THE MEASURING TOOL

It sits in the corner of the room, an unassuming and odd piece of equipment. I suppose at another time I would see it as something to be removed from the room and placed in its proper storage. Today, however, I see this little piece of metal with one wheel as a symbol of hope and encouragement.

It is a simple tool, consisting of one adjustable handle that is connected to one small wheel. Located adjacent to that wheel is a small red box. A closer examination of the box reveals a small window with three separate areas. Inside the windows are numbers. This is a portable measuring device. As I gaze at this little tool that is directly in my line of vision, I am moved to tears. How can this be? It is only a tool, not alive, just sitting there propped in the corner. This tool, you will see, holds a story.

In March, 2010, Lee came home by ambulance from Duke University Hospital. He was given no hope of a lung transplant because he was too weak and debilitated. He had been sent home to die. That is what the doctors at Duke decided. Lee Kanipe did not accept that. He was determined that he would come home to walk again and then return to Duke for his lung. At that time, he could only walk 10 feet with a walker and lots of oxygen.

Thus began a journey of wills. Lee was willfully determined to walk, and I was willfully determined that he would progress with his number of feet. This little measuring tool was brought into the house from its storage place in Lee’s shop behind the house. It quickly became a visible beacon of hope to determine how close Lee could get to the 1000 feet he would have to walk to be accepted by Duke. I measured the distance from his bed to the hallway. This was the first challenge: 12 feet to the hallway, and 12 feet back again to the bed equaled 24 feet….it was a beginning. Each accomplishment ended with a new challenge: If he could walk 24 feet, he could walk 44 feet. If he could walk 44 feet, he could walk 88 feet. Each accomplishment was met with the challenge to double the walk by the end of 3 –five days. Measurements were taken with the tool, and we were able to determine exact measurements of feet to add.

It wasn’t long until the little measuring tool was used to determine how many feet it took to walk from the bedroom, through the hallway, through the living room, the kitchen, the den and back through the hallway before returning to a resting area. Within six weeks, we knew that the measured distance in the house with several turns round and round would be equivalent to 300 feet. Jubilation! At the end of each day, the measuring tool resided in the corner of the Den where it is today as I write. That little corner became known as “where the measuring device is” by the Home Health nurses, the physical therapists, the many neighbors, family members, and friends who came by to help Lee on his many daily walks.

When the weather became warmer, I measured the distance from the back door, along the driveway to his shop at the back of the house. 200 feet there and 200 feet back again. He was ready! When he could walk 800 feet as measured by this handy little tool, we were told to return to Duke to prepare for the lung transplant! You know the rest of the story………………Success!

So now you understand why I have a connection to this little tool…..a simple measuring device. It is so much more! This little tool became our hope and guide by helping us set goals. Those goals of exact footage gave us the courage to go a few steps further, to believe that the goal could be reached, and that life could return to Lee if he could just walk the number of feet that would put him on the road to recovery.

Slowly, I walked across the room and picked up the measuring tool. I carefully lowered the handle to the shortest position. I rolled the wheel and gazed lovingly into the little red box with the numbers in the windows. I couldn’t help but feel gratitude all the while knowing that it was just a little measuring tool. It has not been returned to the shop at the back of the house. This little tool deserves a special place in our home, so I placed it in the closet, grateful for the hope it inspired and contented that it now resides in its special storage corner of the hall closet.

More Later..............................Brenda