Title: Toe Up to 10K
Author: Steven Fujita
Publisher: BookBaby
Pages: 168
Genre: Self-Help
Format: Ebook
In June 2012, Steven Fujita went to the emergency room, and was diagnosed with meningitis. After four days of improvement, he was scheduled to be discharged when his condition worsened dramatically. His blood pressure, body temperature and sodium levels all became dangerously low. He started to lose consciousness. He was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit. He had suffered spinal cord damage at the T4 level. Upon regaining full consciousness, Fujita could not speak, eat, breathe independently, control bodily functions, nor move his legs.
“Once we understand what we have to go through, become resolved to see it through, and know we will survive, we feel our ordeal is not so bad,” Fujita writes. In this book, he takes the reader on a journey of recovery from a spinal cord injury. It is not only a journey of determination and hard work, but of positive attitude, of drawing inspiration, of gratitude towards those around him: his family, his friends, co-workers, and medical professionals.
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Animal Empathy
I am surprised and not so surprised when I hear tales of animal empathy - stories of one species adopting an infant of another, the cat who protected a child from an attacking dog, the dog that protected a cat from a coyote, etc. - even wild animals - such as stories of dolphins protecting surfers from sharks.
There are many tales of the good therapy dogs do. Whenever I hear of programs which use animals to help people recover from health conditions, mental or physical, I am all for it.
While I was recovering, I was in a business, and I sat down in a chair because I needed to rest. A few minutes later, a lady walked in with her dog. She told her dog to sit still near me, and walked up to the counter. Her dog kept staring at me and staring at me, and finally, it got up and started to nuzzle against me. The lady apologized for the dog’s behaviour, but I didn’t mind at all. “I think your dog knows I am not well.” I said.
The lady said, “My dog is not a formal therapy dog, but he has been brought into hospitals, and he is really gentle with the patients.”
I was still in the early stages of walking with a quad cane. I think the dog knew I was still under the weather.
There is a stray neighborhood cat that has watched my recovery from wheelchair to walker to cane to without a cane. I didn’t think it cared one way or another that I couldn’t walk. However, the first time he saw me walk out with only the aid of a cane, he rushed over and nuzzled me, as if to congratulate me. I don’t see this cat all time, but even now, he will still run up to me from afar, and nuzzle against me. Additionally, if I sit down at a planter or something, he will sit in front of me, faced outward as if he is guarding me.
I’m not saying to make friends with strange dogs and stray cats - it might not be a good idea, but for me, the actions of these two animals has been heart-warming.
Steven Fujita was born in Los Angeles and raised in Torrance, California. He attended college in Washington, D.C., and currently lives in Long Beach, California.
Listen to Steven Fujita's interview on the Book Club with John Austin, which aired November 2, 2010, about his novella, Sword of the Undead, a re-telling of Bram Stoker's vampire novel, Dracula.
http://www.internetradiopros.com/bookclub/?p=episode&name=2010-11-01_zbookcub_for_110210_1st_segment_steven_fujita.mp3
His other book, $10 a Day Towards $1,000,000, is available on Kindle. This book promotes the idea of using time and savings to build wealth.
His new book, Toe Up to 10K, was released in September 2014. This book chronicles his recovery from spinal cord injury he sustained in 2012.
Visit his website at: www.stevenfujitaauthor.com