Letting Go a Piece at a Time

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mother.

It was taken in Skagway, Alaska as we got ready to re-board the ship

after a day of riding the train to White Pass, which is what you do in Skagway.

It shows her sitting in her walker/wheel-chair which significantly

changed her life and ability to travel when we bought it several years ago.

Now, hopefully, it's changing someone else's life and improving their mobility.

Momma had peripheral neuropathy which is one of the complications of diabetes.

What she didn't know, because maybe even her doctors didn't know then,

is that with simple B-complex vitamins she might have diminished that

side effect of Metformin which she took for years.

The walker helped her have confidence getting around when she

could no longer feel her feet.

That walker literally allowed her to travel the world.

But, I digress...

This week I took the step of donating her walker/wheelchair.

I had previously loaned it to a friend who's co-worker had broken their leg

and was completely immobile.

It allowed my friend, and her other friends, to push this lady

out and about town; get her out of the house for a while.

And, I didn't feel bad about loaning it to them, because I knew it was coming back.

It was one of those objects that meant so much to my mother,

that I knew it would be hard to let go...

Loaning it out first made it easier.

There's a social worker at the hospital where I work at who's received

the bulk of Momma's medical supplies from her final days.

She knows the need, and she distributes things to her many clients.

I told her to make sure that someone very special got the walker.

Even though all of her clients are special, this was one of those pieces

that meant a lot to me because it meant a lot to my Momma.

I hope someone's life is changed because of it.

I hope someone's life is made better because of it.

I hope whomever receives it really appreciates it.

And, I truly hope that walker will continue to travel,

because if it could share the adventures it's had...

And, weird as it may sound,

I hope that walker has a long life helping people

because it helped and sometimes carried the most important

person in my life once upon a time.

Momma under the Alaskan Pipeline on our

second trip to Alaska...