MND Awareness Month- Going for a walk

Sometimes it’s the simple pleasure in life that are the most enjoyable. For people living with MND, everyday things like going for a walk can be a challenge. To help others understand this, Jos from Wellington put pen to paper and came up with this piece entitled “Going for a walk”. 

“The sun is shining brightly! Well, that means I can take advantage of the good day with gentle windy fresh air and sunny warmth. Shoes on, shawl on, purse over my shoulder and I'm off!

I will take in some street scenes and look at the windows of the main street shops. The first street I negotiate has a truck parked across the footpath, but after many apologies, the driver moves out onto the road to let me by and then re-parks where he was.

At the bottom of the first hill, I pass a bookshop with the owner and his dog sitting outside. Strange how much the dog objects to my passing his shop. For an old dog, he has a loud bark.

Next, I meet a man on a scooter who decides he needs to help me cross the street, so he parks his scooter in the middle of the road and puts his hand up to stop the traffic while I cross. The man, a familiar face to me by now from my weekly walks, tells me that I should have come down half an hour earlier then I could have had a free bowl of soup at the soup kitchen! Last week he challenged me to a race!

Then it's past the street singers and a homeless man – we nod as if each of us is feeling sorry for the other person.  There are Lots of people in many different outfits on the street, all so colourful!  Many fast, valuable cars pass the street crossings – I could enjoy a ride in them or just one of them.

Now it’s time to head back up the other hill where I can tell who had a party on the weekend from the recycling bins overflowing with interesting empty bottles.

As I return to the entrance of my village, I’m asked by an interested man how the springs cope when one negotiates the “sleeping Policemen” (traffic humps). I give a demonstration to satisfy his curiosity and continue on to finish my outing. My wheelchair rides can be quite eventful. In case you hadn't guessed, this is how I “walk” and no, the cops were never after me despite the rumours!

For more personal MND stories – click here.