It had been a very long day. I was sore and tired. I just wanted to plop into my bed as I opened the door to our apartment. As the door opened our two Jack Russell’s ran to me ready to go to the bathroom. I forgot about these baby’s bladders. As I walked the dogs through the parking lot a man who is a trainer at a local gym yelled out to me, “Hi, Kathleen.” I walked up to Mark and we began to talk about how lazy I was and just could not get my tired body to his studio to be trained by him.
As we talked a very small man was standing in his shadow. I reached my hand out to shake his hand and he extended a hand, with only one charred finger. I was stunned as I looked into the man’s face. His entire face was scarred and his hands had most of his fingers burned off. Mark told me he had been training Jeffrey for many years and followed with his story. Jeffrey was in a horrible house fire and over 80% of his body was burned. It is a miracle he survived but his body is almost entirely scarred and very stiff as a result of the massive burns.
Mark, this wonderful trainer, works very tenderly and lovingly with this small, scarred, rigidly tight, burned body. Jeffrey told me how much exercising hurts him but he has to do it to stay flexible and for him to move. How much courage does Jeffrey possess each day of his life getting up and taking one step at a time, one breath at a time, one thought at a time? God bless Mark and Jeffrey’s friendship.
As I got on the elevator there were no more thoughts of how tired or sore my body was.