I woke up at about 5:00 in the morning one day last week. I just had a dream. A dream so real that it was almost impossible to tell that I indeed was actually dreaming. In my dream, I was walking down Scotts Valley Dr. (street near my home) and my left leg struggled as usual to keep up with the rest of my body. Small right step....crutch forward...and...1....2....3 step with the left. As I continued to walk, I looked down at my feet and I could feel my steps becoming more coordinated. Step with right...step with left...step with right....step with left.....my legs were working. I didn't want to push things, but I had to see if I could jog. I picked up the pace and began trotting...then jogging....then running. I was actually running. I could feel the wind in my hair and the beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead. I said to myself "I'm running"...."This is how free I used to be"..."My body is so light"......"Yes!" And with a last step, I was awoken from my dream and I felt the weight of my leg, the contortion of my arm...reality cam heavily...it was only a dream...IT WAS ONLY A DREAM.

As I lay there in bed, coming quickly back to reality, water began to swell in my eyes and the first tear fell from my left eye, then my right, left, right, left, right...I struggled to roll over and proceeded to soak my pillow and soon after came the sniffles. I didn't want Candi to hear that I'd been crying so I buried my face in the pillow. I thought to myself "That dream was cruel....absolutely cruel!" I wallowed in my tears for a good half hour before finally stopping. My heart was absolutely broken in half. It seemed so real.

Not to worry, I laid in bed for another hour and regrouped the best I could. It was a tough morning, but I managed not to be too much of a grouch (or at least I thought so). By the afternoon, my pity party was over. The most ironic part of the entire day was in the evening when a friend said to me "You look like you're getting around pretty good today". I thought to myself "If he only knew".