Day at the Zoo or Why I Am Stubborn

Today we spent the day at the zoo. Check out the pictures.

I knew it would be a lot of walking and that it would be hot, but I chose not to rent a wheelchair. I have now come to the conclusion that when I have to walk around a theme park or mall for any extended period of time, I will rent a chair to save my legs and energy for later.

See, it isn’t just the MS that is problematic for me; it’s my muscle disorder as well. (I would link to some explanation of what the disorder is, but it doesn’t really have a name. Suffice to say that exercise is problematic at best.) So it’s two for the price of one body.  Despite of all that, I don’t appear to have any disability (I don’t limp or walk with a cane). In the past (the one or two times that I have used a wheelchair) I’ve gotten strange looks that become stranger still when I stand up and walk away. I’ve even gotten yelled at by a complete stranger for using my legally-obtained handicapped parking decal because “I didn’t look handicapped.” These instances have lead to my reticence to rent a chair.

But today I learned to give up a little pride to save my energy.  It isn’t much, but it’s a start.