True Grit is the title of a 1969 movie for which John Wayne won the academy award for best actor. He portrays an old gritty tough guy named Rooster Cogburn. John Wayne was famous for portraying macho, tough guys who "won the west", fought wars, and all the things "tough guys" do. One of the definitions of "tough" is: "capable of great endurance, sturdy, hardy.
While I like some of the old John Wayne movies and like other "tough guys" like Clint Eastwood or Russell Crowe...they are not really close to one of the toughest people I know.
The toughest person I know is my wife, Susan Wallis. Today she had surgery on her left foot for at least the third time. She has endured at least half-a-dozen foot surgeries over the years to compensate for a neuromuscular disorder she has called CMT. Today, Dr. Leland removed two screws and then installed five new ones along with a metal plate. Why does she do this?....well because she wants to stay as mobile as possible and last time I checked they do not sell leg braces in the Nordstroms shoe department. I think a lot of people would just throw in the towel and say I give up, I'm not doing this anymore and I'll just start feeling sorry for myself. But truly "tough" people don't do that. They sign up for surgery that requires you to be in a cast and off your foot for 6 to 8 weeks along with some major league pain to deal with. And...doing that knowing that the Dr. wants to operate on the other foot as soon as your ready.
She signed up for the surgery as soon as Brett's birthday was done and so that she would be ready and able to host a baby shower in the spring and be able to "do things" when the weather warms up here in beautiful Colorado.
In the words of Joe Ramsey: "the weakest woman is stronger than the strongest man". All men know this....they just don't want to admit it. (I had a routine physical last Thursday and I've been whining about going to Susan for the past two weeks.)
True Grit...forget John Wayne...I think of Susan. Pray that her recovery goes well.
3 comments:
That's really sweet Dad, and very true. No one is less of a complainer than Mom, hands down. Hopefully, it will be a blessing and she will feel much better when all said and done.
So true! She has a lot of toughness in her little self. Great post, Dad.
here is a suggestion for movie-viewing during her recuperation period:
http://www.amazon.com/Left-Foot-Special-Daniel-Day-Lewis/dp/B00008L3RY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1236881338&sr=1-1
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