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Every Day is Precious: Pass along a great escape
By ROB PAYNE
For Williamson A.M.
Movies are a great temporary escape for anyone, but especially for someone dealing with a health concern.
My wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with a motor neuron disease in which the brain, over time, stops communicating with the muscles. When not used, the muscles atrophy or disappear. She stopped walking Thanksgiving 2001 and is now on a ventilator at home.
With the release of Matrix 2, we wanted to go to the theater. Sometime after Marcy went in the wheelchair, we learned that our local movie theater allows people in wheelchairs (and the person with them) free admission.
This has been a great escape for us in the past and one of the most benevolent ongoing corporate gifts we have seen. But in Marcy's current condition, she doesn't feel up to the task of going to the theater.
We still wanted to be part of the phenom and wanted to see the first movie again.
I called Blockbuster Video and I guess I wasn't the only one with this idea all copies of The Matrix were rented out.
We mentioned this to our friend Donna, and she told us her family loved the movie and had bought the DVD. She was kind enough to loan us their copy.
The local theater's free admission, coupled with Donna's generosity, gave me the idea to ask Blockbuster Video for some kind of allowance, some way to find an escape through videos. I thought asking for movies for free might be too much to ask, but it wouldn't hurt to talk to the manager.
I talked with our local store manager and he immediately agreed to waive late charges to anyone letting us watch a video they had rented. In other words, if one of our friends rents a movie, they can have twice the rental time if they drop the movie off at our house for us to watch as well.
This not only gives us the movie free, it keeps me from having to leave Marcy at home to pick up and drop off videos. We spread the word among our friends, asking them to let us share movies they rent.
Our friends, as they have done throughout our journey, went one step further: Many offered us their entire home video library! Marcy and I only own a few movies. We're not the type to watch movies over and over again. Except Christmas Vacation. The scene in which Randy Quaid is drinking eggnog from a moose mug and wearing the dickie that can be seen through his sweater gets me every time.
It's only been a few weeks and we have watched and enjoyed several movies. And we have even more waiting to be watched.
If you know someone in a wheelchair, check with your local theater to see if they have a discounted or free admission. If so, you could mention it in conversation or take your friend to a movie sometime. For any family in need, a video could provide temporary relief. Talk to your local video store manager about helping and/or offer your home video library for checking out. A movie can be a great way to help them picture themselves in better health.
Every Day Is Precious is a column to remind us to treat everyone we see today as if it could be the last time we see them. It is written by Rob Payne, whose wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in August 2000. For more ways to help others, to find more about Marcy or to receive email updates on her condition, visit www.everydayisprecious.com. Readers may contribute to her care by sending donations to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN, 37069.
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