Just Do It

I’ve been on the slow path to recovery from a ruptured disc. Slow is always difficult for someone used to getting things accomplished efficiently. But slow affords the opportunity to better notice things along the way.

My inspiration this week has come in the form of a dog. He is a German shepherd named Nike. Nike has had a stroke and has almost totally lost the use of his hind legs. One of his hind legs flops on the ground as he walks, and has to be protected with bandages. The other one is completely inert.

Nevertheless, this dog walks. He walks twice a day, every day, on the Strand. Nike is a “Just Do It” dog. He also has a “Just Do It” human who gets him up and about every two hours, takes him to her real estate office with her everyday, and takes him on his glorious walks.

She has also done something else: She has found Nike his wheels. Nike walks with his hind quarters suspended by an ingenious set of rear wheels, hind leg supported in a soft sling. These WalkinWheels were created by Eddie, who has custom-designed ingenious contraptions for dogs, sheep, pigs, llamas and even – yes – chickens. Seeing will be believing, so check it out at www.eddieswheels.com.

Eddie has found a way to help. And Nike has found a way to “Just Do It”. I would guess that Nike doesn’t think too much about how he is doing it. He just gets up, gets out, and gets going. It may not be the way he learned to walk the first time around, but, by golly, he gets his strong front legs going and somehow the rest of the dog comes along. One day, one fantastic day, he even spotted a squirrel, hesitated just for a moment, and took off after that squirrel, running This dog knows how to live.

We may encounter injuries and setbacks. We don’t always feel we have what it takes. But if we can just find our wheels and believe in them, get up and get going, we can do it too.