Update:
At Physical Therapy I worked at using a cane to walk. I actually did really well. It felt very comfortable and it was fun just
going for a walk. I did so well that my
therapist walked with me down a long hallway.
When we got back, I needed to sit down and rest a bit. My hip muscles and tendons are not used to
that much work after sitting in a wheelchair for four months. We worked some more on stairs and then worked
on walking on a ramp.
After therapy, I went and purchased my cane. I wanted a black one, but I had to settle for
a bronze color in the style that I wanted.
It is pretty sharp looking. They
didn’t have any canes with swords or guns hidden in them. L I guess you have to get those kinds of canes
in a specialty shop. Mine doesn’t do
anything except allow me to walk with confidence.
I had to do some grocery shopping, so I used my cane to get inside and
then rode the motorized shopping cart through the store. That worked really well. Festival Foods has a drive up service where
they will load your groceries into your vehicle. So I walked out to the truck with the cane
and pulled right up and got it done.
Fortunately, I had planned it so that the boys were over filling our
wood rack so they could carry the groceries inside for me. We had also gotten some sleet in Fall Creek,
so I was glad they were there to get me inside safely.
My cane also made filling up my truck with gas so easy. My heart is filled with joy for taking this
next step in my recovery. I cannot
adequately express the joy I have each time a little piece of my old “normal”
life comes back. There just aren’t words
for the emotions I feel right now.
There will be times when I need my wheel chair (morning and evenings
when I don’t have the leg on and for long distances), my walker (for
intermediate distances and transfers like from my wheel chair into the shower
and onto the shower stool), and then my cane (for around the house and short
distances). As time goes on, I will rely
more and more on the cane and less on the walker and wheel chair for
walking. I have to build up skill and
endurance.
I also am continuing my exercises to help strengthen the muscles and
tendons that I am using. I don’t do them
for as long as I used to, but I have to exercise daily. One of the things that I’ve got to do is
stretch out the muscles that get a bit overworked and work out those painful
kinks. I was thankful that Randy (my
physical therapist) showed me an new stretch that worked exactly the right
little muscle group that has been so painful to me recently.
And then every night before bed I have to wash my silicone liner, my
leg, and my sheath. The leg gets very
sweaty in the liner during the day. I
can’t really feel it when it is on, but I often leave a puddle of sweat on the
floor when I take it off. Ewww. I’m told it gets worse in the summer. The doctor said she’ll prescribe an extra
strength antiperspirant for my leg to help with that. Weird.
Tomorrow morning I have an appointment at the prosthetic lab to tweak
my prosthesis some more and get the next level up on a more flexible foot. One of the constant issues that everyone new
to a prosthetic limb struggles with is the fit.
Your stump isn’t use to the weight and the pressure. Your muscles get an extra workout. Your muscles in the stump are shrinking and
fluids are pushed out so your limb size changes throughout the day. So I have to carry around several extra “socks”
of various thicknesses and add them under my prosthesis as appropriate. Being new to wearing it, it sometimes is a
little difficult for me to figure out what is going on. It’s all trial and error as I put my leg on
and off several times until it feels right.
The prosthetist is also modifying my prosthesis to a better fit as I
settle in and get accustomed to wearing it.
It is kind of a strange dance that is more difficult because I am a
novice. In a year or two, it won’t be so
difficult for me because I will know what I am feeling and have a better idea
how to correct it.
Thought for the Day:
Going down a decline with a prosthetic leg is a little tricky. While those handicap street corners are great
for wheelchairs, they pose a challenge for people walking with a prosthetic
leg. Going uphill is no problem, going
down is a little bit of a “controlled fall.”
Going down stairs can be the same way.
There is a point of no return where you are going down and your other
foot better catch you. My therapist said
that both of these challenges are even more dramatic for those who have an
above the knee amputation. There is a
feeling of stepping out in faith because once in motion there is no stopping
it. In a safe, controlled environment,
you train and test your ability and learn to trust your equipment; that creates
a confidence that allows you to step out boldly knowing that you can do it.
There is a lot of similarity to this in the Christian “walk.” There are always obstacles that we will face
in life. Maybe it is something that we
have gone through before and didn’t handle it well. Maybe it is something that we have never seen
before but intuitively know that it could be disastrous. How do you handle those kinds of things?
You could cower in fear at allow yourself to be paralyzed with fright;
but God tells us to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6,7,9). Another option
would be to presumptuously step out blindly trusting that God will rescue you
from harm; but Jesus said, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7). So what are we to do?
Normally, God prepares us
through a series of small, ever increasing challenges so that we might learn
dependence upon Him. We learn to pray; to
seek God’s wisdom in His word; and to listen to the still, small voice of the
Holy Spirit who will guide and counsel us.
We learn to trust God in the little things and thereby come to trust in
Him in the big things. We come to know
that God answers prayers. This is a personal
and intimate knowledge; not just I know this concept because someone said it
was true—you know it is true because you have personally experienced it. As you read the bible and pray, you come to
understand how He has acted in the past and what He desires from us. Some things are clearly commanded in the
bible and some are clearly prohibited.
Obviously we should do the things commanded and avoid the
prohibited. As you develop your
relationship with God, you come to discern His promptings. You learn to listen to His voice and come to
sense when He is urging forward and when He is trying to get you to wait.
We need to learn to “walk by
faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
When taking my first few steps with a cane yesterday, I looked down to
watch my feet and the cane. After a several
minutes walking in that fashion, the therapist said, “Now raise your head and
eyes and don’t look down. Look ahead and
forward.” I’m trusting my body to do the
right thing at the right time so that I don’t fall flat on my face.
My therapist said that in
the coming weeks, I should test myself a bit.
When the snow melts again; try walking in the yard and see how that
feels. Work more on steps, inclines and
declines. Over time, I should see
continued progress in my ability.
As we walk through life
there will be rough patches and places where we feel it is too tough to
handle. Hopefully if we have practiced
walking with God, when that time comes we’ll feel comfortable lean upon Him for
support. Scripture says that He will
walk through every event with us. So
trust Him.
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