I fell again today. That's my second fall in 2 weeks.
The first fall was last week. I was walking down some stairs, and while swinging the stiff leg down to the next step, the socket came off my stump. This left me putting weight on a leg that was not lined up with my stump. Fortunately I was hanging on to a strong banister with my right hand. I quickly grabbed it with my left hand, but I was already most of the way down. I hurt my right elbow. It took lots of twisting strain.
Since then I have gotten a different socket.
Today I walked to get an ice cream cone. As I entered the fast food place, there was a guy eating an ice cream cone, and two families waiting for food they had ordered. I reached the counter, and was ordering, I had both hands resting lightly on the counter top.
All of a sudden my face hit the credit card machine, then my chin bounced off the counter, and I fell on my ass. My knee had collapsed, and as it collapsed, it went forward and hit the counter front, and that made the socket go rear ward about a foot. This unexpectedly pushed me backwards, and I fell on my back, with my head under a table.
I slowly sat up, and started to check if my knee had failed. My sore right elbow was the only thing that felt hurt.
The lady with a small girl grabbed the crying girl and yelled, "Come we are leaving now. Come!" and she dragged the crying child around me and out of the shop.
The guy was still licking his ice cream cone.
I slowly managed to get up, and walked to the counter. The girl behind the counter had not moved. She said "That's 5 rand 50."
The woman of the other family then asked. "Are you OK?" She hadn't moved, in fact none of the family had moved. I said I was OK.
I took my ice cream out side, and worked on my knee. I looked at those people, and thought..."I bet they all go to Church on Sunday."
I don't know why it collapsed. I am sure I am to blame.
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Sunday, 27 January 2019
CT scan results
My last few weeks bounce rate on my blog web site has been 100%. That means that 100% of the people that looked at my blog stayed on it for less than 5 seconds. Either fast readers, or computer bots.
This past week has been a medical week.
On the 19th I did a Parkrun. Lots of stump pain. I walked a very slow 1:26:14. My stump swelled up afterwards, and I couldn't get the socket on for 2 days. The week before, I had done 5 km walks, 3 times. I think my stump needs more than a day or two to heal, and recover.
Wednesday I went to see the Prosthestist. We chatted lots, and decided not to cast a new socket. Because my stump swells so easy, a new socket should be bigger, yet I want one tighter for walking. My current socket is too big, but I can easily shove foam into it to make it smaller. A loose socket is a pain in the ass, but a very tight socket is unusable. I'll keep my "too big" socket.
He gave me some new putty like stuff. It feels like play-dough. I am supposed to put it in the bottom of my socket, and walk. It should squish and flow around the end of the stump, and form a perfect fitting pad between the end of the stump, and the bottom of the socket. It takes about 24 hours to set, and then it should feel like a soft silicone sealer, like you use to seal around your bathtub.
Thursday I went to a Podiatrist. My good foot is having typical problems due to my increased distances I walk each week. When I used to run I had the same problems. Toenails and nerve pains. The second toe on my good foot, has a nail I thought was going to come off. It now grows almost 90 degrees to the left. The nail grows mostly up and gets thicker. I have been using a Dremmel tool to grind it down.
He said that the nail had become detached on the side, so only half is growing, which makes it bend as it grows. He said the solution is to use the Dremmel tool weekly.
I also get a pain in my middle toes that feels like they are broken, but I can twist and massage the toes with out pain. There is a nerve that is in the pad of the foot that causes the pain. He touched it and my toes really hurt. It is fairly common, and called Morton's Neuroma.
He added a pad under my shoe innersole to keep pressure off the nerve, and that helped.
The receptionist came in with a handwritten file, and said that I was an old patient. I had seen this doctor in 2008 for the same problem. Increased running distance, and Morton's Neuroma. They had been in Pretoria then.
If my brain remembered things better, I could have saved the trip.
Friday was an Oncologist day. First was blood tests. Then I had to drink a liter of liquid. Then lay in a metal tube, while they injected radioactive Iodine into me. It made me feel hot, and like I had peed my pants. After they were done they asked me to lay still. Then they re-did some of the photos in my pelvic region.
Last CT scan in February 2018 showed swollen lymph nodes in my right groin. They said they must be from an infection. Well, the lymph glands in my right groin are still swollen. The Doctors agreed that this is not a cancer related event, but also agreed that it isn't good. So I am supposed to go see a Lymph Doctor.
On Saturday I did another Parkrun. I had not done any real walking since the previous park run, so I figured I would be out of shape. It turned out to be my fastest ever, 1:10:44, and I finished with no pain or discomfort in the stump. So now I think that if I don't walk during the week, and let the stump rest well, then I can do a faster Parkrun. Maybe some time on my Exercycle to get a cardio workout, and rest the stump.
I was feeling better than after any other Parkrun, so went over to a friends house. On arrival there she pointed out that I had damaged my good leg in two places, and it was bleeding from both wounds. I had not felt a thing. She also pointed out that my calf was very hard and swollen. I fear there is something wrong with my good leg. It is red and hot, numb, swollen, and the lymph glands are swollen.
Sigh :-(
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Settled in Africa...sort of.
I have not blogged since arriving back in Africa. Again there has been no real hits on my blog for 2 months except from China. The bounce rate is 98%. That is when the person stay on the web site for less than 5 seconds. Since nobody could read my blog in a few seconds, that means they disconnect quickly. So all the hits on my blog are probably Chinese bots.
I don't really have anything to say, except I have been walking lots. I walked 15 km last week. 5 of those was at a Parkrun. I finished in 1:14:11. I beat 8 other people. I am always last, so now I feel like a real athlete.
Today I walked to a restaurant nearby. It is 2.51 km away. I walk there, have a cheap breakfast, and walk back. On the way back, about half way, my knee must have blown a seal, because I lost all hydraulic resistance, (both extension and flexion) and there was oil everywhere. I walked the rest of the way home with zero resistance.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Before the last Parkrun, I had lowered the extension resistance to almost zero. The extension resistance determines how fast the leg extends from behind to all the way in front. As I am walking faster now, I need the knee to allow the leg to swing forward faster. This is to allow me to use a faster cadence. Today with zero extension resistance, the leg slammed forward, but was not dangerous. More like a big distraction.
The oil leaked from one of the top bearings. I don't know how to fix that. I just put the brand new, (but bad) 2100 I have as a spare. I'll need to transfer the extension assist spring assembly to this 2100.
The knee that blew today is one my Brother bought off Ebay. It has served me well for 2 years. I'll miss it's reliability.
The 2100 I just put on, is a brand new one, but it has a manufacturing defect. One of the adjustment screws threads in the main body, looks like my dog drilled it. So every o'ring gets shredded every time the screw is inserted. I cleaned it up as best I could. It is tiny. the o'ring is 1 mm. Maybe I will set the screw where I think it should be, then glue the screw in, with glue all around the o'ring to stop it leaking. getting all the air out is difficult, but possible if I take a few days to do it. I also have an old beat up Ossur 2000 knee. Maybe I should have put it on the leg.
I need to read my Instructable about how to remove and replace the fluid in a 2100. Maybe thicker fluid will fix the one that blew it's seal today.
Later
I don't really have anything to say, except I have been walking lots. I walked 15 km last week. 5 of those was at a Parkrun. I finished in 1:14:11. I beat 8 other people. I am always last, so now I feel like a real athlete.
Today I walked to a restaurant nearby. It is 2.51 km away. I walk there, have a cheap breakfast, and walk back. On the way back, about half way, my knee must have blown a seal, because I lost all hydraulic resistance, (both extension and flexion) and there was oil everywhere. I walked the rest of the way home with zero resistance.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Before the last Parkrun, I had lowered the extension resistance to almost zero. The extension resistance determines how fast the leg extends from behind to all the way in front. As I am walking faster now, I need the knee to allow the leg to swing forward faster. This is to allow me to use a faster cadence. Today with zero extension resistance, the leg slammed forward, but was not dangerous. More like a big distraction.
The oil leaked from one of the top bearings. I don't know how to fix that. I just put the brand new, (but bad) 2100 I have as a spare. I'll need to transfer the extension assist spring assembly to this 2100.
The knee that blew today is one my Brother bought off Ebay. It has served me well for 2 years. I'll miss it's reliability.
The 2100 I just put on, is a brand new one, but it has a manufacturing defect. One of the adjustment screws threads in the main body, looks like my dog drilled it. So every o'ring gets shredded every time the screw is inserted. I cleaned it up as best I could. It is tiny. the o'ring is 1 mm. Maybe I will set the screw where I think it should be, then glue the screw in, with glue all around the o'ring to stop it leaking. getting all the air out is difficult, but possible if I take a few days to do it. I also have an old beat up Ossur 2000 knee. Maybe I should have put it on the leg.
I need to read my Instructable about how to remove and replace the fluid in a 2100. Maybe thicker fluid will fix the one that blew it's seal today.
Later
Friday, 30 November 2018
Leaving USA for Africa
I haven't posted a blog in a long time. I feel the need to chat to someone, and there is no-one that wants to hear my story, so I chat to my blog. No-one has visited my blog site in almost a year, that doesn't speak Chinese.
I have been in the USA for about 6 months, and go back to South Africa in a few weeks.
I sold my RV, so am staying in a small hunting cabin in the middle of a forest.
the cabin is small, but has a microwave, bar fridge, toilet and shower, and a camping cot.
From E-bay I bought a Colledge Park Odyssey K3 ankle for $2000. That improved my self selected walking speed by over 10%. I wanted a Freedom Inovation Kinterra, but the Odessy was 1/3 the price. The ankle helps very much on uneven terrain.
I also bought a Fillaur DuraShock torque buffer for $500. This allows me to twist on the prosthetic leg. It seems most beneficial when doing little steps, like washing dishes, or making coffee. It also seems to help with uneven terrain. Small twists are not transmitted to the stump.
I am battling with my socket, as usual. it seems like 90% of the usefulness of a prosthetic is the socket. Walking without the DuraShock feels better, but it helps in the day to day moving around, that I decided to try walking 5 km with it. So with the 2100, the Odyssey K3, and the DuraShock, I walked 5.82 kilometers. As usual, most of the problems were socket related. I averaged 4.2 km/hr. My previous best speed was 3.8 km/hr.
------
My anti social behavior is becoming more pronounced. I know very few people that talk loud and distinct enough for me to usefully interact verbally with them. So they chat away, and I nod. I answered some lady the other day by saying my favorite dog was a Staffie, and she looked at me like I was crazy, she had been talking about Trumps campaign.
My leg often bothers me at inappropriate times, and being in a social situation when the socket grabs my balls, is a hard one to resolve without offending someone.
Yesterday I was invited to a ladies house for leftovers. It was pleasant, and the food welcome. While there my tummy started acting up. Like diarrhea coming on. Her bathroom is tiny, with nothing to grab or balance with, so I was reluctant to use it. But soon I had no choice.
I get into her bathroom, and balance carefully to remove my leg. Unfortunately I had on track suit bottoms. I seldom wear long pants because of the tactical nightmare of using the bathroom.
I get the tracksuit down around my ankles, then take off the cycling shorts to around my ankles. Only then can I remove the leg. I can't move the leg anywhere, because it is trapped to my good ankle. I then lower my underwear, and sit. Very diarrhea. Now to try to wipe while not only holding the leg, but with three pieces of clothing wrapped around my ankles. Lots of messy toilet paper later, my ass is relatively clean, but will require a shower when I get back to the cabin.
Back into the living room, the lady was chatting about something or the other, my mind was on my leg, that I hadn't put back on correctly. Also my tummy was rumbling again.
Soon I excuse myself and go again to the bathroom. Same balancing and tangle of clothing. I can also now see that I hadn't wiped very well. Skid marks on my underwear.
Diarrhea again, and lots of toilet paper and still messy. I get all the clothing back on, and the leg back on crooked again.
I then go out to chat again, but my mind is on a zillion things and her chatting to me is wasted breath. I decide to drive home now so I can shower.
About halfway on the drive home I need the toilet again badly. I start to pull over, but before I can get stopped, it has all come out. Gross. So I decide to just continue to the cabin. I have to get out to open the gate, and the car seat is all brown and wet. I squish to the gate and unlock it, sit back down with a squish, then drive through the gate, and get out and feel stuff dripping down my leg, lock the gate, then sit with a squish again.
At the cabin I walk straight into the shower, and start removing gross soiled clothing. Try removing long pants full of shit over a prosthetic foot. It is an impossible task. Again...Gross.
Some shit has streamed down my stump between the socket and liner.
It took more than an hour to clean up the mess, and to disassemble the prosthetic leg, clean it, and reassemble it. I ended up with a big pile of shit stained clothing.
Now it was late, and I just wanted to head for bed in my now clean underwear.
I got to bed and fell straight asleep.
About 2:00 AM I awoke to an urgent need to poo. The only way I had to get to the toilet was to get my leg on quickly. I quickly got the leg on, the light on, and stood up. The pressure of the socket without a real liner, made my weight concentrated on where the groin meets the socket. This forced the shit out. So I take about 10 steps to the toilet, and every step is a squirt of diarrhea. the underwear stopped some of it, but you could still see every step I took by the puddles on the floor.
Now there was shit all over the floor, all over my prosthetic foot and shoe, again between the socket and its liner, all over my sleep compression socks, and of course my underwear. I was empty before I got to the toilet, so I went straight into the shower again.
An hour later I was clean and wearing clean underwear, and the prosthetic leg was once again clean. To prevent another occurrence, I slept in the bathroom till the next morning.
This morning I said my little ritual...
I am not in pain.
I am not cold.
I am not hungry. It is a good day
-----
I don't have any "friends" I hate enough to subject them to my presence. I can not conceive of a person wanting to live with me. Even I find living with me, to be unpleasant.
I fear the only solution to my social problems is isolation. I need to concentrate on life without any other people.
Maybe I need to focus on the Buddhist meditation techniques.
I have been in the USA for about 6 months, and go back to South Africa in a few weeks.
I sold my RV, so am staying in a small hunting cabin in the middle of a forest.
the cabin is small, but has a microwave, bar fridge, toilet and shower, and a camping cot.
From E-bay I bought a Colledge Park Odyssey K3 ankle for $2000. That improved my self selected walking speed by over 10%. I wanted a Freedom Inovation Kinterra, but the Odessy was 1/3 the price. The ankle helps very much on uneven terrain.
I also bought a Fillaur DuraShock torque buffer for $500. This allows me to twist on the prosthetic leg. It seems most beneficial when doing little steps, like washing dishes, or making coffee. It also seems to help with uneven terrain. Small twists are not transmitted to the stump.
I am battling with my socket, as usual. it seems like 90% of the usefulness of a prosthetic is the socket. Walking without the DuraShock feels better, but it helps in the day to day moving around, that I decided to try walking 5 km with it. So with the 2100, the Odyssey K3, and the DuraShock, I walked 5.82 kilometers. As usual, most of the problems were socket related. I averaged 4.2 km/hr. My previous best speed was 3.8 km/hr.
------
My anti social behavior is becoming more pronounced. I know very few people that talk loud and distinct enough for me to usefully interact verbally with them. So they chat away, and I nod. I answered some lady the other day by saying my favorite dog was a Staffie, and she looked at me like I was crazy, she had been talking about Trumps campaign.
My leg often bothers me at inappropriate times, and being in a social situation when the socket grabs my balls, is a hard one to resolve without offending someone.
Yesterday I was invited to a ladies house for leftovers. It was pleasant, and the food welcome. While there my tummy started acting up. Like diarrhea coming on. Her bathroom is tiny, with nothing to grab or balance with, so I was reluctant to use it. But soon I had no choice.
I get into her bathroom, and balance carefully to remove my leg. Unfortunately I had on track suit bottoms. I seldom wear long pants because of the tactical nightmare of using the bathroom.
I get the tracksuit down around my ankles, then take off the cycling shorts to around my ankles. Only then can I remove the leg. I can't move the leg anywhere, because it is trapped to my good ankle. I then lower my underwear, and sit. Very diarrhea. Now to try to wipe while not only holding the leg, but with three pieces of clothing wrapped around my ankles. Lots of messy toilet paper later, my ass is relatively clean, but will require a shower when I get back to the cabin.
Back into the living room, the lady was chatting about something or the other, my mind was on my leg, that I hadn't put back on correctly. Also my tummy was rumbling again.
Soon I excuse myself and go again to the bathroom. Same balancing and tangle of clothing. I can also now see that I hadn't wiped very well. Skid marks on my underwear.
Diarrhea again, and lots of toilet paper and still messy. I get all the clothing back on, and the leg back on crooked again.
I then go out to chat again, but my mind is on a zillion things and her chatting to me is wasted breath. I decide to drive home now so I can shower.
About halfway on the drive home I need the toilet again badly. I start to pull over, but before I can get stopped, it has all come out. Gross. So I decide to just continue to the cabin. I have to get out to open the gate, and the car seat is all brown and wet. I squish to the gate and unlock it, sit back down with a squish, then drive through the gate, and get out and feel stuff dripping down my leg, lock the gate, then sit with a squish again.
At the cabin I walk straight into the shower, and start removing gross soiled clothing. Try removing long pants full of shit over a prosthetic foot. It is an impossible task. Again...Gross.
Some shit has streamed down my stump between the socket and liner.
It took more than an hour to clean up the mess, and to disassemble the prosthetic leg, clean it, and reassemble it. I ended up with a big pile of shit stained clothing.
Now it was late, and I just wanted to head for bed in my now clean underwear.
I got to bed and fell straight asleep.
About 2:00 AM I awoke to an urgent need to poo. The only way I had to get to the toilet was to get my leg on quickly. I quickly got the leg on, the light on, and stood up. The pressure of the socket without a real liner, made my weight concentrated on where the groin meets the socket. This forced the shit out. So I take about 10 steps to the toilet, and every step is a squirt of diarrhea. the underwear stopped some of it, but you could still see every step I took by the puddles on the floor.
Now there was shit all over the floor, all over my prosthetic foot and shoe, again between the socket and its liner, all over my sleep compression socks, and of course my underwear. I was empty before I got to the toilet, so I went straight into the shower again.
An hour later I was clean and wearing clean underwear, and the prosthetic leg was once again clean. To prevent another occurrence, I slept in the bathroom till the next morning.
This morning I said my little ritual...
I am not in pain.
I am not cold.
I am not hungry. It is a good day
-----
I don't have any "friends" I hate enough to subject them to my presence. I can not conceive of a person wanting to live with me. Even I find living with me, to be unpleasant.
I fear the only solution to my social problems is isolation. I need to concentrate on life without any other people.
Maybe I need to focus on the Buddhist meditation techniques.
Friday, 25 May 2018
May 25 2018 - Prosthetic Accessory Test
Friday 4 May 2018
My socket had been bothering me, so I visited my Prosthetist. He had a bunch of new "Toys" for me to try out for my prosthetic leg. :-)
Toy1 - A rotation adaptor is a device that fits between the socket and the knee that allows the lower leg to rotate. While sitting, this allows the lower leg to be twisted 360 degrees. I can rotate at the knee and put the foot right in front of my face.
 |
| This guy is using a rotation adapter |
Toy2 - A screw that replaces the normal pylon, so I can lengthen and shorted the pylon. This looks like something I could really use.
During the ParkRuns, I battle when the terrain slopes down from left to right. My left prosthetic leg is always way to long, and that makes walking very difficult. If I could shorten and lengthen the leg easily it would help me lots.
Toy3 - An ankle device made for ladies that change their heel height often. If the heel is thicker/taller, then the toe will not have pressure on it to break the knee loose as I walk. High heel shoes mean the prosthetic knee will remain stiff. This problem is also evident when walking down a hill. My weight never transfers to the toe as I go downhills, so the knee never bends.
This device changes allowable heel height (actually the angle of the foot) with the push of a button.
 |
| This is my old fixed ankle. |
 |
| Heel height Variable Ankle. |
Toy4 - An extension assist. This is a spring and cable assembly added to the inside of the knee to help push the knee into the straight extended position.
It takes pliers and about 5 minutes to install. There are three different strength springs.
---
On the ParkRun I was doing that Saturday, there is a 1 km section where shortening the left leg 1.5 cm would help, and a 1.5 km section where a 3 cm shorter leg would be nice. On the rest of the run, a normal length would be best.
The fancy screw pylon would only add or subtract about 1 cm to the length of the leg. My prosthetist suggested that maybe I could just lossen the bolt, and slide the pylon out of the ankle or out of the knee, then tighten it back up. I tried that and found I could safely lengthen and shorten the leg by a total of 3 cm. :-)
I Cut the pylon shorter, then marked the pylon with lines to indicate the different lengths I would require for the different parts of the run.
I decided to not use any of the new "Toys" on the Park Run because I had not practised with them.
----------------
Saturday after the ParkRun....
:-( My poor stump is in such bad shape. Blisters, and lots of pain.
The leg shortening worked well for the first half of the race. I was at the half way point 15 minutes earlier than last time. I was feeling good.
Then my stump bottomed out. PAIN.... I stopped and took the leg off and added a thick stump sock, hoping to stop the stump from going so far into the socket. That made the socket very tight, and I could feel throbbing, which means blood can not get out of the stump. After about half a km, the stump was again bottomed in the socket. Every step hurt, and the throbbing meant I could not add more socks.
The second half of the run was on pavement, and it took me 25 minutes longer than the first half, which is on rough terrain.
I could feel blisters forming on the stump, then the blisters popped, and soon the sweat was getting into the popped blisters.
I finished with a very slow time, went straight to the car and removed the leg, then headed for home. Once home I could not put the leg on because the stump was so sore. Fortunately my crutches were in the car, and I could get into the house.
A quick shower, and lots of anti-inflammatory drugs, and into bed.
I was not able to put the leg on for three days because of the swelling of the stump. I had two rows of blisters, and lots of sores on the end of the stump.
The next 10 days were short walks only. I did get to try out the "Toys". The rotation adaptor was put aside. I could not find a use for it.
The screw pylon was also set aside. The sliding of the pylon in and out of the knee and ankle, worked very well, and is quicker than screwing in and out the pylon.
The extension assist ended up having a benefit I had not considered. The spring makes the leg go straight much quicker, and it slammed straight. I was able to set the extension resistance more, and then the fast extension got smoother. The biggest benefit was that the spring locks the knee as a soon as it is straight. I no longer need to make sure the knee is straight, and locked before putting weight on it. It automatically goes straight and locks. I like that a lot. I feel much safer.
I tried the different springs. The stiffest was very stiff, and may have been ok for a hard core sprinter. The lightest spring was ok for walking around the kitchen. I ended up using the middle firm spring.
I next put on the variable ankle. I doesn't seem to have enough travel to be of any use. I took it back off, and put on my solid ankle. Then after two days I decided to try it again. It weighs more than my solid ankle, and I can feel the extra weight. It does seem to help some when walking down hill, because I can lower the toe, and that allows the knee to break loose on downhills. But then I took it off.
Then a few days later I put it back on. Duh!!!
I went to a place that had a long wheel chair ramp. It is about 10 meters long, and is exactly a 10 degrees slope.
I set the ankle so it is good for flat ground when the toe is at the farthest up position. Then before going down the hill, I push the button, and stomp on the heel to force the toe as far down as it will go, then push the button again to lock the ankle in that position. With the toe down like that it is very hard to walk on level ground, but I can walk normal down the slope. That is very nice, because I normally have to walk down slopes with a stiff prosthetic leg because the knee will never break loose. With this variable ankle set to max toe down I can do the wheelchair slope easily.
The price of the variable ankle is about R12,000 ( $1000).
Yesterday I went to get measured and fitted for a new socket. Hopefully it will not be one that allows bottoming of the stump.
The new variable ankle is almost one cm longer than my fixed ankle. I need to shorten my pylon, so it will be adjustable like I did on the ParkRun. But since I am getting the new socket in a few days, I will wait before cutting the pylon.
-----
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
April 25 2018 - More Doctors and Prosthetists.
Last Saturday I did a ParkRun at a new venue called Midstream.
http://www.parkrun.co.za/midstream/results/latestresults/
I finished the 5 km in 1 hr 53 min. I don't know why they say 1:55.
My Park run times are getting slower and slower. I keep thinking if I get the socket better, I'll walk faster. But maybe I am growing older faster, than I can improve my walking speed.
I went to the Local GP yesterday, because during the ParkRun, my one toenail turned about 45 degrees to the left. I thought it had come loose. She was very good, and said that she had no way to cut or trim the thick, brown nail, so she would remove it. While she was gathering her tools, I started thinking about using a grinder to reshape the toenail. Then I thought of my Dremmel tool. Dremmel makes a small hobby grinder for small cutting and grinding. I told her that I would go home and try grinding the toenail before we do the surgery route.
At home I got out my Dremmel tool, and got online to see if anyone else had ever thought to use a grinder on toenails. Google gave me a zillion hits for grinding toe and finger nails. It seems that podiatrists and dog parlours often use small grinders on nails.
I ground the offending toenail and shaped it much better. It was so easy and painless, I ground on the other 4 toenails...then I did my fingernails also.
This latest ParkRun is about half on dirt paths, and half on sidewalks. The dirt part is angled the wrong way, so the prosthetic leg feels way to long. Since I am missing my left leg, if the ground is higher on the left, then the prosthetic leg never unlocks, and remains stiff. This means small hobbled steps. Very frustrating when trying to "race".
I usually walk on the left side of the street for the same reason. It makes the prosthetic leg "feel" shorter, so it swings forward easier.
I removed the foot and pylon from my prosthetic knee, and used my Dremmel tool to cut a 1 cm section off the carbon fibre pylon.
If I insert the ring and the pylon onto the knee, it is still the same length, but if I take the ring out, then the whole leg is 1 cm shorter.
I have been practising a "pit stop" like procedure where I sit on the ground, remover the lower leg, insert or remove the ring, then put the leg back together, and stand up all within 45 seconds.
My thinking is that when I get to a section on the ParkRun that has ground higher on the left, I remove the ring, and when the ground is more level, I re-insert the ring.
If I make the ring the exact correct thickness depending on the terrain, then I should be able to walk straight up when the ground is slanted. That should remove one more excuse for my poor times.
--
Later...
I just got back from the Prosthetist. I quickly went to the same one I have been using for years.
My socket got a large crack in it. I tried super glue. That was a waste of time. If layers of fiber glass crack from the strain, then Super glue doesn't stand a chance.
We chatted about the places where the socket hurts and rubs, and he will work on those areas while he is fixing the crack.
I showed him my spacer insertion technique and he showed me a pylon that had a ruler engraved into it. He said that the manufacturer allows the pylon to be extended 3 cm and still be griped strong enough to run on. That means I'll be able to change the length without having to get on the ground, and using the insert.
This Prosthetists also says that he does the Midstream ParkRun. We didn't see each other there. Now that I am home, I see that his name is on the results page, along with his wife, mother, sister, and 2 daughters.
He kept my socket for the day, but I have many spares, so I just made up a temporary prosthetic leg. It will let me stand, and walk around the house.
I got a nice letter from the ParkRun People. They offered to let me be an "early walker". Someone that walks the route before the race, and reports any mud puddles, construction or obstacles on the course. That way I could be a staff volunteer, and still do the run. That sounds like it would be a good solution.
--
http://www.parkrun.co.za/midstream/results/latestresults/
I finished the 5 km in 1 hr 53 min. I don't know why they say 1:55.
My Park run times are getting slower and slower. I keep thinking if I get the socket better, I'll walk faster. But maybe I am growing older faster, than I can improve my walking speed.
I went to the Local GP yesterday, because during the ParkRun, my one toenail turned about 45 degrees to the left. I thought it had come loose. She was very good, and said that she had no way to cut or trim the thick, brown nail, so she would remove it. While she was gathering her tools, I started thinking about using a grinder to reshape the toenail. Then I thought of my Dremmel tool. Dremmel makes a small hobby grinder for small cutting and grinding. I told her that I would go home and try grinding the toenail before we do the surgery route.
At home I got out my Dremmel tool, and got online to see if anyone else had ever thought to use a grinder on toenails. Google gave me a zillion hits for grinding toe and finger nails. It seems that podiatrists and dog parlours often use small grinders on nails.
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| Dremmel tool being used on a dog. |
I ground the offending toenail and shaped it much better. It was so easy and painless, I ground on the other 4 toenails...then I did my fingernails also.
This latest ParkRun is about half on dirt paths, and half on sidewalks. The dirt part is angled the wrong way, so the prosthetic leg feels way to long. Since I am missing my left leg, if the ground is higher on the left, then the prosthetic leg never unlocks, and remains stiff. This means small hobbled steps. Very frustrating when trying to "race".
I usually walk on the left side of the street for the same reason. It makes the prosthetic leg "feel" shorter, so it swings forward easier.
I removed the foot and pylon from my prosthetic knee, and used my Dremmel tool to cut a 1 cm section off the carbon fibre pylon.
If I insert the ring and the pylon onto the knee, it is still the same length, but if I take the ring out, then the whole leg is 1 cm shorter.
I have been practising a "pit stop" like procedure where I sit on the ground, remover the lower leg, insert or remove the ring, then put the leg back together, and stand up all within 45 seconds.
My thinking is that when I get to a section on the ParkRun that has ground higher on the left, I remove the ring, and when the ground is more level, I re-insert the ring.
If I make the ring the exact correct thickness depending on the terrain, then I should be able to walk straight up when the ground is slanted. That should remove one more excuse for my poor times.
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Later...
I just got back from the Prosthetist. I quickly went to the same one I have been using for years.
My socket got a large crack in it. I tried super glue. That was a waste of time. If layers of fiber glass crack from the strain, then Super glue doesn't stand a chance.
We chatted about the places where the socket hurts and rubs, and he will work on those areas while he is fixing the crack.
I showed him my spacer insertion technique and he showed me a pylon that had a ruler engraved into it. He said that the manufacturer allows the pylon to be extended 3 cm and still be griped strong enough to run on. That means I'll be able to change the length without having to get on the ground, and using the insert.
This Prosthetists also says that he does the Midstream ParkRun. We didn't see each other there. Now that I am home, I see that his name is on the results page, along with his wife, mother, sister, and 2 daughters.
He kept my socket for the day, but I have many spares, so I just made up a temporary prosthetic leg. It will let me stand, and walk around the house.
I got a nice letter from the ParkRun People. They offered to let me be an "early walker". Someone that walks the route before the race, and reports any mud puddles, construction or obstacles on the course. That way I could be a staff volunteer, and still do the run. That sounds like it would be a good solution.
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Saturday, 14 April 2018
April 14 2018 - Rethinking my Goals
I got up early this morning to go do a ParkRun at a new venue. I got there, and it was so crowded. There are usually a thousand people running this ParkRun every Saturday. There must have been 500 white SUV's in the parking lot. Yuppy city. The parking was so far from the start line, that I just turned my car around, and headed back home.
It sounds silly to want to park closer to the start line so I don't have to walk so far before I race 5 km. Standing while waiting for the start, and the extra walking reduces the pleasure of the ParkRun because I will be tired, and sore before the race even begins.
I stopped on the drive home, and considered going to another Park Run venue. Then I asked myself what I would be doing right now if I could do anything. The answer was to be sitting in my wheelchair, drinking coffee and reading a book. So I came straight home.
Yesterday I went to the Prosthetist. He asked me to walk swinging my arms in an exaggerated manner. I would start fine, but after a few steps my arm synchronisation would get screwed up. He asked if I was ever in the military, and I said "Yes.". He then said it was just like marching and I should be keeping my arms stiff. When my hands go forward, they should be even with my shoulders. He said that I must not have been a very good soldier if I couldn't even march. I told him I had been a Nuclear Reactor Operator on submarines, and we didn't march much.
He said I was concentrating too much on the prosthetic leg, and didn't have spare mental capacity to dedicate to controlling arm movement. I agree 100% with that.
He said that I was so far from understanding and performing the basics of prosthetic use, that the loan of the Bionic knee was a waste of time, and I should come back when I was able to walk much better. He suggested I do a hundred hour with his physiotherapist. He then rebuilt my leg with all my previous components, and I left.
I got the feeling that he was trying to tell me that I am a 68 year old, one legged guy with cancer, and I should not be wasting his time, or my time, by trying to do a ParkRun faster.
He may be right.
I wore the fancy Bionic knee for 4 days. I was supposed to have it for two weeks. One of the bad things about the Bionic knee was that it didn't bend far enough to allow kneeling. It also was not very smooth. Lots of clunking. The energy required to walk was much more.
The knee is programmed with a special computer that the Prosthetist has, and I am sure that the Prosthetist had set the knee up electronically with many limitations. This means I have to get an appointment to get any adjustments made, and instead of paying for added features, I must pay to have the disabled features activated. I hate the way the "New World" works.
On the way home I had a flat tire on my car, and spent the next half hour kneeling by the side of the road, changing the tire. If I had still had the fancy Bionic knee on, I would have had to remove the entire leg to be able to change the tire.
Sometimes things work out for the best.
This week I bought some walking poles. The physio lady said they would force me to use my arms in sync with my legs better, and I do need to do that. I haven't walked with them yet.
I need to re-think what my goals are. Being healthy is a good goal. Being able to go shopping with the leg is a good goal. But is doing a ParkRun faster, a sensible goal for someone like me???
---
It sounds silly to want to park closer to the start line so I don't have to walk so far before I race 5 km. Standing while waiting for the start, and the extra walking reduces the pleasure of the ParkRun because I will be tired, and sore before the race even begins.
I stopped on the drive home, and considered going to another Park Run venue. Then I asked myself what I would be doing right now if I could do anything. The answer was to be sitting in my wheelchair, drinking coffee and reading a book. So I came straight home.
Yesterday I went to the Prosthetist. He asked me to walk swinging my arms in an exaggerated manner. I would start fine, but after a few steps my arm synchronisation would get screwed up. He asked if I was ever in the military, and I said "Yes.". He then said it was just like marching and I should be keeping my arms stiff. When my hands go forward, they should be even with my shoulders. He said that I must not have been a very good soldier if I couldn't even march. I told him I had been a Nuclear Reactor Operator on submarines, and we didn't march much.
He said I was concentrating too much on the prosthetic leg, and didn't have spare mental capacity to dedicate to controlling arm movement. I agree 100% with that.
He said that I was so far from understanding and performing the basics of prosthetic use, that the loan of the Bionic knee was a waste of time, and I should come back when I was able to walk much better. He suggested I do a hundred hour with his physiotherapist. He then rebuilt my leg with all my previous components, and I left.
I got the feeling that he was trying to tell me that I am a 68 year old, one legged guy with cancer, and I should not be wasting his time, or my time, by trying to do a ParkRun faster.
He may be right.
I wore the fancy Bionic knee for 4 days. I was supposed to have it for two weeks. One of the bad things about the Bionic knee was that it didn't bend far enough to allow kneeling. It also was not very smooth. Lots of clunking. The energy required to walk was much more.
The knee is programmed with a special computer that the Prosthetist has, and I am sure that the Prosthetist had set the knee up electronically with many limitations. This means I have to get an appointment to get any adjustments made, and instead of paying for added features, I must pay to have the disabled features activated. I hate the way the "New World" works.
On the way home I had a flat tire on my car, and spent the next half hour kneeling by the side of the road, changing the tire. If I had still had the fancy Bionic knee on, I would have had to remove the entire leg to be able to change the tire.
Sometimes things work out for the best.
This week I bought some walking poles. The physio lady said they would force me to use my arms in sync with my legs better, and I do need to do that. I haven't walked with them yet.
I need to re-think what my goals are. Being healthy is a good goal. Being able to go shopping with the leg is a good goal. But is doing a ParkRun faster, a sensible goal for someone like me???
---
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