The Operation
I was born with loose knee ligaments and as a result my left knee dislocated several times in my grade school years, with intense pain. When I was done growing at age 14, they performed a patella replant operation to ensure it would never dislocate again. However, swelling after the operation cut the nerve to my foot and ankle, resulting in a semi-paralyzed ankle and foot. With physical therapy, I slowly got function back but walked with a limp throughout high school and college. I lost all ability to run. I came to think of myself as handicapped even as I slowly regained function and the limp went away.A Walk in the Woods
When I graduated from college as a medical technologist, I was hired immediately for the microbiology clinical lab at the VA Medical Center. My supervisor, Rich, was a hard taskmaster, expecting perfection. But we in the micro lab were also a fun bunch and often got together for potlucks, parties, going to movies and such. Three years into the job, Rich invited me for a hike in the Columbia Gorge. It was a great day and a fun hike up the cliff to a spectacular view. After the walk we had pizza, watched a movie, and he kissed me. For further details, you'll have to go on a walk with me and/or buy me a beer. It was a life-changing kiss!My First Walk
Rich enjoyed walking volkssport walking events when he was stationed in Germany in the 1970's. He had his 30 volksmarch medals framed on the wall, and he showed me slides of the fun he and his friends had on those walks.I was looking through my hometown newspaper in September, 1984, when I spied an announcement for the very first volksmarch walk in Oregon, to be held in my own hometown of Forest Grove. How convenient! I showed it to Rich, who said I had to walk the walk. But I was afraid to do it - a volksmarch is 6 miles long, 10 kilometers, and I had never walked that far before. I agreed on the condition that when my foot gave out, he would finish the walk and come back and pick me up with the car.
Our first volksmarch walk went through my familiar territory, out past the houses and farms of my relatives, up David Hill and back down into town. I was amazed - walking at my own pace, I wasn't limping like I did when I tried to run or do aerobics.
When I finished, I received my first sports award of my life, a volksmarch medal showing a lion with a Bavarian hat and walking stick drinking a beer. I bought my first IVV Record Book to record the event and began to earn IVV Achievement Awards, although I didn't know how often I'd have the opportunity to do them since the sport was just starting in the Pacific Northwest.
