Embrace Your Destiny: Ode to Walker

Walker, Walker, I love you Walker.

You give me freedom,

You give me joy and power to walk.

When a step hurts, you support and comfort.

You are steadfast, always to the rescue.

Walker, Walker, you are ever humble,

Sturdy, strong and uncomplaining.

You go into mud. You navigate gravel.

Ka-plunk, ka-plunk, plop-plop,, schhhhh,schhhhhhh

You glide on the hardwood like a laser.

Walker, Walker, I won’t need you much longer.

Everyday, I exercises in my chair. building strength, flexibility.

Everyday I walk, squat, bend and extend that bum leg

You stay close, but out of the way.

You nurture my determination and independence.

Falls hurt! I’ve had plenty so I’ve become an expert.I made up a scale of bad to worse falls. The ones on the low end are gentle falls. I’ve had these in hot yoga, in the kitchen and in the bathroom. There’s no injury except to pride. Next up the scale are falls that cause bruises, superficial scrapes, and joint pain. These heal quickly in a week or two. Bad falls are the worst and to be avoided. Recently I have had two bad falls. Think “10” on my hurt, pain, recovery scale. The second fall happened just after the first, shoulder injury fall was almost healed. Lucky me! That shoulder is a tool for getting out of bed. This second fall caused three small fractures in my pelvis. Recovery time is projected to be six to eight weeks.

The ER visit

My day in the Emergency Room was spent getting a CAT scan and resting. I had to wear a mask because of the Cover 19 situation. That was uncomfortable. I was actually relieved when the doctor gave me the "good news" about the pelvis fractures. Still, I was curious about what the bad news would have been. Doctor said, “Oh, you didn’t break your hip! And, you are done here. The Orthopedic Specialist wants to see you in three weeks.” The best news was I could go home and he gave me permission to walk as much as I felt like walking.

Finding a walker late on Friday afternoon was a challenge. After several calls, we finally found a Wallgreens close by that had one. Literally, they had one. We got it.

I can’t recommend falling. When I fall, I feel stupid, guilty, and disgusted with myself. While I know it’s an MS thing, it seems to me I should be able to prevent it happening. Okay, when I get well, no more falls. I think I know what to do to stop the falls.

The MS literature indicates that falls can occur because of eye, head movement. In both these falls, I was moving right, which on reflection, i usually do. My right side is my weak side. I think there is some neurological interference, a delay in the signal connecting properly. My plan is to make a habit of turning left with intention.

Tricep exercise

Life at home

Instead of hot yoga and weight training, I do chair exercise and walking. My chair exercise is with Hasfit Coach Kozak on YouTube. I intend to get increasingly more steps counted everyday. I’m starting with a whopping 80 steps. Day by day improvement is my goal.

The first week I was worked hard walking and doing the chair exercises for 15 minutes. I got really tired by noon. This must have been recovery from the trauma week. Donnie stayed very close. We actually went out several times, up and down the three steps.

Week two, I regained some power. It still hurt to walk, but I learned where to place my weight to prevent too much pain. I was ready for bed early every night. I have been averaging nine hours per night. My progression was not a steady incline but rather a two steps up and one back.

My quilt area

Week three, I was feeling good and moving good. I felt like working on my quilt, puzzle and practicing piano. My plan to record steps taken didn't work out as planned. I ordered a pedometer but it didn't work accurately. The phone was doing great until I dropped it into the toilet. I lost a week recording steps until I got a replacement. I had more good days than hurtful days.

Week four started with a boost. I met with the Orthopedic Doctor about my progress. He was very pleased. He gave me the green light to move on to using a cane. He also gave me a script for Physical Therapy. I'll end week four with that appointment with my PT, Thomas Minton. By then, maybe I'll be ready for the cane!

I have set a goal to go up the stairs next week, week 5. Another goal is to start doing hot yoga again by week 6. In the meantime, I get encouragement from my memoir friends. We are learning about poetry, hence, "Ode to Walker"

Ode to Walker.

Walker, Walker, I aim to wean myself of you.

You feel forlorn? Please don’t. I’ll keep you close in storage.

Right now, day by day, we work one on one.

You the encourager. Me the awkward, persistent student.

When we are done, we’ll raise a toast to victory, success!