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.
Showing posts with label Falling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Falling. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Monday, 24 October 2016
Oct 24 2016 - PLP and can't sleep.
01:15
There are many reasons why I can't sleep.
I have been trying to increase my daily walking to get ready for another park run before I go to the states. This socket really hurts on my ischail bone, and I have blisters and a rubbed raw spot. The prosthesis place is making a new socket with air bladders inside it. I so hope it works well. The new socket should be ready by Thursday.
This next socket will probably be the one I go to the states with, so it better be good enough for 6 months. I seem to average about 3 weeks per socket. Needless to say I am concerned about that.
I walked about 1.5 km every day last week. Any farther is very painful. The whole air bladder thing is good because it allows me to change the fit of the socket. But with the increase flexibility come increase complexity. The best way for me to inflate the bladders is through the zipper in front of my shorts. It is a little shocking to other people. They see me unzip, play around inside there, then starts pumping a rubber pump. They all have dirty minds. :-)
On Friday, I was walking back from the shops, and my Achilles tendon started hurting. I had that a few years ago, and had to wear a moon boot for a month to fix it. I don't think I could use a prosthetic leg AND a moon boot at the same time.
I walked slow and gentle the rest of the way to the house. I was almost to the front door, when I fell in the driveway. As usual, I don't know why. I was walking, then I was face down. I hurt my right wrist. I'm sure it is just sprained. It is swollen a bit and tender, but everything seems to work OK.
Now I can't use the cane or the crutches. Even the wheel chair is difficult. I have to use the wrist bone to push on the tire.
With blisters on my ischail, sitting in the wheel chair sucks a bit, add to that a sore wrist, and I decided to play computer games all day Sunday.
I had planned on buying food this Sunday, because I am so close to being on a forced diet. For real food, I only have eggs and Muesli. But getting around with this wrist means I couldn't shop.
I did find some old, unopened bran self raising flour, so I made some flat pan bread. Not healthy, but tastes good with enough peanut butter and jelly on it. Actually anything tastes good with enough peanut butter and jelly on it. :-) If my wrist doesn't get better soon, I may find out how eggs and peanut butter taste.
(and Muesli?)
I went to bed at about 22:30 and couldn't sleep. When I turn out the light, I start a one hour white noise generator. I have not heard it quit in a month. I am sound asleep by then. But tonight I was still awake when it quit. I started it again.
For some reason I was having PLP. First time in a long time. My wrist also hurt when I moved in bed.
Having only one leg means it is harder to sit up in bed. I used to just hold both feet in the air, with my legs straight, and I could sit up. Now nothing happens when I do that. I now have to roll onto my side, then push up sideways with my arms, until I sit. I didn't think about my wrist, and I hurt it.
When the noise generator quit the second time, I just got up. I took some pain drugs for the first time in many weeks, and I am now waiting for them to kick in. I don't know if I took the drug for the wrist pain, or the PLP, or the ischail blisters. I guess it doesn't really matter.
---
There are many reasons why I can't sleep.
I have been trying to increase my daily walking to get ready for another park run before I go to the states. This socket really hurts on my ischail bone, and I have blisters and a rubbed raw spot. The prosthesis place is making a new socket with air bladders inside it. I so hope it works well. The new socket should be ready by Thursday.
This next socket will probably be the one I go to the states with, so it better be good enough for 6 months. I seem to average about 3 weeks per socket. Needless to say I am concerned about that.
I walked about 1.5 km every day last week. Any farther is very painful. The whole air bladder thing is good because it allows me to change the fit of the socket. But with the increase flexibility come increase complexity. The best way for me to inflate the bladders is through the zipper in front of my shorts. It is a little shocking to other people. They see me unzip, play around inside there, then starts pumping a rubber pump. They all have dirty minds. :-)
On Friday, I was walking back from the shops, and my Achilles tendon started hurting. I had that a few years ago, and had to wear a moon boot for a month to fix it. I don't think I could use a prosthetic leg AND a moon boot at the same time.
I walked slow and gentle the rest of the way to the house. I was almost to the front door, when I fell in the driveway. As usual, I don't know why. I was walking, then I was face down. I hurt my right wrist. I'm sure it is just sprained. It is swollen a bit and tender, but everything seems to work OK.
Now I can't use the cane or the crutches. Even the wheel chair is difficult. I have to use the wrist bone to push on the tire.
With blisters on my ischail, sitting in the wheel chair sucks a bit, add to that a sore wrist, and I decided to play computer games all day Sunday.
I had planned on buying food this Sunday, because I am so close to being on a forced diet. For real food, I only have eggs and Muesli. But getting around with this wrist means I couldn't shop.
I did find some old, unopened bran self raising flour, so I made some flat pan bread. Not healthy, but tastes good with enough peanut butter and jelly on it. Actually anything tastes good with enough peanut butter and jelly on it. :-) If my wrist doesn't get better soon, I may find out how eggs and peanut butter taste.
(and Muesli?)
I went to bed at about 22:30 and couldn't sleep. When I turn out the light, I start a one hour white noise generator. I have not heard it quit in a month. I am sound asleep by then. But tonight I was still awake when it quit. I started it again.
For some reason I was having PLP. First time in a long time. My wrist also hurt when I moved in bed.
Having only one leg means it is harder to sit up in bed. I used to just hold both feet in the air, with my legs straight, and I could sit up. Now nothing happens when I do that. I now have to roll onto my side, then push up sideways with my arms, until I sit. I didn't think about my wrist, and I hurt it.
When the noise generator quit the second time, I just got up. I took some pain drugs for the first time in many weeks, and I am now waiting for them to kick in. I don't know if I took the drug for the wrist pain, or the PLP, or the ischail blisters. I guess it doesn't really matter.
---
Sunday, 31 July 2016
July 31 2016 - Sitting and standing
Not much to blog about.
I have been letting my stump heal as much as possible. Yesterday I put the silicone liner on my stump. It took a long time, and any time I forced it on, it hurt.
Today I am pain free, and when the phantom pain acts up, it is more of "phantom uncomfortable" than "phantom pain". It did wake me up a few times last night, but there was no real pain.
I have been practicing standing up from the wheel chair.
Anytime I try to get up from being down, it is more about balance than strength. I tell my friends thats if I fall, to never try to help me up. Just protect me from any damage, and keep others from "helping" me up. Balancing as I get up is hard, and if someone pulls or touches me, then my balance is thrown off. It is best for them to stand strong, and let me "climb" up them.
Getting up from a chair, or wheel chair, is difficult without hanging on to something to help keep my balance. With my foot in front of the chair, my center of gravity is far to the rear of my foot, and so I can't get my weight forward enough to be able to stand unless I pull forward on something. That is why I have grab bars bolted onto the walls in the bathroom.
With the pain being less in my stump, it means I can push down and rearward on the chair seat hard with the stump while getting up. This means I do not need a grab bar to pull forward. Creating pressure with the stump, also makes me much more stable while getting up and down.
So today I have been practicing getting up and down from the wheel chair without gripping anything. It takes a lot of stump pressure, and good balance. This will make my life easier, as I can get up from the wheelchair with something in my hands, like taking dishes to the sink.
Next I want to work on getting up from the floor, without using the cane.
My solar system is working well. I just did the math on all the log files from my power monitor. My total electricity usage averages out to be 34.7 KWH/ day for the last 3 months. At R1.65 a KWH, thats R171.90 a month. (or $11.85 a month).
--
I have been letting my stump heal as much as possible. Yesterday I put the silicone liner on my stump. It took a long time, and any time I forced it on, it hurt.
Today I am pain free, and when the phantom pain acts up, it is more of "phantom uncomfortable" than "phantom pain". It did wake me up a few times last night, but there was no real pain.
I have been practicing standing up from the wheel chair.
Anytime I try to get up from being down, it is more about balance than strength. I tell my friends thats if I fall, to never try to help me up. Just protect me from any damage, and keep others from "helping" me up. Balancing as I get up is hard, and if someone pulls or touches me, then my balance is thrown off. It is best for them to stand strong, and let me "climb" up them.
Getting up from a chair, or wheel chair, is difficult without hanging on to something to help keep my balance. With my foot in front of the chair, my center of gravity is far to the rear of my foot, and so I can't get my weight forward enough to be able to stand unless I pull forward on something. That is why I have grab bars bolted onto the walls in the bathroom.
With the pain being less in my stump, it means I can push down and rearward on the chair seat hard with the stump while getting up. This means I do not need a grab bar to pull forward. Creating pressure with the stump, also makes me much more stable while getting up and down.
So today I have been practicing getting up and down from the wheel chair without gripping anything. It takes a lot of stump pressure, and good balance. This will make my life easier, as I can get up from the wheelchair with something in my hands, like taking dishes to the sink.
Next I want to work on getting up from the floor, without using the cane.
My solar system is working well. I just did the math on all the log files from my power monitor. My total electricity usage averages out to be 34.7 KWH/ day for the last 3 months. At R1.65 a KWH, thats R171.90 a month. (or $11.85 a month).
--
Monday, 18 July 2016
July 18 2016 - Another fall, and another pain.
10:30
From a chilly George.
It is a beautiful, clear day out side.
Maddie is hanging laundry.
I am drugged up and stupid.
Yesterday I wanted to make coffee and help Maddie get ready for church. We set the alarm for 7, but at 6 I had to pee. So I decided to crutch to the toilet. The light switch is up on the wall, and with crutches is a pain in the ass, and I didn't want to wake Maddie, so I crutched in the dark.
I made it up the steps to the dressing room. While crutching to the bathroom I went to move the crutches forward to put weight on them before moving my good foot forward. But it was like the crutches never got to the ground. I felt like I was falling forward down steps, and the crutches were only hitting air.
Then the back of my head hit the closet doors, and I landed hard on my tailbone. Shock and back pain. I cried out and woke Maddie. I had been falling backwards while thinking I was falling forward.
The pain in my lower back was intense. I just laid there moaning. Thankfully Maddie did not try and move me. She did good. Laying on my back on the floor just happens to be the best thing for lower back pain, and I was in that position already. Maddie brought some blankets, and a pillow, and left me alone. About an hour later she wanted to get me back down the stairs to the bedroom, but first up into the wheelchair. She brought a strong kitchen chair, and I was able to crawl up it into the wheel chair, but sitting hurt my back to much, and I fell/crawled back onto the floor.
Maddie brought my pills, and quickly made an omelet, and I took pain, anti-inflamatories, and muscle relaxers. I ate the omelet laying on the dressing room floor.
I then dragged myself down the stairs, and again using the kitchen chair, was able to get into bed. It was late afternoon before I could move and sit up. I took my drug cocktail every 4 hours.
Today I am able to sit in the wheelchair, but I must sit still, and sit straight up.
I dread thinking about driving back to Pretoria in a weeks time.
Shame, Maddie wants to go to the Botanical gardens, and maybe a movie. I want to be safe in bed or the wheelchair. I read about some amputee veteran from Afganistan that had lots of falls on crutches and with his prosthetic leg. He says he has the choice of a semi normal life with his prosthesis, or a zero pain life by staying in his wheel chair. He chose the wheel chair, with occasional use of the prosthesis.
There is much advantage to a low pain, no falling lifestyle. My desire for a pain free existence is becoming more important than a traveling, socializing, or going out of the house.
I am becoming a hermit.
--
From a chilly George.
It is a beautiful, clear day out side.
Maddie is hanging laundry.
I am drugged up and stupid.
Yesterday I wanted to make coffee and help Maddie get ready for church. We set the alarm for 7, but at 6 I had to pee. So I decided to crutch to the toilet. The light switch is up on the wall, and with crutches is a pain in the ass, and I didn't want to wake Maddie, so I crutched in the dark.
I made it up the steps to the dressing room. While crutching to the bathroom I went to move the crutches forward to put weight on them before moving my good foot forward. But it was like the crutches never got to the ground. I felt like I was falling forward down steps, and the crutches were only hitting air.
Then the back of my head hit the closet doors, and I landed hard on my tailbone. Shock and back pain. I cried out and woke Maddie. I had been falling backwards while thinking I was falling forward.
The pain in my lower back was intense. I just laid there moaning. Thankfully Maddie did not try and move me. She did good. Laying on my back on the floor just happens to be the best thing for lower back pain, and I was in that position already. Maddie brought some blankets, and a pillow, and left me alone. About an hour later she wanted to get me back down the stairs to the bedroom, but first up into the wheelchair. She brought a strong kitchen chair, and I was able to crawl up it into the wheel chair, but sitting hurt my back to much, and I fell/crawled back onto the floor.
Maddie brought my pills, and quickly made an omelet, and I took pain, anti-inflamatories, and muscle relaxers. I ate the omelet laying on the dressing room floor.
I then dragged myself down the stairs, and again using the kitchen chair, was able to get into bed. It was late afternoon before I could move and sit up. I took my drug cocktail every 4 hours.
Today I am able to sit in the wheelchair, but I must sit still, and sit straight up.
I dread thinking about driving back to Pretoria in a weeks time.
Shame, Maddie wants to go to the Botanical gardens, and maybe a movie. I want to be safe in bed or the wheelchair. I read about some amputee veteran from Afganistan that had lots of falls on crutches and with his prosthetic leg. He says he has the choice of a semi normal life with his prosthesis, or a zero pain life by staying in his wheel chair. He chose the wheel chair, with occasional use of the prosthesis.
There is much advantage to a low pain, no falling lifestyle. My desire for a pain free existence is becoming more important than a traveling, socializing, or going out of the house.
I am becoming a hermit.
--
Sunday, 24 April 2016
April 24 2016 - Trip ( literally ) to the Mall
17:00
I'm just back from a walk to the mall. I am very sweaty and stinky. Be glad this is not a smell blog.
There are many malls within 4 km of my house. I walked to one that is about 2.5km from my house. At a Mall restaurant my GPS said 2.8km (1.74m). Total for the day was...Well here is my phone GPS display:
I never knew that Android phones can do screen shots. Just hold the power button and the volume-down buttons at the same time.
I live in a very nice neighborhood. I took this picture just down the street from where I live. Most of my walk to today's mall was on roads like this. That is one reason I like this particular mall.
When I was putting my leg on, my stump was very large, because I wore no compression on it yesterday. That means it does not fit far enough down into the socket. With just the silicone liner on, the leg was almost 3 inches (7cm) too long. That makes it very hard to walk. It feels more like a limp. Also the chance of catching the toe on the ground during the swing forward phase is much greater.
I put the leg on early, and waited for the stump to shrink. Walking forces the stump down into the socket very hard. In about an hour the leg was the right length, and I started walking to the mall.
About half way to the mall, the stump had shrunk enough, so the stump was bottoming out in the socket. Bottoming used to be very painful till I put some foam pads in the bottom. Now I get a warning that soon, it will be painful.
I stopped under a tree, and removed the leg. I put a special sock over the upper part of the stump. This makes the stump fatter so it doesn't fit so far down in the socket. At the mall, before I started back, I added another sock. I got home with the stump bottoming again. Any more walking now and I would need another sock.
Missing the left leg means that if I am walking where the ground is higher on the left, the foot has a bigger chance of catching on the ground during swing forward. If the ground is lower on my left, the I have extra room during the swing forward, and I feel safer.
In South Africa cars drive on the left, so I should be walking on the right side of the road so I can see on coming cars. But I feel safe walking with the road sloping down to the left to give more toe clearance.
About 500 meters before getting home, I heard a car behind me and looked over my shoulder. The leg didn't swing forward all the way, and I fell.
Falling face first onto a curb sounds like bad news, so I walk a bit farther toward the center of the road. I'm sure I piss people off. A cripple walking about a meter from the curb in the same direction as the traffic. Many cars come very close to me. They are trying to make a point.
Today when I fell, I remembered to drop the cane so my fingers don't get trapped under it. I fell toward the curb, and ended up next to it. The car that scared me, slowed down and drove around me. So did the next 2 cars. Finally I got a traffic gap and managed to get up. White South Africans don't stop to help a cripple laying in the road. Even, if it is on the way back from Church.
I always wear motorcycle gloves when I walk. I sure needed them today.
Last night, as I was reading, a mouse ran across the kitchen floor. I don't even tolerate ants inside my house, now a mouse!
I like animals, but a mouse, in the house, is not going to be there for long. I searched all over for him, but he was hiding.
About 20 minutes later, I hear plastic rustling in the tool cupboard. I open the door and the mouse runs out of a small plastic bag and disappears into the cupboard junk. Trust me people. A mouse could hide in that cupboard for months with out being found.
I grab the plastic bag to make sure the mouse doesn't eat any more of what ever was in there. It was Ratex rat poison.
The mouse was killing himself, and I saved him! I had the unique experience of feeling Arrrrggg!, and Duh! at the same time.
I set up motion detection cameras, and a mouse trap. I put in the trap for bait, bread, peanut butter, banana, and cheese. I wanted to see it die. I have a huge internal, emotional, conflict between my Buddhism philosophies, and the killing of things, that really should be dead.
This morning the mouse trap had sprung, and there was the mouse. A cute little thing. I was blessed with a karmic reprieve because the mouse was trapped by only its tail. I bravely put on my motorcycle gloves and got a huge bowl, and put the trap and mouse in the bowl. I then went outside to my fence, un-trapped the mouse, and threw it into my neighbors yard. It scampered away with it's newly bent tail.
I went inside to check the cameras to see just how a mouse gets only it's tail caught in a mouse trap. The mouse must have been to small too trigger the motion detection. No videos. :-(
--
I'm just back from a walk to the mall. I am very sweaty and stinky. Be glad this is not a smell blog.
There are many malls within 4 km of my house. I walked to one that is about 2.5km from my house. At a Mall restaurant my GPS said 2.8km (1.74m). Total for the day was...Well here is my phone GPS display:
I live in a very nice neighborhood. I took this picture just down the street from where I live. Most of my walk to today's mall was on roads like this. That is one reason I like this particular mall.
When I was putting my leg on, my stump was very large, because I wore no compression on it yesterday. That means it does not fit far enough down into the socket. With just the silicone liner on, the leg was almost 3 inches (7cm) too long. That makes it very hard to walk. It feels more like a limp. Also the chance of catching the toe on the ground during the swing forward phase is much greater.
I put the leg on early, and waited for the stump to shrink. Walking forces the stump down into the socket very hard. In about an hour the leg was the right length, and I started walking to the mall.
About half way to the mall, the stump had shrunk enough, so the stump was bottoming out in the socket. Bottoming used to be very painful till I put some foam pads in the bottom. Now I get a warning that soon, it will be painful.
I stopped under a tree, and removed the leg. I put a special sock over the upper part of the stump. This makes the stump fatter so it doesn't fit so far down in the socket. At the mall, before I started back, I added another sock. I got home with the stump bottoming again. Any more walking now and I would need another sock.
Missing the left leg means that if I am walking where the ground is higher on the left, the foot has a bigger chance of catching on the ground during swing forward. If the ground is lower on my left, the I have extra room during the swing forward, and I feel safer.
In South Africa cars drive on the left, so I should be walking on the right side of the road so I can see on coming cars. But I feel safe walking with the road sloping down to the left to give more toe clearance.
About 500 meters before getting home, I heard a car behind me and looked over my shoulder. The leg didn't swing forward all the way, and I fell.
Falling face first onto a curb sounds like bad news, so I walk a bit farther toward the center of the road. I'm sure I piss people off. A cripple walking about a meter from the curb in the same direction as the traffic. Many cars come very close to me. They are trying to make a point.
Today when I fell, I remembered to drop the cane so my fingers don't get trapped under it. I fell toward the curb, and ended up next to it. The car that scared me, slowed down and drove around me. So did the next 2 cars. Finally I got a traffic gap and managed to get up. White South Africans don't stop to help a cripple laying in the road. Even, if it is on the way back from Church.
I always wear motorcycle gloves when I walk. I sure needed them today.
Last night, as I was reading, a mouse ran across the kitchen floor. I don't even tolerate ants inside my house, now a mouse!
I like animals, but a mouse, in the house, is not going to be there for long. I searched all over for him, but he was hiding.
About 20 minutes later, I hear plastic rustling in the tool cupboard. I open the door and the mouse runs out of a small plastic bag and disappears into the cupboard junk. Trust me people. A mouse could hide in that cupboard for months with out being found.
I grab the plastic bag to make sure the mouse doesn't eat any more of what ever was in there. It was Ratex rat poison.
The mouse was killing himself, and I saved him! I had the unique experience of feeling Arrrrggg!, and Duh! at the same time.
I set up motion detection cameras, and a mouse trap. I put in the trap for bait, bread, peanut butter, banana, and cheese. I wanted to see it die. I have a huge internal, emotional, conflict between my Buddhism philosophies, and the killing of things, that really should be dead.
This morning the mouse trap had sprung, and there was the mouse. A cute little thing. I was blessed with a karmic reprieve because the mouse was trapped by only its tail. I bravely put on my motorcycle gloves and got a huge bowl, and put the trap and mouse in the bowl. I then went outside to my fence, un-trapped the mouse, and threw it into my neighbors yard. It scampered away with it's newly bent tail.
I went inside to check the cameras to see just how a mouse gets only it's tail caught in a mouse trap. The mouse must have been to small too trigger the motion detection. No videos. :-(
--
Friday, 19 February 2016
Feb 19 - Shoes and falling
10:00
I woke up at 07:30, and then fell asleep in the wheelchair in front of the coffee machine.
I have much that needs to be done today. I hope I don't nap the day away.
I worry about having a nap attack in a mall.
I need to buy new shoes. Shoes are not a simple thing for an amputee. I want good shoes to protect the vital good foot. The heal height is important. Otherwise the prosthetic leg will think it is on a slope, and I have talked many times about the dangers of slopes. Usually the prosthesis guy will readjust the prosthesis for each pair of shoes. So I plan on buying new shoes as close as possible to the heel height and slope as the ones I have now. If the shoes are identical in height and cushioning, then they can be swapped without going to the prosthesis guy.
--
I prefer going to the mall with a friend. I worry about falling. My one friend has been given a lecture by me about how to handle things if I fall.
This advise is for a relatively strong amputee that has fallen. It does not work well with elderly, or frail people. They have a totally different fall recovery technique.
One thing is for sure....Never pick a fallen person up without their permission!!!
If I stumble and fall in a mall, I have asked my friend to:
1. Stand and block, so nobody will trip on me, or step on me. Make sure nobody tries to pick me up.
2. I will be in shock. I was walking along, and now the floor is in my face. This will take a few seconds for me to realize what is happening.
3. Maybe I broke something, or injured a shoulder or wrist. If you try to pick me up you can cause major damage. Let ME safely check to see what I may have hurt.
4. If I have hurt something, or you can see damage, call 911 and get help. Let me just lie there and keep me safe from other people wanting to help stand me up.
5. If I am undamaged, then we can think about getting me back on my feet. Balance is more important than strength in getting up. If I am trying to stand, and someone pulls on me anywhere, then my balance is put off. Don't help me up.
6. When I am ready to try to stand, I want someone standing close, and acting like a tree.
7. Stand with wide legs. Put one hand on your hip,and grip it with the other hand. I will climb up you like I would climb a tree. Don't help unless I ask for help.
8. If you are not strong enough to be a tree for me, then once I am sure there are no injuries, drag me to something I can use to climb up, or ask someone strong to be a tree.
9. Only as a last resort ask for someone to help lift me up.
If I fall in a house, bring a strong dining room chair, and put it close. I can climb up it.
--
19:00
At about 13:00 I walked out to the beetle. It started right up, and I started moving out the emergency
equipment out of it into the Atos.
Then I decided to go shoe shopping at a big mall. Arriving there I realized it was 14:00 and I had not eaten anything all day. Nothing except lemon water and coffee. So I had a pepper steak pie.
I went to Takkie Town and looked at lots of shoes, and tried on many. I ended up with some New Balance for 799R.
Then I decided that since it was 16:00 and rush hour, I would walk up and down the ramps in the mall. So I went up and down and up and down the steepest ramp in the mall. I got much better, but still not comfortable enough to do it with out hanging on to the banister. Then I drove home in the traffic.
Once home I put on my new shoes to see if they would work with the leg.
They seem to. I was very careful about heel height and slope of shoe.
I decided to go for a walk. I tried Leonie's suggestions to walk fast.
I did 1 km in 18:30. That is 3.3 km/hr. Zoom Zoom. That would be a park run
in 1 hr 30 min. I'm getting there.
--
I woke up at 07:30, and then fell asleep in the wheelchair in front of the coffee machine.
I have much that needs to be done today. I hope I don't nap the day away.
I worry about having a nap attack in a mall.
I need to buy new shoes. Shoes are not a simple thing for an amputee. I want good shoes to protect the vital good foot. The heal height is important. Otherwise the prosthetic leg will think it is on a slope, and I have talked many times about the dangers of slopes. Usually the prosthesis guy will readjust the prosthesis for each pair of shoes. So I plan on buying new shoes as close as possible to the heel height and slope as the ones I have now. If the shoes are identical in height and cushioning, then they can be swapped without going to the prosthesis guy.
--
I prefer going to the mall with a friend. I worry about falling. My one friend has been given a lecture by me about how to handle things if I fall.
This advise is for a relatively strong amputee that has fallen. It does not work well with elderly, or frail people. They have a totally different fall recovery technique.
One thing is for sure....Never pick a fallen person up without their permission!!!
If I stumble and fall in a mall, I have asked my friend to:
1. Stand and block, so nobody will trip on me, or step on me. Make sure nobody tries to pick me up.
2. I will be in shock. I was walking along, and now the floor is in my face. This will take a few seconds for me to realize what is happening.
3. Maybe I broke something, or injured a shoulder or wrist. If you try to pick me up you can cause major damage. Let ME safely check to see what I may have hurt.
4. If I have hurt something, or you can see damage, call 911 and get help. Let me just lie there and keep me safe from other people wanting to help stand me up.
5. If I am undamaged, then we can think about getting me back on my feet. Balance is more important than strength in getting up. If I am trying to stand, and someone pulls on me anywhere, then my balance is put off. Don't help me up.
6. When I am ready to try to stand, I want someone standing close, and acting like a tree.
7. Stand with wide legs. Put one hand on your hip,and grip it with the other hand. I will climb up you like I would climb a tree. Don't help unless I ask for help.
8. If you are not strong enough to be a tree for me, then once I am sure there are no injuries, drag me to something I can use to climb up, or ask someone strong to be a tree.
9. Only as a last resort ask for someone to help lift me up.
If I fall in a house, bring a strong dining room chair, and put it close. I can climb up it.
--
19:00
At about 13:00 I walked out to the beetle. It started right up, and I started moving out the emergency
equipment out of it into the Atos.
Then I decided to go shoe shopping at a big mall. Arriving there I realized it was 14:00 and I had not eaten anything all day. Nothing except lemon water and coffee. So I had a pepper steak pie.
I went to Takkie Town and looked at lots of shoes, and tried on many. I ended up with some New Balance for 799R.
Then I decided that since it was 16:00 and rush hour, I would walk up and down the ramps in the mall. So I went up and down and up and down the steepest ramp in the mall. I got much better, but still not comfortable enough to do it with out hanging on to the banister. Then I drove home in the traffic.
Once home I put on my new shoes to see if they would work with the leg.
They seem to. I was very careful about heel height and slope of shoe.
I decided to go for a walk. I tried Leonie's suggestions to walk fast.
I did 1 km in 18:30. That is 3.3 km/hr. Zoom Zoom. That would be a park run
in 1 hr 30 min. I'm getting there.
--
Monday, 1 February 2016
Jan 28-29-30-31 - Lots of new drugs.
Jan 31 17:00
All those new drugs seem to only make me sleep. On Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night I took all the pills like I was supposed to. Not much PLP, BUT... I slept about 40 of the last 48 hours. When I was awake, I had terrible balance problems, and never used my leg, only the wheelchair.
Of course I ate very little, and my poo-er became blocked.
During this time there was a definite reduction in PLP, so I need to find which drugs are good and which are bad. I fear that the PLP was reduced, simply because my brain was not functioning.
Last night I went back to my old cocktail of pills that helped last week. I got a good 9 hours sleep, and I woke up a bit clearer headed than any day for the last 4 days. I put on my leg, and went to the mall. I have lots of shopping, but it is month end and the stores are crazy. I ate fish and chips, and bought a bag that slings over one shoulder. Better for walking, and crutching.
One thing the physio lady proved to me, is that I can not get up after a fall if there is not something to grab on to. I fell last week in the middle of the road, and could not get up I had to crawl to a tree and get up using it.
Back at home I decided to do a walk. But I now take a cane with in case I fall. I can get up with a crutch or a cane. After walking about 100 Meters, I started using the cane to help walk, the cane makes balance so much easier, and my steps become longer. I did my half a km, then did it again. 1.03 km in exactly 30 minutes.
I think that if I use a cane, I could get to the small shopping center nearby. It is .8 km. Rest there, then back.
The cane really helps the balance, but it will not help during a fall, only after a fall.
--
All those new drugs seem to only make me sleep. On Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night I took all the pills like I was supposed to. Not much PLP, BUT... I slept about 40 of the last 48 hours. When I was awake, I had terrible balance problems, and never used my leg, only the wheelchair.
Of course I ate very little, and my poo-er became blocked.
During this time there was a definite reduction in PLP, so I need to find which drugs are good and which are bad. I fear that the PLP was reduced, simply because my brain was not functioning.
Last night I went back to my old cocktail of pills that helped last week. I got a good 9 hours sleep, and I woke up a bit clearer headed than any day for the last 4 days. I put on my leg, and went to the mall. I have lots of shopping, but it is month end and the stores are crazy. I ate fish and chips, and bought a bag that slings over one shoulder. Better for walking, and crutching.
One thing the physio lady proved to me, is that I can not get up after a fall if there is not something to grab on to. I fell last week in the middle of the road, and could not get up I had to crawl to a tree and get up using it.
Back at home I decided to do a walk. But I now take a cane with in case I fall. I can get up with a crutch or a cane. After walking about 100 Meters, I started using the cane to help walk, the cane makes balance so much easier, and my steps become longer. I did my half a km, then did it again. 1.03 km in exactly 30 minutes.
I think that if I use a cane, I could get to the small shopping center nearby. It is .8 km. Rest there, then back.
The cane really helps the balance, but it will not help during a fall, only after a fall.
--
Sunday, 10 January 2016
Jan 10 - Triping on a trip
9:00
There is so much to write about, that this is becoming a daily blog again. I'm sure that won't last for long.
I woke up at 8 after a good night sleep. (drug assisted).
I decided to make the day a leg only day. No Wheelchair.
The leg went on in record time. It is getting easier every time. There is still the problem of it not going in far enough, but it will settle as the day goes on, and the leg will get shorter.
Last night my Texas buddy and I were chatting about how the brain never really knows where the prosthetic leg is. Like when you get out of a chair and find your leg is numb and asleep. There is no feeling, and no feedback of what it is doing. So you sit down and massage it till the feeling comes back. I live with that "no feeling" every day.
All the modern prosthesis, whether mechanical like mine, or computerized bionic ones, all leave the human brain out of the loop. I never KNOW positively what is happening. I simply eventually build up trust that the leg will be, where it should be. The position of the leg is always a probability. We strive for 100%, but it never will be.
I used to walk about 10,000 steps a day. If the leg is 99.99% always in the correct position, that still means I will fall once every day. That falling will probably be at the worst time, when something important distracts me. (Like a coming train, or an attacking dog)
A fall a day means, an injury a day.
I found online about some guys that are working on this exact problem. They are trying to incorporate some means of telling the brain what is happening.
http://www.amazon.com/Neuro-Robotics-Interfaces-Rehabilitation-Augmentation-Performance-ebook/dp/B00S16PTL0
They are wanting the prosthesis to be a robot controlled by the human brain.
One thing I found interesting in the excerpt from this book, was that they used many force sensors to measure everything on a prosthetic leg. One thing they measured was the force applied by the human muscle to push the stump downward when rising from sitting.
They found that more force was applied when using a power servo assisted knee than with a non assisted knee. The more assistance in getting up, the more force from the human. Exactly backwards from the way you would think.
--
11:30
Whew. I just walked to the big gate down the street like I did when learning the crutches. Only a few hundred meters, but it is a start. I can walk much faster than I can crutch. When going fast, I can feel the leg snap straight better. I was keeping the good leg, and prosthesis leg length of stride the same. This knee does that kind of walking well.
As usual I used the two crutches, but the left one never touches the ground. It is for fall stopping only.
The knee doesn't do busy standing well. While cooking my breakfast it collapsed twice, but I stand with the leg almost against the cabinet, so the knee hits the cabinet, and stops, and that also warns me.
I need a warning buzzer when the leg is not locked, and weight is on the heel. The only time this condition exists, is when sitting down, or falling down.
--
13:00
I decided to play with the adjustment on the leg. I want to make it have more resistance when collapsing to give me more time to catch myself. I call it stumble recovery. The official manual calls it "Stance phase resistance to knee flexion when the prosthesis is loaded." I guess that would be "sprtkfwtpil" for short.
The sprtkfwtpil adjustment is a tiny Allen screw that is hidden, and hard to reach. Not like the swing phase adjustment that are big easy knobs.
I get a mirror, and have to bend way over to reach, and see the back of the knee. I struggle to get the Allen head wrench in the sprtkfwtpil hole while upside down using a mirror. The mirror makes the upside down, upside up but backwards, so everything is upside up, except my head. Now...I have to turn the screw which way?
I take my leg off, and put it on my lap.
I find that the screw is all the way at maximum resistance already. I wish it could go much farther.
Oh well...That was a total waste of a half an hour.
I put the leg back on, but it is a bit skew, so when I stand I look like a duck (well half a duck).
I take it off and try again. Now I am pigeon toed.
I try again, and third time I am lucky.
I wasn't quite as skewed as this guy.
--
17:00
I have walked to the gate twice more. That's 600 meters for the day. On the second trip I tripped. :-) But that crutch held just off the ground at the 10 O'clock position saved me. It hit the ground hard at exactly the right angle. My legs were way back behind me. I don't know what happened. I think I didn't push on the toe with enough force, and it thought I was still in stance mode, and starting to sit, so the hydraulics were tight to lower me into a chair slowly, and what I wanted was zero hydraulics to swing the leg forward.
A simple thing like that means a bad fall. Without that crutch, I probably would have been hurt bad. There is nothing to break your fall except the one hand. That is why there are so many broken wrists from leg prosthesis.
Usually when a two legged person trips, a knee is first to hit the ground. But with a prosthetic, the good leg is behind you with the bad leg. Both feet are together behind you as you fall. Similar to being tackled in football or rugby.
That old man at the pharmacy had it right. If I make a 3 page list of the important things to do when walking on a prosthesis. Top of the list is "DON'T FALL". Now got to page three and you will see the things that Bradley talks about.
"Keep the strides the same between prosthetic and the good leg" That is on page 3.
"Keep your hips forward so the hip flexors can be used to put pressure on the toe." That is on page 3.
Everything listed on page one and page two is "DON'T FALL!"
That old man, when he got to work, he locked the knee straight. On a R230,000 bionic knee, and his first and only thought was "DON'T FALL!".
Maybe a young athletic person can handle a fall, and the injury that goes with it. But for an old man with cancer, an injury can last for the rest of their life.
--
There is so much to write about, that this is becoming a daily blog again. I'm sure that won't last for long.
I woke up at 8 after a good night sleep. (drug assisted).
I decided to make the day a leg only day. No Wheelchair.
The leg went on in record time. It is getting easier every time. There is still the problem of it not going in far enough, but it will settle as the day goes on, and the leg will get shorter.
Last night my Texas buddy and I were chatting about how the brain never really knows where the prosthetic leg is. Like when you get out of a chair and find your leg is numb and asleep. There is no feeling, and no feedback of what it is doing. So you sit down and massage it till the feeling comes back. I live with that "no feeling" every day.
All the modern prosthesis, whether mechanical like mine, or computerized bionic ones, all leave the human brain out of the loop. I never KNOW positively what is happening. I simply eventually build up trust that the leg will be, where it should be. The position of the leg is always a probability. We strive for 100%, but it never will be.
I used to walk about 10,000 steps a day. If the leg is 99.99% always in the correct position, that still means I will fall once every day. That falling will probably be at the worst time, when something important distracts me. (Like a coming train, or an attacking dog)
A fall a day means, an injury a day.
I found online about some guys that are working on this exact problem. They are trying to incorporate some means of telling the brain what is happening.
http://www.amazon.com/Neuro-Robotics-Interfaces-Rehabilitation-Augmentation-Performance-ebook/dp/B00S16PTL0
They are wanting the prosthesis to be a robot controlled by the human brain.
One thing I found interesting in the excerpt from this book, was that they used many force sensors to measure everything on a prosthetic leg. One thing they measured was the force applied by the human muscle to push the stump downward when rising from sitting.
They found that more force was applied when using a power servo assisted knee than with a non assisted knee. The more assistance in getting up, the more force from the human. Exactly backwards from the way you would think.
--
11:30
Whew. I just walked to the big gate down the street like I did when learning the crutches. Only a few hundred meters, but it is a start. I can walk much faster than I can crutch. When going fast, I can feel the leg snap straight better. I was keeping the good leg, and prosthesis leg length of stride the same. This knee does that kind of walking well.
As usual I used the two crutches, but the left one never touches the ground. It is for fall stopping only.
The knee doesn't do busy standing well. While cooking my breakfast it collapsed twice, but I stand with the leg almost against the cabinet, so the knee hits the cabinet, and stops, and that also warns me.
I need a warning buzzer when the leg is not locked, and weight is on the heel. The only time this condition exists, is when sitting down, or falling down.
--
13:00
I decided to play with the adjustment on the leg. I want to make it have more resistance when collapsing to give me more time to catch myself. I call it stumble recovery. The official manual calls it "Stance phase resistance to knee flexion when the prosthesis is loaded." I guess that would be "sprtkfwtpil" for short.
The sprtkfwtpil adjustment is a tiny Allen screw that is hidden, and hard to reach. Not like the swing phase adjustment that are big easy knobs.
I get a mirror, and have to bend way over to reach, and see the back of the knee. I struggle to get the Allen head wrench in the sprtkfwtpil hole while upside down using a mirror. The mirror makes the upside down, upside up but backwards, so everything is upside up, except my head. Now...I have to turn the screw which way?
I take my leg off, and put it on my lap.
I find that the screw is all the way at maximum resistance already. I wish it could go much farther.
Oh well...That was a total waste of a half an hour.
I put the leg back on, but it is a bit skew, so when I stand I look like a duck (well half a duck).
I take it off and try again. Now I am pigeon toed.
I try again, and third time I am lucky.
I wasn't quite as skewed as this guy.
--
17:00
I have walked to the gate twice more. That's 600 meters for the day. On the second trip I tripped. :-) But that crutch held just off the ground at the 10 O'clock position saved me. It hit the ground hard at exactly the right angle. My legs were way back behind me. I don't know what happened. I think I didn't push on the toe with enough force, and it thought I was still in stance mode, and starting to sit, so the hydraulics were tight to lower me into a chair slowly, and what I wanted was zero hydraulics to swing the leg forward.
A simple thing like that means a bad fall. Without that crutch, I probably would have been hurt bad. There is nothing to break your fall except the one hand. That is why there are so many broken wrists from leg prosthesis.
Usually when a two legged person trips, a knee is first to hit the ground. But with a prosthetic, the good leg is behind you with the bad leg. Both feet are together behind you as you fall. Similar to being tackled in football or rugby.
That old man at the pharmacy had it right. If I make a 3 page list of the important things to do when walking on a prosthesis. Top of the list is "DON'T FALL". Now got to page three and you will see the things that Bradley talks about.
"Keep the strides the same between prosthetic and the good leg" That is on page 3.
"Keep your hips forward so the hip flexors can be used to put pressure on the toe." That is on page 3.
Everything listed on page one and page two is "DON'T FALL!"
That old man, when he got to work, he locked the knee straight. On a R230,000 bionic knee, and his first and only thought was "DON'T FALL!".
Maybe a young athletic person can handle a fall, and the injury that goes with it. But for an old man with cancer, an injury can last for the rest of their life.
--
Saturday, 9 January 2016
Jan 9 - Learning to walk again.
07:00
I am starting this blog early because there have been a zillion things to write about, and I have been up about 20 minutes. I'll forget these things.
Bradley told me a few times, that the morning procedure is to wake up, put on the silicone liner, put on the leg, THEN get up and start the day. Don't brush your teeth first, Don't pee first. Don't lay there first. He was especially concerned about today because of the strain the stump took yesterday, it will be swollen, and not fit easily into the socket.
I wake up and lay there for a bit, after a great nights sleep, and I have to pee. I have been going to bed with out drinking lots of water. I know that is bad, but sometime it is so hard to get to sleep because of the phantom pain, that when I do get to sleep I want to stay sleeping for the maximum time. If I get up to pee, then I sometimes battle to get back to sleep. It is the maintenance of sleep that is a problem, as well as getting to sleep initially.
Then I realize, that the spray to lubricate the socket is in the other room. So I jump in the wheel chair and zoom to get the spray, lubricate the funny fold I have in the stump, put on the liner. (it is tighter than normal), then get in the wheel chair and fetch the leg, then head for the bathroom. All the grab bars in the bathroom make me feel comfortable. Then I lubricate the socket and slip it on, then stand up and bounce the stump into the socket. Well....Most of the way into the socket. I bounce and bounce. I press the vacuum release button and hear the whoosh, and feel the change in the stump. I figure that stump size will be greater if it is in a vacuum, so I release the vacuum, bounce, release the vacuum, bounce. Still not in all the way.
I reach down and remove the vacuum release button. I can now stick my finger in the hole, and feel how far the stump is into the socket. Still a few inches (5 cm) from where it was yesterday.
Poor Bradley goes and gets the new leg within millimeters of the correct length, and here I am within a few inches of the correct length because I can't get the stump into the socket, so the leg is about 5 cm to long. Duh!.
My main problem when walking with the new leg is when it swings forward. It swing forward in secret. I can feel nothing, yet the leg must be forward and the heel planted securely and the knee held back before it can take weight. If I think it is forward, and it isn't, then when I transfer weight to it, it isn't there,and I will fall. If it is forward, but the heel isn't down first, then it isn't locked even if it is forward, and I will fall. Now with the leg being 2 inches longer than it should be, the chances of it swinging all the way forward are very slim. It seems it always drags on the floor, and only the toe is on the ground which is the signal to the leg to collapse and swing forward, but it is behind me, and I don't know this.
It seems to be a percentage game...compute the probability of the leg collapsing and falling. 30% would be nice. I feel now there is a 50% chance the leg won't be locked when I put weight on it.
It needs something like a buzzer that buzzes when the leg is locked so I know it is ok to step forward. The only other way is to look. But looking requires being hunched over looking at the floor as I walk.
I still have to pee.
So I quickly sit in the wheel chair. but now the leg is dragging on the ground. Holding the leg off the ground requires one hand. One hand wheelchair operation is not easy. So I need to quickly find the left leg rest. I have not used the left foot rest since,... EVER. It is hiding behind the big chair. No way can I reach it. So I move the wheel chair to get a grabber while dragging the leg. I get a grabber, and get the leg rest, but it won't fit. All my adjustments to the wheel chair now make the foot rest unable to fit.
I still have to pee.
I grab the crutches and crutch/walk/stumble to the toilet, then proceeded to dribble all over my new foot.
Now I also remember Bradley saying. Always get the leg dressed for the day before putting it on. Opps..to late for that. Try to get a pair of shorts on a leg that you can't move, and the foot is permanent at 90 degrees, and it is "way" over there. I end up using 2 grabbers to get the shorts over the leg. But now how to balance while pulling the shorts up. I need some way to stand with both hands free to get dressed.
Then it dawns on me, Duh!....use the prosthetic leg as a leg, and just stand up. Duh! That works.
Yesterday I walked about 2 or 3 hundred meters total. Today if I make it to the bathroom without the leg collapsing, it is a major accomplishment. I do not trust this leg!
Now I want to sit at the computer. Back in the wheelchair, and drag the foot.
--
18:00 Much Later
I have had a busy day. I decided I needed the glycerin, and alcohol to make the spray, that lubricates the inside of the socket before I put it on.
I crutch/walk to the car and drive to the local pharmacy. It is busy, and I have to park about 100 meters from the pharmacy. Once inside I gather up the stuff I want, but alcohol is only available at the prescription counter. ??
I wait in the line and finally get to see a pharmacist. He is an old man, maybe 55ish. I tell him what I want, and he looks at me and says that he is also an amputee. He said it sounded like I was mixing the spray for the socket. This is cool. We chat for about 20 minutes, and then he says "let me carry this stuff to the checkout counter for you." We then stood together in the checkout line for another 10 minutes. I must have asked a thousand questions.
He lost his leg due to bone cancer in the year 2000. He is an above knee like me, but his stump is much shorter than mine. He uses an OttoBock C-Leg knee. It is a bionic knee, and has a small computer in it.
http://www.ottobockus.com/C-Leg.html
Here is a picture from their web site:
He says he needs a new knee, as he sent it for overhaul last year and they sent it back. They said a new one would be cheaper than fixing the old one. The C-Leg is supposed to last 3-5 years. He has worn that one 15 years. A new C-Leg is about R230,000. He says he will get the new ankle that talks to the knee. When the leg swings forward, the toe is brought up by the ankle. This greatly reduces the chance of catching the toe during the swing forward phase, and also make sure the heel is the first thing to touch the ground..
He says that he no longer uses the socket mixture I was going to make. He says that the glycerin slowly builds up a layer of gunge, and is very hard to clean out of the socket. He also said that so much of what the prosthesis guy teach is to try to make you look as inconspicuous as possible in daily life. He said "F**k that. All that matters, is not falling."
He said that me using 2 crutches and the prosthesis is a great idea, and I should do that as long as I feel insecure.
He has had many falls. He broke his wrist on one fall, and his jaw on another. Face first onto a curb. His worst fall was at a friend house. He had just finished in the bathroom and he caught his toe on a rug. As he fell he grabbed a towel rail. The rail snapped in half, and one of the halves sharp end went into his palm, and came out near the elbow.
He showed me how he walks. He first unlocked his leg. While at work, he locks the leg straight, and only unlocks it when he gets in the car to go home. He does almost everything Bradley says don't do. He takes small steps with the bad leg, and large ones with the good leg. Bradley says to never do that.
He kicks the prosthetic forward hard. He can then feel when the leg is snapped straight, then he brings it down hard on the heel. I tried walking like he does, and it sure does feel a lot more secure. I can feel when the leg is straight, and the heel is down. It looks like a Nazi goose step. Bradley would have a heart attack if he saw me do that.
I walked about 400 meters today. All with the crutches, and the prosthesis. The left crutch is the fall protector. Most falls are toward the 10 O'clock position. I keep the left crutch pointed that way. The other crutch I use as an aid like I had a sprained left ankle. By keeping weight off the bad leg, I reduce the speed of a collapse if it happens.
I have learned a lot about things I like, and things I don't, regarding walking with a prosthesis. So much more to learn tomorrow.
--
I am starting this blog early because there have been a zillion things to write about, and I have been up about 20 minutes. I'll forget these things.
Bradley told me a few times, that the morning procedure is to wake up, put on the silicone liner, put on the leg, THEN get up and start the day. Don't brush your teeth first, Don't pee first. Don't lay there first. He was especially concerned about today because of the strain the stump took yesterday, it will be swollen, and not fit easily into the socket.
I wake up and lay there for a bit, after a great nights sleep, and I have to pee. I have been going to bed with out drinking lots of water. I know that is bad, but sometime it is so hard to get to sleep because of the phantom pain, that when I do get to sleep I want to stay sleeping for the maximum time. If I get up to pee, then I sometimes battle to get back to sleep. It is the maintenance of sleep that is a problem, as well as getting to sleep initially.
Then I realize, that the spray to lubricate the socket is in the other room. So I jump in the wheel chair and zoom to get the spray, lubricate the funny fold I have in the stump, put on the liner. (it is tighter than normal), then get in the wheel chair and fetch the leg, then head for the bathroom. All the grab bars in the bathroom make me feel comfortable. Then I lubricate the socket and slip it on, then stand up and bounce the stump into the socket. Well....Most of the way into the socket. I bounce and bounce. I press the vacuum release button and hear the whoosh, and feel the change in the stump. I figure that stump size will be greater if it is in a vacuum, so I release the vacuum, bounce, release the vacuum, bounce. Still not in all the way.
I reach down and remove the vacuum release button. I can now stick my finger in the hole, and feel how far the stump is into the socket. Still a few inches (5 cm) from where it was yesterday.
Poor Bradley goes and gets the new leg within millimeters of the correct length, and here I am within a few inches of the correct length because I can't get the stump into the socket, so the leg is about 5 cm to long. Duh!.
My main problem when walking with the new leg is when it swings forward. It swing forward in secret. I can feel nothing, yet the leg must be forward and the heel planted securely and the knee held back before it can take weight. If I think it is forward, and it isn't, then when I transfer weight to it, it isn't there,and I will fall. If it is forward, but the heel isn't down first, then it isn't locked even if it is forward, and I will fall. Now with the leg being 2 inches longer than it should be, the chances of it swinging all the way forward are very slim. It seems it always drags on the floor, and only the toe is on the ground which is the signal to the leg to collapse and swing forward, but it is behind me, and I don't know this.
It seems to be a percentage game...compute the probability of the leg collapsing and falling. 30% would be nice. I feel now there is a 50% chance the leg won't be locked when I put weight on it.
It needs something like a buzzer that buzzes when the leg is locked so I know it is ok to step forward. The only other way is to look. But looking requires being hunched over looking at the floor as I walk.
I still have to pee.
So I quickly sit in the wheel chair. but now the leg is dragging on the ground. Holding the leg off the ground requires one hand. One hand wheelchair operation is not easy. So I need to quickly find the left leg rest. I have not used the left foot rest since,... EVER. It is hiding behind the big chair. No way can I reach it. So I move the wheel chair to get a grabber while dragging the leg. I get a grabber, and get the leg rest, but it won't fit. All my adjustments to the wheel chair now make the foot rest unable to fit.
I still have to pee.
I grab the crutches and crutch/walk/stumble to the toilet, then proceeded to dribble all over my new foot.
Now I also remember Bradley saying. Always get the leg dressed for the day before putting it on. Opps..to late for that. Try to get a pair of shorts on a leg that you can't move, and the foot is permanent at 90 degrees, and it is "way" over there. I end up using 2 grabbers to get the shorts over the leg. But now how to balance while pulling the shorts up. I need some way to stand with both hands free to get dressed.
Then it dawns on me, Duh!....use the prosthetic leg as a leg, and just stand up. Duh! That works.
Yesterday I walked about 2 or 3 hundred meters total. Today if I make it to the bathroom without the leg collapsing, it is a major accomplishment. I do not trust this leg!
Now I want to sit at the computer. Back in the wheelchair, and drag the foot.
--
18:00 Much Later
I have had a busy day. I decided I needed the glycerin, and alcohol to make the spray, that lubricates the inside of the socket before I put it on.
I crutch/walk to the car and drive to the local pharmacy. It is busy, and I have to park about 100 meters from the pharmacy. Once inside I gather up the stuff I want, but alcohol is only available at the prescription counter. ??
I wait in the line and finally get to see a pharmacist. He is an old man, maybe 55ish. I tell him what I want, and he looks at me and says that he is also an amputee. He said it sounded like I was mixing the spray for the socket. This is cool. We chat for about 20 minutes, and then he says "let me carry this stuff to the checkout counter for you." We then stood together in the checkout line for another 10 minutes. I must have asked a thousand questions.
He lost his leg due to bone cancer in the year 2000. He is an above knee like me, but his stump is much shorter than mine. He uses an OttoBock C-Leg knee. It is a bionic knee, and has a small computer in it.
http://www.ottobockus.com/C-Leg.html
Here is a picture from their web site:
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| How cool is that socket art. That's what I want. |
He says that he no longer uses the socket mixture I was going to make. He says that the glycerin slowly builds up a layer of gunge, and is very hard to clean out of the socket. He also said that so much of what the prosthesis guy teach is to try to make you look as inconspicuous as possible in daily life. He said "F**k that. All that matters, is not falling."
He said that me using 2 crutches and the prosthesis is a great idea, and I should do that as long as I feel insecure.
He has had many falls. He broke his wrist on one fall, and his jaw on another. Face first onto a curb. His worst fall was at a friend house. He had just finished in the bathroom and he caught his toe on a rug. As he fell he grabbed a towel rail. The rail snapped in half, and one of the halves sharp end went into his palm, and came out near the elbow.
He showed me how he walks. He first unlocked his leg. While at work, he locks the leg straight, and only unlocks it when he gets in the car to go home. He does almost everything Bradley says don't do. He takes small steps with the bad leg, and large ones with the good leg. Bradley says to never do that.
He kicks the prosthetic forward hard. He can then feel when the leg is snapped straight, then he brings it down hard on the heel. I tried walking like he does, and it sure does feel a lot more secure. I can feel when the leg is straight, and the heel is down. It looks like a Nazi goose step. Bradley would have a heart attack if he saw me do that.
I walked about 400 meters today. All with the crutches, and the prosthesis. The left crutch is the fall protector. Most falls are toward the 10 O'clock position. I keep the left crutch pointed that way. The other crutch I use as an aid like I had a sprained left ankle. By keeping weight off the bad leg, I reduce the speed of a collapse if it happens.
I have learned a lot about things I like, and things I don't, regarding walking with a prosthesis. So much more to learn tomorrow.
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