Well wife and I went on vacation with some friends of ours to Hellen Georgia (North East corner of Georgia if you want to look on a map). A truly beautiful place in the southern section of the Appalachian Mountains. We had the best time...to a point.
I must say that I was somewhat disappointed in the area as it was not very handicapped friendly. Stores on second floor with no sturdy way up to them. Even first floor shops and sites that were not accessable to handicapped people. Other places tried to cram so much stuff in the place that you could not get around in there very well. Heck me being nearly 7 ft tall and almost 400 lbs I would have been hard pressed to get around in some of the places before the amputation.
But all in all if you ever get the chance to go to Hellen Georgia, please do. There are plenty of things to see and do in Hellen and surounding areas. In spite of the inaccessability of some places I still had one of the best vacations I have ever had. I look forward to returning there in the future and when I am a bit more moble.
Oh and as my lovely wife said I need to add to this blog, that her and our friends walked my butt off. Sheesh I think my prosthetic is shorter now that I wore it out from walking.
Yesterday I made a small transition. When I got to work I decided the heck with it, I rely too much on my walker to get me around. So I reached back and got my cane and told my wife I was walking in with the cane and if she would roll my walker in just in case I couldn't make it with the cane.
Well I made it all the way from the car to my office on the cane. Woohoo!!!! It wasn't the fastest of moving but dang it I made it. Only used the walker when I suddenly had the urge to visit the men's room, cane is too slow to get me there sooo.......
When the work day ended I grabbed my cane and off I was to the turtle race. Again I made it all the way out to my car. Again WOOOOHHOOOOOOO!!!!! I limped a good bit during the walk but I think that will get better with time and getting used to the feel of wearing the leg and putting my full weight on it.
I wasn't putting full weight on the leg with the walker. So I had to transition away from the walker for my own growth and self confidence. I feel this has all been one more step towards that normality I am trying to achieve once more. I just have to remember it is not a destination but a journey that I am enjoying more and more every day.
As I ask my wife and my friends, want to come and walk with me?
Well I have met another milestone on my road to back to my old self. Thursday night wife and I decided to go out to eat at our favorite resteraunt. I was determined to walk in on my own and not be wheeled in in the wheel chair. So I got out, got on my walker and such, walked in and sat down at a table. We had a wonderful meal (as expected) and after the meal was over and we were ready to leave, I stood up (albeit with some difficulty) and walked out of the resteraunt.
I cannot begin to tell you how good that felt to be able to do that. I know some of you will just roll your eyes and think I am crazy, but most of you leg amputees will understand what I am talking about. It was honestly the best meal I believe I have ever had and will certainly be one of the most memorable ones that I have had in a long time.
I have two milestones to meet I hope very soon. One is to take my wife dancing. I promised her while we were in hospital that if everything came out ok that I would take her dancing as soon as I was able. I think I am able now and a lot more confident in myself. Don't know how much dancing I will be able to do, but I am damn sure going to make her happy.
The second milestone is related to a previous blog. I want to completely transition from a walker to my cane for getting around. My balance is getting better, actually took a few steps yesterday without any support. Hopefully I will get there soon, but not going to hurt myself just to do it. Things will come in time, just have to have the patience to wait on it.
Yall have a nice weekend, I may go dancing. Just look for the big giant dancing Sasquatch and that will be me. :D
Wednesday, February 13, 2008, 05:49 PM CST
[General]
Well since my last blog I have had some good things happen. Have actually gone back to work now instead of working from home. Still working on the endurance part of walking. Where I have to park and where my office is is a good distance. But I am back at work so now I feel back intouch with everything going on, got my finger back on the pulse so to speak.
Secondly on the good thing events, I got my first permanent socket. My prostheticist told me to go find some fabric I liked and they will laminate it on the outside. I thought this will be cool, so I started the major quest to find just the right pattern. Well on a trip to a big hobby store I found the fabric that I wanted on my socket. It has wolf heads all over it, perfect. So now on my brand new carbon fiber socket I have wolf heads. And of course I show it to everyone. I am proud of my leg and I don't care what others say or think.
Thirdly and very cool is that I am now transitioning from a walker to a cane for walking. Got me one of those platform style canes and it is working great. Still don't have a whole lot of endurance but I am getting used to it and building endurance on a daily basis. Got a trip to the beach planned for March so got to be up and mobile.
Well finished with my third week of physical therapy and everything is going good.... Well almost everything. Thursdays session was going good, only thing that was off about it was while I was walking it felt like I was walking on the side of my foot and that my leg felt like it was trying to bow. I finish up the session and head to the car. Wife was putting some stuff back in the car and I was about to pull the leg off so I can get in the car (will explain later why this is necessary). I reached down and hit the button...nothing happened. I press it again...wouldn't press. Oh CRAP!!! I am thinking. Wife comes over to see why I am using some rather colorful metaphores.
She goes into her super panic mode, so now I get to try to pull the leg off and calm her down. Well then we are forced to make a dash back to my prosthetisist to see if he can pull it off. I am cramped up riding in the back seat while wife drives. And just to add insult to injury my prosthetisist is very very busy but says he can make time for me in and hour or so.
Long interlude of me napping in the waiting room.
He finally gets to me and pulls the leg off in about 2 seconds (tell him I don't like him anymore, he laughs at me). And low and behold my socket has collapsed and bent the release button. My socket was just a temporary one made from thermo-plastic. He expected it to do that sooner or later, and we were planning on making me a newer smaller one when I got back from holidays that I am supposed to leave for on Monday.
He quickly calls up his supplier and sees if they can send a new socket and over night it so I don't have to cancel my holiday plans. He just tells me to come back the next day. SOOOOO long interlude of my wife and I worrying about the holiday plans.
Come back to him today and thankfully he has the new socket and we do a fitting. He only had to do a few small minor fixes to make it fit comfortably. PHEW major weight off my shoulders. My in-laws houses aren't handicapped accessable so I needed to be able to go up a small flight of stairs to get my Christmas dinner and presents. Didn't want to have to set in the car and not get any....
But the emergency has been averted for now (starts knocking like mad on the wood) and all plans are a go.
If any of you have stuck with the story this long are probably wondering about why I have to take the leg off to get in the car. Well I drive a good sized car, Cadillac SRX, but my feet are so big and I am soo tall that I can't bend my knee enough with the prosthetic to get my foot in the car. So when I sit down I pull the leg off and sit it beside me or behind me in the car. When I get out I do it all in reverse.
