Success when it really matters . . .

I was going to wait a bit before making the big announcement, but todays blog topic makes more sense if I spill the beans now . . . Cura will graduate at the end of this month!  Rick and Heather made the announcement at the beginning of the month.  This is our last month as students in the program.  I am both excited and proud to have completed the program.  But, that is not exactly what this post is about -- though it is relevant. 

As I have mentioned, before Cura came into my life, I fell quite often -- at least once a month and sometimes more.  But, since I have had Cura with me, I have not fallen . . . well, that is until a couple of days ago.  We were having one of our last training sessions and we were working on the 'Get' command.  This is the one where either Cura goes and gets someone to help me or someone tells her to get me so that she can lead them to me.  This has been a particularly difficult thing for Cura because she does not like to be away from my side.  She has also found it distressing to 'Get' me and find me laying on the ground when she gets there.  But, she had gotten much better and understands the concept well now.  But, practice is the name of the game, so Rick had walked away with Cura and I was moving to a different place (so Cura actually had to find me instead of just return to where I was before -- it keeps her thinking to mix things up a bit and helps insure that she can adjust to circumstances as they arise).

Anyway, there was something on the floor and I managed to step on it, lose my balance, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground.  Let me tell you, after over a year of not falling it was a big shock!  Heather called to Rick who, once he realized what had happened, told Cura to 'Get' me.  Before I knew it, she was at my side protecting me from anyone 'helping' me up before I had a chance to make sure I was unhurt.  Then, when I was ready, she helped me get up off the floor, we found a seat, and she sat with me until I had fully recovered from the incident.  She was amazing!  This was the first time she experienced a true fall (every other time had been simulated so the emotional element and sense of urgency was never really there before).  On top of that, we were in close quarters, so she had to adjust the routine to enable her to accomplish what I needed from her in a more confined space (an example of how mixing things up in practice helps Cura to do her job well). 

It is interesting that days after Rick and Heather announced that she was ready to graduate, Cura proved it -- I am so lucky!  Sure, it has required (and will continue to require) hard work and dedication, but it has definitely been worth it!