I received yet another parcel through the post today. God bless Amazon. I think I've bought every Christmas present from them this year. In today's package was a treat for me though. It's a book called Pushing The Limits by Mark Eccleston. Mark dived out of a tree into a haystack in a game of high jinx when he'd just left school. Sadly he missed the haystack, broke his neck and ended up in a wheelchair.
But this is no tale of woe. Mark went on to captain the British wheelchair rugby team, switched sports to tennis, became the first English player to be ranked World No 1 and won silver at the Athens Olympics. Talk about triumph! Can't wait to read it.
Since being diagnosed I have given in to moments - ok days, maybe even weeks - where I've used MS as an excuse for not getting up and getting on with my life because 'I'm too tired and my leg hurts and I can't see properly sometimes' (imagine high pitched whine for previous). Then I read about people who have had it proper hard, and I feel slightly ashamed. Then I go the other extreme, feel a complete fake because I haven't got Primary or secondary MS (the more aggressive types) so I plough myself into a very deep trough and end up laid flat for a few days, no use to man nor beast. Happily I'm starting to find some middle ground and have decided not to be so hard on myself.
So I shall enjoy getting stuck into Mark's book and be inspired by someone who has dusted himself off and taken on the world. I have a little confession..... I went to school with Mark, we grew up quite near to each other and he's a day older than me. We still keep in touch and his mum and my mum often natter at the bus stop in the village. When I think back to when the accident happened and remember what he was like in those early days and see how much he's overcome and how much he's achieved, I feel full of admiration and respect. And I also feel immensely proud that a lad I know has written a book that I bought on Amazon. How cool is that? Maybe one day he'll be buying mine.
Comments