A quote from a cancer survivor in a newspaper read:
“I lost my faith in God and the afterlife. Heaven is here and now.”
After facing a life-threatening situation you notice life’s beauties more and more. I asked myself what my heaven was and the answer is actually simple: a return to normalcy. When your world gets rocked and permanently altered the only thing you long for is to get your life back on track.
Today marked an important event to bring me closer to normalcy. I got a temporary hydraulic leg which will be used for the first several months. Then I will be fitted with a more advanced microprocessor leg. The temp. leg is lighter and easier to learn but without a computer chip it requires greater concentration to avoid falling.
Learning to walk is like trying to learn a new language…frustrating. The movements are like this: I step forward with my right foot and put pressure on my left toe. This causes the left knee to bend. Then I swing the left leg forward until it snaps straight and the knee locks.
If it doesn’t lock then it will buckle when I take the next step. So far walking looks and feels awkward. I look like I’m constantly kicking something. Also, the leg is too tall. It needs to be taken in for adjustments. It’s going to take a lot of practice to get the hang of this. If I want to get to my heaven I have to work for it.
The guy told me to practice a little each day, to go slow. I thought “Screw that! I don’t want to go slow!” In my head popped the scene from Avatar when Jake Sully wakes up in his new body and runs outside like a maniac. If I tried to do that I’d end up eating pavement. Our technology is not that advanced on planet Earth…yet.
On a different topic, I’m really looking forward to the WSOP. It’s always a blast. Cash games are my specialty but with demand for female pros so strong it’s a no-brainer to play the tournaments and try to prove yourself. If I don’t land any final tables then at least my friends will, and sharing in the excitement is a huge rush.
Edit: I just read about Mike Matusow’s promise to streak The Strip if 3 women win bracelets. I’m assuming that the ladies event bracelet counts as one. So we really only need two more? New motivation to ship a tourney!
I miss my friends like crazy and would bet my last good leg that they’re some of the most amazing people in the poker community. A few of them(Malia Bergman, Andrew Robl, Joe Sebok) have organized a charity tourney at Full Tilt for May 16th to help me get back onto my feet. I feel humbled and grateful for this. What did I ever do to deserve such good friends?