gentleman at the front-desk about our train time and what track we would be on. Michelle and I sat as the officer pointed and we waited for our train to come.

The two times prior this year, the second was after going to a NY Ranger game in Madisen Square Garden as we leaned against a wall away from everybody else that could get hurt from me I still dropped what I was holding and slid down the wall to my right, Michelle was to my left, as I had gotten up there was one cop there asking us if we wanted any help and we both said no. As I probably looked like a drunken fool, which I was not - I was all scuffed up from the dirty floor from my face to shoes, yet nobody this time cared to stop and lend a hand, just stepped away from me.

Not everybody is as generous all the time but there were a few the time before that when Michelle went to get our tickets home as I stayed standing behind her against the giant center pillars near the ticket booths when I slid off of that too. Michelle saw and ran over to me as well as some other people who stayed around me so that I did not get trampled over by a crowd rushing to a train that had been called until I got myself up again. I remember that those ladies that found me there had themselves or family members with the same issues. In Penn Station when a train is called, if you don’t know it is like – All hell breaks loose for a seat and death would have come of it!       

On the train home now that night I found us two seats opposite from each other, didn’t care as long as we had somewhere to sit and put our bags down.

Michelle and I learned something after that last dreadful fall, to never take the LIRR home again because it seems no matter what time of night it is or what great day we had in the city, it will not end well in Penn. So for that matter we will be taking an UBER Car Service home, which is beginning to replace NY Taxi cabs in the city, which I have no problem with. Something tells me that a $40 car/cab service is safer than injuring myself or others because people like the ones that found me lying on the ground will not always be there!

There will be more bad than good in your life - unfortunately. Just try to stay positive about your life and you just might get through the hell you may be living in, if it hasn’t found you yet!