folding up the walker

ok, so.....though i am far from back to normal, i have decided that it is time to put away a few of the trappings of disability....like the walker that has stood by the toilet and bathtub in the retirement suite.....when something seems in the way rather than at the ready, it is time to move on.....will probably store it here rather than back in my mother's attic.....i could also strip the guest bed and tidy up the remainder of my belongings in that room.......for that metter, i could put my laundry away rather than continuing to live out of the laundry basket, as i have done for 10 weeks now....the crutches.....not so fast....i do use the one upstairs to get around after a long day and the swollen foot that results from being far too active.....and i do use the downstairs crutch in the same fashion, as well as to get in and out of work....we have taken up the mini-ramps at each doorway that allowed the wheelcahir to go over the hump a bit easier....the wheechair went back to the rental place last monday.....the piles of pillows i use on the sofa and on the front porch still prove useful so i will leave them be for the time being.....i could keep my fold-up cane in the car for times like today....i am driving mother to lexington to eat lunch at red lobster....seems to me a fold-up cane would be easier to maneuver in a restaurant than a crutch.....i teach sunday school tomorrow for the first time in 10 weeks as well.....at some point i need to put my feet up and read the lesson.....at some point....

behind the wheel....

ok, so i drove home from the wellness center this morning....after 30 minutes of lap swim and a few more of my rehab exercises....the drive was awkward....partly because i have not driven in nine weeka, but mostly because i have not driven an automatic in recent memory....i wanted so badly to shift gears...but i digress.....i make progress every day with walking....i am walking with one crutch outside and away from home, but walking unassisted inside the house.....my limp is slowly....ever so slowly easing up....and curiously, i can not feel my right toe...it is asleep and no amount of massage seems to wake it up.....will ask physical therapist about this on monday morning....an appointment that i will keep by myself without a personal driver.....

matching shoes

ok, so....i was given the go-ahead to ditch the boot and to wear shoes on friday during the eight-week followup visit. i was also given permission to drive....when i feel safe driving....i insisted that we stop at the house for the right shoe that went with the left shoe i was wearing at the time...only to realize that i could not fit my still sowllen foot into the matching shoe.....and so i opted to wear a pair of merrills that are adjustable at several fit-point by clever velcro straps....and so i walked slowly into work with a single crutch.....and walked everywhere throughout the building the rest of the day...and walked through the grocery aisles after work...and then collasped into the wheechair at home...exhausted doesn't even cover it because the term neglects a severely swollen foot......the notion of driving is far from my mind....i have to work through the swelling first....my order is for physical therapy three times a week for the short term....hopefully this attention to mechanics will pay off with less swelling and discomfort.....

mail order

ok, so......in the past few days i have received packages....from talbots and llbean...containing significantly marked down separates to refresh my wardrobe.....expand my wardrobe is closer to the truth, given that most of my clothing is upstairs....yes I could shimmy up on my bottom a step at a time, carrying my crutches with me....getting up there is not the issue...it is getting abck down....these stairs lack a railing and i cannot conceive of the scenario that has me safely getting from the upright position down to my bottom to shimmy back down...but i digress from my mail order goodies....a sweater set in serpentine (green) a white sleeveless button-down blouse, a pair of black capri-length pants...and to snip off tags that reflect markdowns from $75 to $12 is especially gratifying....