So last week I had a meltdown. Short-lived, but a meltdown all the same. Thank you again to all you good, supportive, kind, gentle (and not so gentle) people. I am feeling a bit more myself now, in fact, I am shopping. (Lamb, you wouldn’t understand.)
As I thought about the possible surgery-from-hell on my left foot, I wondered how I would get along and get around. Crutches? Been there, hate that. Then I discovered something called a knee walker – http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11?url=search-alias%253Dhpc&field-keywords=knee+walker+steerable&sprefix=knee+walker%252Chpc%252C308
That looked like it might have possibilities, but reviews are so-so, and people comment that if you go outdoors, and you go over a crack in the sidewalk (aka pavement to you Brits), one might well get thrown off. Maybe not.
Then I got thinking. (It’s dangerous when I get thinking …) My left foot is painful, my right foot less so. Maybe I could use one of these NOW. Maybe I shouldn’t wait until I have surgery, if I decide to have surgery.
So what do you think?
And MUCH more important, where could I go and what could I do with one of these? I need creative suggestions which will bring off-the-beaten-track excitement to my PsA-restricted life, and justify my purchase.
Well I sure understand about meltdowns. I do some of my best thinking after a good meltdown. Seems to get the creative juices going.
I am glad you have put the weight loss surgeries out of your mind. I think all terrain exploring is a great idea. My only concern would be blood clots. If you are not contracting or using the muscles in a leg blood clots can happen. I would ask one of your doc about an aspirin a day to prevent them.
You’re right about Amazon, but Sassy! Where am I going to go with it? I thought MichaelinVermont was going to say I could cause chaos in WalMart and then go buy donuts.
I need to make trouble-filled plans.
I'm just laughing. You must have been a handful for your parents or at the least have an "oppositional" disorder. Only you could come up with and I quote "Heavy Duty Bariatric Outdoor Kneerover" Actually I saw one last week at glacier on the Sun Rim Trail. the lady seemed to be doing quite well with it, although her husband was walking dutifully behind her with a folded up wheel chair. We had a nice visit.
Around the house etc, you might consider the hand free crutches:
I've seen a couple of people using the knee-scooter contraptions. Conversations have ensued, and the folks I talked to loved them. Much easier on your body than crutches. You can't do stairs, of course, the way you can with crutches (and strength and some co-ordination) but a little planning can get you around needing to use stairs. I thought of these things reading through your last thread, but it was closed for comments. It would be nice if a medical supply place near you had them so you could see which was most maneuverable and felt the safest.
It seems to me that using your leg as much as you can pre-surgery will keep you in the best possible condition before, and pay off afterwards. If you go into surgery with more atrophy and weakness than absolutely necessary, not so great. More to rehabilitate afterwards.
Now, for the most important question: what colors do they have? Can you get streamers for the handlebars? A bell, horn, and/or shopping basket? White-wall tires?
Oooohhh…Louise, I hadn’t thought of that, strengthening the better leg in advance! Good thinking. Another reason to get one ahead of time, and not wait until I’m in bandages. Yes, the good folks here always come up with a new spin.
I want this to use outside: I need to get out there and not be sitting on my electric scooter like a little old lady. (OK, even if I am a L.O.L.) So stairs etc aren’t much of an issue. Sadly, it comes only in blue, but I can always get stickers. Yes to streamers, bells horns and baskets! But whitewalls … not ss good in mud.
I’m glad to be getting all these thumbs up! My chiropodist saw the pic and said that she SO wants one. Just because it looks like fun.
Actually, I was thinking about keeping the BAD leg in better shape, but strengthening the good one is a good idea, too. Tendinitis or some such in that one could really set you back on your heels. I'll bet there could be a bunch of used scooters around, too. Not the sort of thing people would tend to keep, I'd think.
Oh, I see what you’re thinking, Louise. Yes, that’s a point. Oddly, used scooters are thin on the ground in Canada: the odd second hand one comes up for a price higher than I would pay if I cross-border shopped. When I decide to shhell out for the scooter, I will pick it up in the US.
I have seen some of my patients use these knee scooters, often after Ortho surgery of some sort, but I never thought about it for you. People that have used it LOVED it, and really thought that they got around better.
a tour of the capital of the US with a lovely tour guide who also doubles as a nurse in case of emergency.
vineyard tours. 'nuff said.
Hikes in your public/ national forests. Many in the states have a shorter disabled path which is less bumpy.
Light house tours, the beach, boardwalks, etc.
Vineyard tours and tasting.
Canopy tours/ zip lining? Usually need to go off of the beaten path a bit to get to these, so access is difficult if you are in a scooter. Wheeeeee!
Everglades tour in Florida? Save that for next winter.
I've just been working on the UK vineyard tour ..... for our journey I could pick up a delicious white or rose from my local vineyard ...... I kid you not we are talking about 150 yards ...... or if sparkling is more to your taste then about 10 miles.
Then in our luxury, chauffeur driven minibus we pick up some of our other friends ending up with Sybil in Ludlow for a foodie lunch before heading on down to Gloucestershire for wining and dining at the fantastic Three Choirs Vineyard ...... where they also do lovely, easily accessible accommodation with views overlooking the vineyards.
A most amazing cooked breakfast is on hand for dealing with the headache the morning after the night before, that done we do the winery tour and tasting before getting back on board our bus to head on down into Somerset, Devon, Cornwall ...... to sample more local treats ...... scrumpy cider, Cornish Pasties, Rick Stein's seafood restaurants ...........
All UK members welcome ..... this is la-la land so anyone too far off the bus route can be transported to our Ludlow meeting point through some kind of (Harry Potter) Floo Network ..... the powder can be sent out by courier.
Oh dear, maybe time for me to go and take my medication and have a lie down in a dark room with a wet cloth over my face.
