This morning I had two scares before 7am. The first one was how I woke up and the second one resulted in me calling D crying.
The spotty one, seen above, is rather cheeky. D had gone up early to head off to some shoot and apparently Nala thought it was time for me to get up as well. So at 5.30am I woke up by her using my tummy as a springboard. She’s done it before and I can’t say that it’s a particularly pleasant way to wake up, but it is rather funny and quite sweet. I didn’t get up for another hour though and at this stage Nala wanted nothing but play. Just before 7am as I was making my coffee I heard what I thought was Nala playing with one of her toys against the floor. It wasn’t. I turned around after a few seconds to check on what the noise was and saw Nala in a position I’ve never seen her in before. Her left back leg had stopped working and she looked like she was half paralysed on the left hand side. I could see her struggling, not understanding what was happening. She made her way across the floor and eventually laid down. But not because she wanted to. Because she had to. She looked so distressed and scared and was trying to fight what ever was happening to her. I freaked out and picked her up trying to calm her down. She wasn’t in pain, didn’t make any noises, but her eyes showed distress and confusion. After half a minute or so I put her down on the sofa to take a look at her but she didn’t want to lie still and tried to move forward but still couldn’t walk. I really had no idea what was going on and started to think that maybe she was having a seizure. I checked when the vet opened but it wasn’t for another hour and a half and then I picked up the phone and called D, crying.
To cut a long story short Nala improved shortly after I’d called D and half an hour later she was running around, jumping up and down just as she normally does. I took her to the vet just to make sure that it wasn’t anything worse than a bad cramp. The vet confirmed that it didn’t seem to be related to her brain but could be a cramp or something to do with her knee. After we got back I checked on her for a little while and then went to work. When I got back tonight Nala was still alive (yes, silly maybe but I had feared that something would have happened whilst we’d been away) and acted as normal and she’s been herself ever since. Whether it was a cramp, her knee or something else we won’t know but hopefully it won’t happen again.
The point of this story is nothing more than a reflection on scary situations. There are the ones that make us jump, like Nala waking me up by bouncing on my tummy this morning. Most of the time they result in laughter, a tiny bit of anger, or a big “phew”. Then there are the ones related to situations that make us nervous, like e.g. doing a talk, a pitch or a conversation that we’re really dreading to have. Those are the situations we sometimes wish we could get out of but that every time we put ourself through them make us grow a little bit taller, more proud and confident of ourselves. These are the situations we should seek out and make the most of because they push and extend or boundaries so that what used to be scary (like going up on a stage and doing a talk in front of a room full of people, all looking at you) is something you all of a sudden really enjoy.
But then there are the ones where we fear that something has gone terribly wrong. And maybe it has. In these types of situations our gut instinct kicks in and determines how we react and respond. Some situations may through us and we’re not sure what to do, like Nala’s leg this morning. Other’s make us think in clearly and in slow motion even if the world seems to be spinning. And others stop time. Completely. What ever the situation and what ever the type of scare they all teach us something about ourselves, and if applicable others. Though the latter type of scary, the one where something goes wrong, is not something you wish on anyone, the other two can be quite healthy, in suitable doses.
Tomorrow – Day 299 | Some me time
Image: The spotty one playing in her new box
