Crutch THIS

Back in December 2010, I was instructed to walk with cane, and thus, Scraper Cane was born!


Then there was the Scraper Cane: Holiday Edition


Which later gave way to the 4th of July Edition (which apparently I forgot to blog about. Fail!)


Then there was the Pirate Edition (we'll, come back to this one in a minute- I'm blogging about it now, at least.)

Then there was the Halloween Edition (I failed to blog this one, too?! *sigh*)


Fast forward from Halloween to ye ole wheelchair in December/January.


Then came the crutches...


And then stayed the crutches...

Here's a reminder of my recovery goals:

What I was told I'd do:
- 2 weeks of bedrest
- Then, 2 weeks of limited activity
- Then, 2 weeks of moderate activity + physical therapy
- At 6-8 weeks post-op, begin bearing weight
- At 3-4 months, ditch crutches for cane
- At 4-6 months, ditch cane
- At 6-12 months, regain normal activity: walking, running, climbing

What I said I'd do:
- 2 weeks bedrest
- Then, 2 weeks limited activity + physical therapy
- Then, 2 weeks moderate activity + bearing weight
- At 6-8 weeks, ditch crutches for cane
- At 3-4 months, ditch cane + walk
- At 6 months, climb
- At 6-12 months, run

And what has actually happened:
- 1 week bedrest
- Then, 1 week limited activity
- Then, 1 week moderate activity + physical therapy + bearing weight
I was off to SUCH a great start!
- At 2.5 months, ditched one crutch
And then things slowed down...
- At 3 months, began turning crutch around and using as a cane
And stayed slooowww...
- At 4 months, traded ankle brace for foot support
Until, FINALLY!
- At 5 months (exactly 20 weeks, to the day) traded crutch for cane

...And now we've cycled back around to the Pirate Cane!


I thought I'd be ditching the cane by now, and instead, I'm just now getting to it. This has been a huge lesson in humility and patience for me, two of my greatest challenges. It has also been an indicator of mind over matter and matter not always being controlled by mind.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you want something, how much you will it to be, it doesn't always happen the way you want it. And that's okay.

That being said, I'm working so hard, and I'd really like to be rid of this cane in 8 weeks.

My nerve damage has not improved and it's likely it never will. That means it takes double, triple, sometimes quadruple the effort to use certain muscles and to move in certain ways. It means some of my muscles don't work the way they are supposed to, and that, sometimes, other muscles have to double their workload to make up for the dead weight. It does not mean that I won't be able to do the things I want. It just means I have to find new ways of doing some of them. And luckily, I love a challenge.