I’d Walk A Mile To Walk A Mile With My Boy

It has been a rough past couple of years (health-wise) for the Pittsburgh Rhymes Fam. If you haven't noticed, I’ve made a sudden reappearance after not writing for about 18 months and ironically it wasn’t the illnesses that prevented me from writing… it was the cocktail of meds that made it close to impossible to. During this period, my wife, who has born with diabetes, is also having difficulties after battling the disease for over 45 years now. We’re adults, however, and we have had practice fighting through our ailments and diseases. The roughest part of all this is watching our son and his physical struggles.

It was the summer of 2010 when we took Eze (short for Ezekiel) in again to have his feet checked; he had been complaining about foot and knee pain before, but the x-rays found nothing conclusive. It was different this time around. His feet had started to grow inward and extra bones had begun to grow in both of his feet---making it quite painful for him at times. Additionally, the bones on the top his feet had no spacing between them. Now you have to realize, this is a kid who was chosen as an all-star for his football league, playing on those two damaged feet, the previous year. We were, to say the least, very concerned.

His pediatric surgeon and neurologist put him through a battery of test (x-rays, CTs, MRIs, EMGs etc.) and still could find no reason why his feet were growing in the manner that they were---one thing was agreed on, he needed surgery to remove the extra bones in his feet and to put spacing in the bones on top of his feet. It wasn’t something any of us relished, but in early May he went under the knife. They removed the extra bones and cut a muscle in both of his feet and tucked it into the bones on top of his feet to provide spacing. I know, it sounds complex and excruciating. Nevertheless, the surgery, itself, was a success.

One of the most painful aspects of all this was when my son was regaining consciousness---the anesthesia was wearing off and the pain meds hadn’t kicked in yet. It was then that he gave me this “how could you let them do this to me” look. At that time it didn’t matter if I knew this procedure was absolutely necessary, that look almost broke me. After about a day and a half we brought him home and it’s been playing out like four quarters in a football game. The first quarter, Eze’s in a wheelchair and both legs are in casts. He is extremely dependent on Lisa Marie and me to do even the most basic of things for him. The second quarter he is able to walk a little on his casts and is getting back some of his independence---he’s getting a little feisty too. In the third quarter the casts come off and he’s in his walking boots giving him extra mobility and a measure of confidence.

We are now in the fourth quarter. Eze’s in physical therapy and occupational therapy and learning to walk again on his newly-reconfigured feet. He has been tentative at times, which is understandable, but we have worked extremely hard to encourage him. I told him that trusting his feet again was like learning to trust someone you love again after they have hurt you or let you down---for a 10 year-old, he caught on surprisingly well.

Through our combined health concerns there have been some emotional peaks and valleys, but it has made us stronger as a family. By the grace of God, we have enjoyed victories that would have been unseen had it not been for our present trials. And what these circumstances are revealing to us about us is immeasurable. We know that what we are experiencing right now are clouds that obscure, for the moment, the sunlight of our days. I look forward, eagerly and confidently, to the day that Eze and I will walk a mile together. Yeah, I’d walk a mile for that.