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Ralph
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In October of 2016 I was offered a job with a company where the main office (my work place) was located on the second floor of a warehouse complex. In order to get to the office I would have to climb a set of stairs. As soon as I saw the stairs I said thank you but no thank you. I did not think that I could navigate the stairs without help and I did not feel comfortable asking for help from the other employees to get me up and down the stairs. In March 2018 of this year I was offered a job where in order to get to the office I would have to climb 3 sets of stairs, one being a fire escape staircase which consisted of grated metal steps with no risers. Stairs with no risers are one of the scariest obstacles for a stroke survivor like me to overcome. The fear is getting your weak foot caught underneath the step you are trying to climb to(risers prevent that). The second stair case had a right side railing and risers. The 3rd and final set of stairs was 14 steps, narrow, railings on both sides with risers (this was a piece of cake, it was like doing stairs in the parallel bars at March of Dimes). Unlike October when I did not accept the job because of one set of stairs with risers due to the fact that I only focused on not being able to navigate the stairs. Thanks to the education and training I received from March of Dimes I focused on how to navigate the stairs safely and with a minimum amount of help from my co-workers (I needed someone to bring my walker up to the office). Since my first day at the office I now leave my walker at the bottom of the stairs and proceed up to the top of the stair cases where my cane is and I now only use my cane to move about the office. On my lunch time I walk about the showroom and climb up and down the stairs for physical activity. We also have had a couple of barbecues at work where I walked outside using my cane only. I’m not very good at walking outdoors (uneven terrain) but I am not afraid to keep working on it. I wear a step counter all the time and most days I took an average of 1,000 to 1,300 steps (more when I grocery shopped). Now because of my job and the knowledge of more safe mobility I average 5,000 to 6,000 steps per day. Where my targets were 3,500 to 5,000 steps per day, I now aim for 7,000 to 10,000 (my best so far was 7,900).
People tell me that the reason I have come as far as I have is because I am driven, but I know better. Without March of Dimes I would not be close to where I am today. People only see the physical aspect of March of Dimes when they come to the facilities to watch a session, what they do not see is the education and the mindset that we get to see a problem and figure out a way to overcome it. Do not get me wrong the physical part of my life is still more difficult than a person who has not suffered a stroke but thanks to the people who are employed by the March of Dimes who taught me to look for a solution instead of just focusing on an obstacle that I think cannot be overcome. All of the above has a snowball effect on one’s life because I find the more I improve, the more I want to do. Before March of Dimes I was pretty much a shut in, but not anymore. I also plan on trying to get as much of my life back as I can instead of just accepting my limitations.
Thanks March of Dimes! I hope you continue to do for other stroke survivors as much as you have done for me. Every stroke victim should have the same opportunities I had.
Yours Truly,
Ralph Fedato
People tell me that the reason I have come as far as I have is because I am driven, but I know better. Without March of Dimes I would not be close to where I am today. People only see the physical aspect of March of Dimes when they come to the facilities to watch a session, what they do not see is the education and the mindset that we get to see a problem and figure out a way to overcome it. Do not get me wrong the physical part of my life is still more difficult than a person who has not suffered a stroke but thanks to the people who are employed by the March of Dimes who taught me to look for a solution instead of just focusing on an obstacle that I think cannot be overcome. All of the above has a snowball effect on one’s life because I find the more I improve, the more I want to do. Before March of Dimes I was pretty much a shut in, but not anymore. I also plan on trying to get as much of my life back as I can instead of just accepting my limitations.
Thanks March of Dimes! I hope you continue to do for other stroke survivors as much as you have done for me. Every stroke victim should have the same opportunities I had.
Yours Truly,
Ralph Fedato