Mobility's a B1tch

Tomorrow it will be 5 week since I injured my foot.  That's 5 weeks with zero weight-bearing on it.  I've got a minimum of another 3 weeks and then I'll have another doctor's appointment.  I don't really know what will happen from there but I'm hopeful (without being too hopeful) that I'll get a walking boot of some sort.  We'll see.

In the meantime, I'm beginning to master the ability to be mobile.  When I leave the house, I drive my beat up little 20 year old Honda Civic with my left foot while my right foot remains elevated on the passenger seat.  My crutches fit nicely across the back seat.  When I park, the crutches come out and I can get around at a good clip.  I've developed a pretty decent level coordination with them, and honestly, I don't mind them most of the time.  The greatest problem is that it is virtually impossible to carry anything while 'crutching'.  I've got it down to where I can carry two small things, one in each hand, and still crutch well enough.  This is how I managed to buy a lipstick and a pack of baby wipes at Walgreen's the other day.  (Look for a future post on bathing to learn about the baby wipes!)

Knee Scooter by Drive

When I am at home, I drop the crutches into the corner and jump on the above knee scooter.  I do this because on the knee scooter, I can have my hands more free.  I'm still somewhat limited because it still needs to be steered, but it's better than crutches.  We live in a 1 level ranch that is fairly spacious inside, so I can manouver fairly well.  It is useless in four places - the kitchen where I don't have a good turning radius, going to the basement, my closet and outside.

Hands-free crutch by IWalkFree (rented from Goodbye Crutches)

When in the kitchen, needing to go to the basement, in my closet for any length of time, or outside, I switch to my hands-free crutch.  I actually call it my 'peg leg'.  I had to make some alterations to the platform on which my shin rests to accommodate my cast in comfort, but it works well.  I can walk with it without using my hands (except down stairs...I still need my hands for that) and it works on uneven terrain like the back yard.  It's physically a challenge to operate it...particularly outside, but it makes some things SO much easier.  The only problem is that my leg is wedged in there really tightly, so after a few hours, it aches and I need to straighten it and stretch out.  It really is a HUGE help though and frankly, could be a total game changer for some people.  I haven't felt the need to use it outside the house yet because I'm mostly OK with using my crutches, but I can see how it could be very handy.

While all this is working out OK and generally I'm fine with it, I do miss walking.  I find that sometimes I really need to talk myself off the ledge and think patient thoughts because I've still got a minimum of 3 weeks left and quite possibly more.  This is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one!