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as told by Mary Calloway
 had a stroke in 1992 at the age 32, which left my left side paralyzed. After my stroke, I moved to an apartment near the Walking Trail that runs along the river, just south of Gundersen Lutheran. I soon noticed a lot of birds, squirrels, ducks and their families going back and forth, showing me the way.
 At first, I was in a wheelchair and could not walk, and was afraid to cross the street to the Walking Trail. Finally I decided to do it. I found I could push myself around in my wheelchair using my cane.
The trail was like heaven. All the nature was around me - the trees of different shapes and sizes, the tall grasses, flowers and all my animals. I would see people walking the Walking Trail and wished that I could walk, too.
Inspired by the Walking Trail, I practiced walking the hallway at home with a gate belt around me. I discovered I could manage pretty well walking behind my wheelchair, so I headed out alone on the trail and did it right off the bat. And it was fun! That’s all I looked forward to each day.
The next step was walking with my cane, but it was hard crossing the street. With help from many people and working on it over and over, I finally mastered it! What a great sense of accomplishment.
Now it is more pleasurable to walk the trail because I have a walking partner. We take our time to enjoy watching fishermen on the river and checking out our animal friends. Once a turtle laid eggs and we watched eggs hatching. I’ve even seen a friendly coyote. Now that it is spring, the birds are back and they seem happy to be back home. I enjoy seeing them.
I appreciate all Gundersen Lutheran has done to make the trail pleasant, adding picnic tables, a gazebo and benches for all to use and enjoy. July 4th fireworks from the Walking Trail’s rest area are just beautiful. And, all the people I meet on the trail are so friendly and nice to visit with. I’m always happy to talk to people I’ve worked with from Gundersen Lutheran
I hope one day to be able to jog on the trail and be a role model for others with paralysis. The trail has inspired me to work hard to improve. It brightens my life and gives me more energy. |