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If you like this memoir, try Caldwell's earlier one, Let's Take the Long Way Home. No matter what your problems are, this book will charm and inspire you. By Gail Caldwell Just when we think we've got things figured out, even if it includes low expectations about mobility due to a diminishing functioning leg, life hands its surprises.When an orthopedic surgeon diagnoses Caldwell's problem leg, not as she's always thought was post-polio syndrome, but as a hip.
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A woman full of Texas grit and can-do, Gail writes beautifully about life, pain, and growing as a person. A rower for many years, Gail, soon went back to lifting her boat into the water. She learned to both listen to and push her body forward. This tough, strong woman learned here how it felt to no longer be independent. Also covered are her close relationships with both her parents, particularly her mother. Not only does the book describe Gail’s medical woes, but it also details her experience raising a pup, and her experiences as a child with polio. Not even her dog accepted her altered state. The dog smelled Gail’s blood and anxiety and bolted toward the door. On one of her worst days, a friend brought her Samoyed home after Gail returned from the hospital. Not only was rehab very painful, but it left Gail weaker than she’d ever been as an adult. She needed hip replacement immediately.Īs a single person, Gail relied on her friends and neighbors for support. Upon doing them, he discovered that Gail’s hip was shattered with the ball absolutely flat. The new doctor asked to see her CT scans and X-rays but there were no recent ones. And as Tula grew, Gail soon found herself falling more and more often, and that she could no longer hike the three mile reservoir loop with her strong-willed pet.ĭoctor after doctor told Gail that her limp, the weakness in her leg and her frequent falls were caused by her polio, but Gail finally sought another opinion. In her late fifties she decided to adopt a strong Samoyed pup. In this account she describes how her mother sprawled on the floor with her when she was young and did the tough leg exercises needed to strengthen Gail’s leg.Īll her life, Gail adapted to living with a bum leg. Gail Caldwell suffered from polio as a small child.
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Wow, does Caldwell know how to spin a yarn. Reserve a Meeting Room or Gallery Spaceĭid you ever hobble around on crutches? Discover that you most basic possession, your body, does not work as it once did? This excellent memoir about rehabilitation, friendship, loss, and the love of a great dog is a tearjerker at times, but always incredibly well-written.Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL).Community Access Television Services (CATS).