|
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
A week ago Sunday, my husband John took me shopping. He helped me pick out a new pair of shoes. We got them because none of my other shoes would fit. I had to try several pairs before we found one that fit my right foot. It\'s somewhat swollen and will be for at least a couple of months, since it\'s still healing.
The shoes were "buy one pair, get the 2nd pair half price" so we tried getting a 2nd matching pair in my regular size. But for some reason, my left foot slid around in my normal shoe size, and did not slide around in the bigger shoe! John ended up picking out a 2nd pair of (half price) shoes for himself.
I keep the left shoe laced tied up tightly and the right shoe laced very loosely. It works out nicely. But oh...if only walking again was as easy as wearing this new pair of shoes is!
I thought it would be simple. I was looking forward to making this journal post. I figured I\'d be reporting that I was back to walking again; no more wheelchair, no more ramp in front of our house, life back to normal! Instead I find myself stuck at a confusing midway point.
On Saturday, for example, I ended up staying home from a Potluck Supper that John & I attend once a month. Up until now I was quite comfortable attending it in my wheelchair. But now that I\'m walking around the house, I didn\'t really want to go to the Potluck in the wheelchair. For months people have asked me when I\'d be walking again. What would I say, that yes, I was finally able to walk again but I\'d decided to keep on sitting in the chair?
If I had gone to the potluck without the wheelchair, I would soon have had problems with a sore foot, as well as an aching back. So I ended up telling John to go without me, and to let friends know that I\'d be back the following month. True, that decision didn\'t do much for my social life, but it did solve my dilemna for the time being.
It isn\'t just my still-recovering foot that\'s the problem. It\'s also that I\'ve lost a lot of muscle tone & stamina from having to sit around for so long.
I found out about that lack of stamina fairly quickly. I\'d had the plate and screws surgically removed from my foot on March 16th. On Friday, April 1st, my foot was checked and the stitches were removed. I rested over that weekend to let the foot recover. The following Monday, I had the green light to start using it again.
I started by walking slowly & gently around my house for about 15 minutes. I had no problem with the foot, except for normal soreness. But less than an hour later, the herniated disk in my lower back started reading me the riot act. The lower back pain continued for the next 4 days! Not only that, I got severe pain in my upper back as well.
I\'ve had back trouble for years... it runs in my family. I\'ve dealt with it fairly successfully by working out at a fitness center 3 times a week. As long as I go there faithfully, my back does fine. But the last time I went to the gym was October 23rd. On October 24, I was in the car accident, and haven\'t been able to go back since.
Now I\'m learning firsthand, that if one part of your body goes down, the rest of the body can start sinking also. It\'s not only my back, but also my arms. They\'ve been overworked for months now. Although they improved when I got help for them in February, they still aren\'t back to where they should be.
So a couple of days ago, I went back to my primary care doctor. She gave me a script for physical therapy. As soon as it can be cleared with insurance, I\'ll be going to PT 2 or 3 times a week. My goal is to be able to go back to my fitness club and pick up where I left off last October.
All of this is more difficult than I ever thought it would be...would anybody like a pair of shiny new shoes...? No, no, I’m just kidding!
Eventually, I\'ll pass the shoes on to my son, who has bigger feet than I do. For now, however, I’ll do my best to put these shiny new shoes to good use; walking back into the life I used to live, one step at a time.
|
| Recently Spotted MembersNo members found. Be the first. |
