Seeing is believing.

I began to complete the large packet of forms the night before my appointment with my aquatic physical therapist. I was struggling completing the forms.

I asked my husband to help me with the questions. He asked me “why? I’ve never needed help on any previous medical questionnaires.” I replied, “I have never had questions this difficult”.

The questionnaire was extremely detailed in every area of life. It covered every area from symptoms, types of Doctor, medications and listing what difficulties in functional areas you have experienced.

I had already begun to check the boxes and felt that I had been honest when answering the questions.

I began reading the questions out loud. I was reading the questions when our Daughter came into the room.

I was crying (again) (not really anything new in my house). She asked me what was wrong.

I said “reality”.

He pointed out the boxes that I had not checked. Under the subject Personal; listed 11 activities. He said “you need to check grooming”, “you have to sit down to get dressed and do your makeup”.

I checked 6 out of 11.

They were; Dressing, Driving, Grooming, Managing Meds, Sexual relations and Sleeping.

Another section was Mobility.

Below are the questions that needed to be check if they applied to the question.

Are you having any difficulty in these functional areas? (Check all that apply) ~ I’ve bolded the ones that apply to me.

Mobility:

Bending down Getting in/out of car Getting up from floor

Stairs Getting in/out of bed Getting up from chair/toilet

Sitting more than _ minutes Standing more than ___ minutes

Walking more than ____ minutes or distance of ____

I think the questionnaire title should have been Reality Check.

Oxford Dictionary defines reality as “A thing that is actually experienced or seen, especially when this is grim or problematic”.

Wiki’s definition:”Reality is the state of things as they actually exist.”

It is true; Seeing is believing. Seeing all of the check marks on the form was overwhelming. The checkmarks were proof of my reality.

I didn’t learn anything that I didn’t already know. I know how difficult it is to get out of bed in the morning, walk up a staircase at the end of a day or what a challenge it can be to hold a simple conversation.

So why such an emotional response?

I do not allow the harsh realities to control my life or dwell daily on what I can no longer do or how my life was changed.

The fact is that I don’t live my life based on reality. I simply LIVE my LIFE!