Scoobie and Dystonia

       Having Dystonia means many things will change in your life. One of the many that I find most challenging is my ability to stay upright, or walk in a straight line. My  Mother could also attest to this as well. If I ever get pulled over by a Police officer I would never be able to walk the straight line! Ha, they would have to try another test, and I know my sister is the same.
      When I worked at a company called Temtrol I used to be able to walk on a 1x2 inch metal beam and we were up about ten to twelve feet off of the ground, and now it is frustrating that I have no balance at all. If I turn around to fast I can fall, or if I stand up to fast I fall, or if I do not know that my legs have no strength I can get out of bed and I fall, and guess who has to try to pick me up when I fall? Yep you guessed it either my daughter, wife, or son, and I am not a light person I am about 6 feet 1 inches tall and weigh about 217 pounds so for someone as small as my wife it is very difficult for her to pick me up. I have fallen down the stairs hit my head on countless objects. but at least I do not bruise easily! As my wife's health got worse because of her spondylitis it became increasingly difficult.
    We ended up getting a dog part pitbull and part wolf, now you have to forget what you have heard about the pitbull. I had fallen and started to have one of my dystonic storms and he ,Scoobie is his name, just sat there licking my hand even when it was flailing about and I was hitting him, not on purpose, but he just seemed to know something was wrong. So throughout the whole storm he laid there beside me when it was over he got up and just stood in place. We could not figure out why this dog would not move . My wife had an idea, maybe he was standing there so he could help me stand up.

I thought the idea of a dog standing still long enough to help me get up was crazy! Besides, I was too heavy for him. He would collapse if I put all my weight on him and got up, but to my surprise he stood there. I lifted both of my hands and put them on his back and he just stood there, his back did not buckle at all,  and this was a Pitbull I thought. I was able to get up and my wife helped me to the chair. Scoobie has done this many more times when I have fallen. He has even come over to me when I was alone and I had fallen and he just stood there waiting for me to get up! Pretty amazing for a breed of dog that is terrible and will rip your head off if you let them! He has been a huge blessing to me and my wife even though he can be the biggest pest there is when he wants to be, but I think we all have a little of that in us now don't we, if we are honest with ourselves! I just thought it is pretty amazing what a dog could do and how strong this one is! We even have a grandson who rides him around like a horse and it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Remember you can never judge a book by its cover! I know it is a saying that we all have heard, but we still tend to do it anyway!
    I hope this story makes you smile! You can click the follow button on the top right to follow the blog ,or you can subscribe by email! Thanks for reading, and even if you didn't thanks for visiting the page!
    We can always use prayer! We are a family struggling to cope with this disease, and I try to put my thoughts into words sometimes it works other times, not so much!