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.
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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
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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, 30 November 2018
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. |
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| 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.
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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.
 |
| 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.
--
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.
--
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???
---
Tuesday, 10 April 2018
April 10 2018 - Trying out a Bionic Knee
During the fitting of the knee, the Prosthetist found that neither of the feet I have been using will work, because the knee is to long. So they had to temporarily give me a old, straight, cheap plastic foot.
The Physio lady and I walked around a bit so I could get a feel for it, But I never felt safe with it. Every step it feels like it is collapsing. This "collapse" is only for a few degrees. But that same feeling with my Total Knee 2100 means I will fall to the ground.
When I step forward, the Genium is designed to hit the ground at a 4 degree knee bend angle. As soon as my body weight is put on the knee it gives slightly until the computer locks the knee from bending further. This is supposed to give a slight "give" and therefore be softer on the stump. But as soon as I try to walk, it goes to 0 degrees with a clunk. There is no resistance in going from the 4 degrees to the 0 degrees.
The Physio lady said to not push back with my stump. With the 2100, I have to push back to make sure it is locked. This Genium should not require that. But how can I ever walk forward without pushing back with my foot to push me forward. If I walk backwards with the Genium, it feels much better than walking forward.
So as I walk, the Genium goes click, thunk, click, thunk, click, thunk.
I am battling getting used to this knee compared to my Total Knee 2100. I am used to making positive that the knee is locked before putting any weight on it. The Genium is supposed to do that thinking for me, so I need to learn to let it do what it is supposed to do.
With my 2100 everything seems "Black and White". The knee is totally floppy, or the knee is locked. The Genium is all "Grey". It is kind of, sort of, floppy, or kind of, sort of, locked.
This Genium knee has 3 accelerometers, and 5 sensors. It detects if I am standing still, sitting, falling, and the speed I am walking.
If the knee detects that there is weight on the leg, and it is straight, it will lock straight. Like when I am just standing.
If the knee is bent in one position for a short period of time, it will lock in that position. Like squatting.
If it detects I am trying to sit, then it will give resistance to the knee bending of about 30 kg (60 pd) to help lower me into the chair.
If the knee detects I am sitting for more than 2 seconds, it goes into power saving mode, and supplies no resistance to movement.
On walking up stairs, if the knee detects a sweeping backward motion very soon after a stance phase, (I have to learn to signal the knee with this action) then the knee thinks I am going up stairs, and it will go all loose until it detects pressure while bent. Now it thinks the prosthetic leg is on the next step up, and will lock in that position.
It does the same thing when walking up a steep slope.
When walking down a steps, or a steep slope, it will act similar to when I am sitting down, and apply resistance, so I can sort of ride the knee down the slope or steps. Going down steep slopes is great. I can do that much better today than ever before with any knee. This down slope walking should speed up my ParkRun time significantly.
I definitely rub people the wrong way. The Physio lady and the Prosthetists seems to just want me out the door. So I left, with the knee not performing anywhere near what I think it should.
As I was leaving, I met the guy that works there that is a double leg amputee. We chatted for about 20 minutes. He is full of useful knowledge, experience, and information.
He says that he tried the Rheo3 (Ossur's Bionic Knee) and the Genium, and didn't like either one. He says he likes to be in control of things, especially of his prosthesis. He says the Bionic knees take to much of his control away. They are in charge of how he walks, not him. He asked me what my profession was before I lost my leg, and I said that I was a pilot. He said that he would be surprised if I liked relinquishing control of my walking to a computer.
He said that first time amputees like the Genium, because it makes learning a prosthesis much easier. He also said that it seem to be liked by non-technical people better than technical people. That is sort of the opposite of what I would have thought. I thought that geeks and nerds would love all the AI and computers.
But then, most geeks I know like Linux and the command line, and the non-technical people I know all like friendly, easy Microsoft.
He also said that when he does rough terrain, he uses walking sticks. The ones like ski poles. He says the extra balance provided, makes him much faster. All the energy used to run the race is still from him, so he doesn't care what others think. He usually doesn't use a cane, crutches, or walking sticks because they are a pain when he isn't walking, or using them. But he says that anytime he can conveniently use a cane, crutches, or walking sticks, he does.
I just read this on line:
The highest of high-end prosthetics right now is the Genium knee, "the Maserati of microprocessor prosthetics,". Ottobock developed the Genium with the Department of Defense, hoping to let soldiers with lower-limb amputations return to active duty. It's waterproof, dust proof, saltwater resistant, and it runs silently. The Genium's estimated cost is around $120,000.
I think the cost has come down quite a bit. The Genium is now about R850,000, which is only about $71,000.
The Genium comes with a nice charger for the batteries. It holds on magnetically, and works through clothing. The battery should last about 5 days.
I have another appointment on Friday. Then I'll try to get them to fix the knee, and I'll get the download for Android to control and program the knee with blue-tooth from my phone.
Till then I'll be walking on a $71,000 knee that goes click, thunk, click, thunk, click, thunk.
--
Friday, 6 April 2018
April 6 2018 - New Physio Lady.
On Tuesday I went to a new Prosthetist. There they have on staff a Physiotherapist lady that specializes in amputee walking.
Today I had an appointment with her. We talked for a bit, then went walking around the complex where their office is. The complex reminds me of a Collage campus.
She had a route to walk, that had many of the obstacles I have trouble with. We walked up some steps, then up a long slope where there was some loose soft gravel. Then we walked more stairs and slopes, and got back to the office an hour later. I was very tired.
She showed me how it is easier to go up steps if the good leg goes one step past the prosthesis leg on the way up. It was counter intuitive what she said, but after a few times up and down the steps, I could see her point. I need to work on steps a lot.
Then we did a long steep slope. Up and down. I was more interested in how to do slopes quickly, than how to do them pretty and normal. She showed me a quick side bunny hop for going down slopes. It is definitely faster than how I currently do slopes, but it uses a lot of energy.
We then went to a soft gravel parking lot. I tried many ways to walk on the soft gravel. The solution to walking on gravel and soft sand is....don't try to walk on gravel and soft sand!
I then mentioned how when I stand talking for a long time, my good hip starts to hurt. She said it was because my "blah blah blah, was to tight on the "blah blah blah", and it forced my "blah blah blah" to pull. So I need to change my long term stance to put much more weight on the prosthetic side. I tried her way, and it helps.
The best thing I learned today was getting up after a fall. I showed her how I do it, and she said that my way, is one way, to get up, but it require a lot of strength. I agree, because when I fell on the last Park-Run, I was already tired, and it took great effort for me to get up. I start on my stomach, but my way means that any weight I put on the prosthetic leg is on the toes, and therefore the knee will not lock. With the prosthetic knee not locked, then all the strength to rise must come from my good leg.
She showed me another way, that is slower, and looks silly, but requires much less strength.
If you sit on the floor with your legs in front straight, then your toes point up. If you lie on your stomach, then your toes point down. She showed me to start on my stomach and do the splits as far as possible. The toes gradually point more up (less down). At 90 degree splits, the foot is parallel to the ground. Now if I push backwards with my hands, the prosthetic leg heel takes the force. NOW the knee will lock, and I can push my bum up high and slowly stand with legs far apart. Then shuffle till both legs are together.
We got back to the office, and I was standing, and she said I should sit.
I told her how when I finish a long walk, as soon as I sit, my stump starts to hurt, and it throbs painfully. I then either stand again, or take the leg off. The leg will not come off easy, and it take a huge, long, effort to free the painful stump.
She says she knows what causes that, and fetched one of the prosthetists. He said that on the top, inside of the thigh near the groin, is where the artery and veins come into the leg. The artery is deep, but the vein is near the surface. My socket presses to hard on the vein when I sit, and the blood trying to escape the stump is trapped. This makes the stump swell, and throb. He says the socket should never press in that area, and I either need a new socket, or I need to grind or cut the offending parts away.
As soon as I got to the car, I battled to remove the socket from my throbbing stump. Once the socket was off, the pain was gone in seconds.
Once home I took my Dremmel tool and cut and ground off about half a centimeter all across the front inside of the socket. Now I need to trim the plastic liner.
I was hoping to get to try a new Bionic leg today, but it looks like only next week.
Tomorrow is a Park-Run. I want to try the new venue. I am a bit worried because I had a rough day today, and yesterday I walked 5.5 km, and the day before was about 2.5 km. I wish I had a full day to rest before the Park-run.
I also bought new Park-Run socks, and new insoles for my good foot shoe.
I hope they give me good luck tomorrow.
--
Today I had an appointment with her. We talked for a bit, then went walking around the complex where their office is. The complex reminds me of a Collage campus.
She had a route to walk, that had many of the obstacles I have trouble with. We walked up some steps, then up a long slope where there was some loose soft gravel. Then we walked more stairs and slopes, and got back to the office an hour later. I was very tired.
She showed me how it is easier to go up steps if the good leg goes one step past the prosthesis leg on the way up. It was counter intuitive what she said, but after a few times up and down the steps, I could see her point. I need to work on steps a lot.
Then we did a long steep slope. Up and down. I was more interested in how to do slopes quickly, than how to do them pretty and normal. She showed me a quick side bunny hop for going down slopes. It is definitely faster than how I currently do slopes, but it uses a lot of energy.
We then went to a soft gravel parking lot. I tried many ways to walk on the soft gravel. The solution to walking on gravel and soft sand is....don't try to walk on gravel and soft sand!
I then mentioned how when I stand talking for a long time, my good hip starts to hurt. She said it was because my "blah blah blah, was to tight on the "blah blah blah", and it forced my "blah blah blah" to pull. So I need to change my long term stance to put much more weight on the prosthetic side. I tried her way, and it helps.
The best thing I learned today was getting up after a fall. I showed her how I do it, and she said that my way, is one way, to get up, but it require a lot of strength. I agree, because when I fell on the last Park-Run, I was already tired, and it took great effort for me to get up. I start on my stomach, but my way means that any weight I put on the prosthetic leg is on the toes, and therefore the knee will not lock. With the prosthetic knee not locked, then all the strength to rise must come from my good leg.
She showed me another way, that is slower, and looks silly, but requires much less strength.
If you sit on the floor with your legs in front straight, then your toes point up. If you lie on your stomach, then your toes point down. She showed me to start on my stomach and do the splits as far as possible. The toes gradually point more up (less down). At 90 degree splits, the foot is parallel to the ground. Now if I push backwards with my hands, the prosthetic leg heel takes the force. NOW the knee will lock, and I can push my bum up high and slowly stand with legs far apart. Then shuffle till both legs are together.
We got back to the office, and I was standing, and she said I should sit.
I told her how when I finish a long walk, as soon as I sit, my stump starts to hurt, and it throbs painfully. I then either stand again, or take the leg off. The leg will not come off easy, and it take a huge, long, effort to free the painful stump.
She says she knows what causes that, and fetched one of the prosthetists. He said that on the top, inside of the thigh near the groin, is where the artery and veins come into the leg. The artery is deep, but the vein is near the surface. My socket presses to hard on the vein when I sit, and the blood trying to escape the stump is trapped. This makes the stump swell, and throb. He says the socket should never press in that area, and I either need a new socket, or I need to grind or cut the offending parts away.
As soon as I got to the car, I battled to remove the socket from my throbbing stump. Once the socket was off, the pain was gone in seconds.
Once home I took my Dremmel tool and cut and ground off about half a centimeter all across the front inside of the socket. Now I need to trim the plastic liner.
I was hoping to get to try a new Bionic leg today, but it looks like only next week.
Tomorrow is a Park-Run. I want to try the new venue. I am a bit worried because I had a rough day today, and yesterday I walked 5.5 km, and the day before was about 2.5 km. I wish I had a full day to rest before the Park-run.
I also bought new Park-Run socks, and new insoles for my good foot shoe.
I hope they give me good luck tomorrow.
--
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
April 3 2018 - Going to a Different Prosthetist
Today I decided to try a different prosthetics company. The prosthetist I have been going to since my amputation, seems to be trying less hard for my business than he did before. I have no specific complaints about any of his work, so maybe I just wanted a change.
I have been walking about 12km a week, mostly just to the shops for coffee. A few weeks ago I tried a local ParkRun. Park Runs are 5 km run/walks. There are athletes that finish in about 30 minutes, and fat, old ladies pushing a baby carriage that finish in just under an hour.
My fastest two leg ParkRun time was 35:39. My fastest time since amputation was a 1:24:48.
Last week I did a ParkRun in 1:56:19. I was exhausted and very slow. The terrain was very uneven the entire race. Uneven terrain means that the leg will sometimes unlock when I don't want it to, and sometimes will stay locked when I need to bend it while swinging it forward. Uneven terrain require me to concentrate on the ground immediately in front of me, where the prosthetic foot will land. This is not fun, and requires total concentration.
This is the foot I have now. An Ossur Vari-Flex. All the prosthetists I have talked to, say this is the foot of choice for most amputees.
I have always felt that the solution to uneven terrain is a flexible ankle. My Vari-Flex has a zero flex ankle.
Last year I borrowed, for 2 weeks, an Ossur Proflex ankle. It has hydraulics in the ankle so the foot can move the toes up and down to match the terrain.
It made uneven terrain a bit easier. It made slopes a bit easier. I would gladly have paid a few thousand Rand for that ankle...It was R87,000. Definitely not worth that much to me.
Today I called around to see if any other Prosthetic companies have any ankles to loan me. One place sounded much better than the others, so I drove there. They have a 2 hour evaluation exam and test, that is done by a Physio lady, and a prosthetist.
They are very modern, and proud of their technological approach to the prosthetic business. One thing I liked very much about their methods was they insisted on real world conditions.
My old prosthetist did all his alignment on a flat floor. I always felt that he could get it perfectly set up in that room, but it was all wrong before I even got out to my car. These new people first aligned everything on a flat floor, then took me outside to the real world. Steps, slopes, loose tiles, and rocks.
They strapped a small electronic measuring device on my prosthetic ankle, then made me walk supper fast for 6 minutes. This device measures acceleration, impacts, distance, cadence, and stride length. They also had video cameras to record me walking from all sides.
We studied the videos and the computer printout from the device after my walk.
They both said that my foot problems seem to be knee related. I told them my knee was fine, and the problem was lack of flex in the ankle.
I had to be careful, because these people seemed to know what they are talking about, and I always think I know everything.
While they were doing computer things, I chatted to a double above knee amputee. He works at a disabled children school. He told how he puts his single, above knee amputee kids on a pure straight leg with a J type carbon fiber running foot. He says that the kids run much faster over uneven terrain without any knee at all. He says the knowledge that they won't fall makes them go much faster than having a very expensive knee, that may make them fall.
This Para-Athlete runs with no knees. It looks funny, but he doesn't fall, and is very fast.
The prosthetist and the Physio lady both said that I may be faster on uneven terrain with no knee. I need to think about that.
They both said that I need more push off (energy recovery) in my prosthetic foot. They found an old Fillauer All-Pro foot and put it on my leg. It looks like this.
We then did the 6 minute fast walk with the measuring device strapped on. My stride was longer, and I was a bit faster. They say that it should have lots more give and flex on uneven terrain. They loaned it to me for a week.
Tomorrow I will go to one of the ParkRun venues near me that has rough terrain, and give it a try.
When I was done, and getting ready to leave, a lady came in. She was an above the knee amputee from cancer, so we had a great talk. She is getting a loaner knee. The top of the range Bionic knee from OttoBock. She was excited. The OttoBock guy said his job was to put as many people on OttoBock products as possible, even if it was just for a week or two. He said that he had another loaner that he wanted me to try out. It is a super Bionic knee. Lots of Artificial Intelligence in that knee. Here is what it looks like:
If the actions of the knee fit one of many event criteria, then it thinks you are tripping and it takes corrective action.
It senses when you are standing still and will lock the knee. It senses when you are sitting, and goes slack. It senses if you are walking fast, and varies the resistances to match. It is programmable via blue-tooth, so you can change program profiles via a cell phone. You can read more about it here..
https://www.ottobockus.com/prosthetics/lower-limb-prosthetics/solution-overview/genium-above-knee-system/
A very fancy machine, but it costs almost what my house, and my car together are worth.
I will go back to these people in a week, to return the foot I am trying out, and maybe the OttoBock guy will have dropped off the Genium knee for me to do a 2 week trial.
--
I have been walking about 12km a week, mostly just to the shops for coffee. A few weeks ago I tried a local ParkRun. Park Runs are 5 km run/walks. There are athletes that finish in about 30 minutes, and fat, old ladies pushing a baby carriage that finish in just under an hour.
My fastest two leg ParkRun time was 35:39. My fastest time since amputation was a 1:24:48.
Last week I did a ParkRun in 1:56:19. I was exhausted and very slow. The terrain was very uneven the entire race. Uneven terrain means that the leg will sometimes unlock when I don't want it to, and sometimes will stay locked when I need to bend it while swinging it forward. Uneven terrain require me to concentrate on the ground immediately in front of me, where the prosthetic foot will land. This is not fun, and requires total concentration.
This is the foot I have now. An Ossur Vari-Flex. All the prosthetists I have talked to, say this is the foot of choice for most amputees.
Last year I borrowed, for 2 weeks, an Ossur Proflex ankle. It has hydraulics in the ankle so the foot can move the toes up and down to match the terrain.
Today I called around to see if any other Prosthetic companies have any ankles to loan me. One place sounded much better than the others, so I drove there. They have a 2 hour evaluation exam and test, that is done by a Physio lady, and a prosthetist.
They are very modern, and proud of their technological approach to the prosthetic business. One thing I liked very much about their methods was they insisted on real world conditions.
My old prosthetist did all his alignment on a flat floor. I always felt that he could get it perfectly set up in that room, but it was all wrong before I even got out to my car. These new people first aligned everything on a flat floor, then took me outside to the real world. Steps, slopes, loose tiles, and rocks.
They strapped a small electronic measuring device on my prosthetic ankle, then made me walk supper fast for 6 minutes. This device measures acceleration, impacts, distance, cadence, and stride length. They also had video cameras to record me walking from all sides.
We studied the videos and the computer printout from the device after my walk.
They both said that my foot problems seem to be knee related. I told them my knee was fine, and the problem was lack of flex in the ankle.
I had to be careful, because these people seemed to know what they are talking about, and I always think I know everything.
While they were doing computer things, I chatted to a double above knee amputee. He works at a disabled children school. He told how he puts his single, above knee amputee kids on a pure straight leg with a J type carbon fiber running foot. He says that the kids run much faster over uneven terrain without any knee at all. He says the knowledge that they won't fall makes them go much faster than having a very expensive knee, that may make them fall.
This Para-Athlete runs with no knees. It looks funny, but he doesn't fall, and is very fast.
They both said that I need more push off (energy recovery) in my prosthetic foot. They found an old Fillauer All-Pro foot and put it on my leg. It looks like this.
Tomorrow I will go to one of the ParkRun venues near me that has rough terrain, and give it a try.
When I was done, and getting ready to leave, a lady came in. She was an above the knee amputee from cancer, so we had a great talk. She is getting a loaner knee. The top of the range Bionic knee from OttoBock. She was excited. The OttoBock guy said his job was to put as many people on OttoBock products as possible, even if it was just for a week or two. He said that he had another loaner that he wanted me to try out. It is a super Bionic knee. Lots of Artificial Intelligence in that knee. Here is what it looks like:
If the actions of the knee fit one of many event criteria, then it thinks you are tripping and it takes corrective action.
It senses when you are standing still and will lock the knee. It senses when you are sitting, and goes slack. It senses if you are walking fast, and varies the resistances to match. It is programmable via blue-tooth, so you can change program profiles via a cell phone. You can read more about it here..
https://www.ottobockus.com/prosthetics/lower-limb-prosthetics/solution-overview/genium-above-knee-system/
A very fancy machine, but it costs almost what my house, and my car together are worth.
I will go back to these people in a week, to return the foot I am trying out, and maybe the OttoBock guy will have dropped off the Genium knee for me to do a 2 week trial.
--
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