Post by cherylm on Jun 23, 2020 3:51:25 GMT -7
Well, gang, I guess I've recovered from my revision surgery as much as I'm going to. The revision left me with what my surgeon calls "the shortest below-knee amputation I think I've ever done," and it's been a long and somewhat discouraging recovery. It seems that even with a quite good fit on my prosthesis, I may never be able to walk more than one or two steps without SOME kind of support...and a cane just isn't cutting it any more. My knee is so unstable (life-long problem) and my stump so short (revision surgery) that I've been knocked down a couple of rungs on the old mobility ladder. (Sigh.......)
Could be worse...as long as I'm leaning on SOMETHING I can stagger around the house. But going between a walker and wheelchair seems to be my new normal. That means I needed to go in search of a better walker (read: one that has a seat and lets me stand up straight). The "stand up straight" part has proven to be somewhat problematic. I'm on the tall side but with fairly short arms...even traditional walkers/rollators meant for tall folks tend to make me hunch over them. That used to be expected in the good old days...but I REALLY want to look up and see where I'm going, and I finally found a physical therapist who agrees that someone who is capable of standing up straight ought to be able to stand up straight while using a walker. With the world closed for the pandemic, I went online to check out the world of upright walkers.......
That's how the UPWalker arrived at my door. It's a pretty strange piece of gear. The idea is great, and it has a lot of whistles and bells and can be adjusted to fit just about any user's needs...but it's going to actually take some time and practice to get to the point where I can use it comfortably over long distances...turns out that it's tough to steer something from so high above the wheels! And it's heavy...although my height and weight put me in the size range for their "standard" and "Lite" models, my wide stance and the way I swing my prosthesis means I need the wider (but heavier) "large" model so I don't trip over the frame. I THINK it will work with some practice...it BETTER work, because I've already ordered some "pin striping" decals to jazz it up (and make it look even stranger)!
Now that I'm fully healed, I've also been able to go ahead and get a new water leg made. This one is...well...also a little strange. My water legs have generally been on the strange side, because I have to pay full price out-of-pocket for them, so I wind up working with my leg guys to cobble together something I can use out of "spare parts." This time around, we took one of my pre-revision-length sockets and suspended my post-revision check socket in there with masses of thick, resinous "goop." Then we added a bracket to hold my knee brace in place, a well-used old foot, and -- because there is no sort of suction valve to pull me fully down into the interior check socket -- we stuck a little foam into the bottom of the socket and added a really loooooong support sleeve. Strange though it is, it works and it only cost me $300!
And so life goes on............................
Could be worse...as long as I'm leaning on SOMETHING I can stagger around the house. But going between a walker and wheelchair seems to be my new normal. That means I needed to go in search of a better walker (read: one that has a seat and lets me stand up straight). The "stand up straight" part has proven to be somewhat problematic. I'm on the tall side but with fairly short arms...even traditional walkers/rollators meant for tall folks tend to make me hunch over them. That used to be expected in the good old days...but I REALLY want to look up and see where I'm going, and I finally found a physical therapist who agrees that someone who is capable of standing up straight ought to be able to stand up straight while using a walker. With the world closed for the pandemic, I went online to check out the world of upright walkers.......
That's how the UPWalker arrived at my door. It's a pretty strange piece of gear. The idea is great, and it has a lot of whistles and bells and can be adjusted to fit just about any user's needs...but it's going to actually take some time and practice to get to the point where I can use it comfortably over long distances...turns out that it's tough to steer something from so high above the wheels! And it's heavy...although my height and weight put me in the size range for their "standard" and "Lite" models, my wide stance and the way I swing my prosthesis means I need the wider (but heavier) "large" model so I don't trip over the frame. I THINK it will work with some practice...it BETTER work, because I've already ordered some "pin striping" decals to jazz it up (and make it look even stranger)!
Now that I'm fully healed, I've also been able to go ahead and get a new water leg made. This one is...well...also a little strange. My water legs have generally been on the strange side, because I have to pay full price out-of-pocket for them, so I wind up working with my leg guys to cobble together something I can use out of "spare parts." This time around, we took one of my pre-revision-length sockets and suspended my post-revision check socket in there with masses of thick, resinous "goop." Then we added a bracket to hold my knee brace in place, a well-used old foot, and -- because there is no sort of suction valve to pull me fully down into the interior check socket -- we stuck a little foam into the bottom of the socket and added a really loooooong support sleeve. Strange though it is, it works and it only cost me $300!
And so life goes on............................
