![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
crutches
I heard a strange sound as I walked to the sink in the restroom just now, and turned to see a woman using an office chair as a wheelchair proxy. (The chair wheels made an unusual sound on the tile floor.) She has her foot in a cast, and yesterday she was using a walker.
She said she was trying to find the best way to get around in her current state; the walker had hurt her hands too much. I asked about crutches; she said she had tried those but they hurt under her arms. I told her that if her armpits were resting on the crutches, instead of hovering a couple inches above them, they were too long for her, a fact I think she had not considered. (Don't the ER folks try to fit these things any more?) Maybe I'll see her with crutches tomorrow.
I had a broken leg several years ago [1]. I was initially intimidated by crutches and handled the steps in my house while sitting (butt-slide down; crab-walk up; stayed off the banister :-) ) for the first couple days. I realized, though, that this doesn't generalize, especially outdoors in December.
Crutches turned out not to be that bad once I got used to them. By the end of this period of time I was, I think, far above average in proficiency. I once "ran" for a bus and was not much slower than if I'd had the use of both legs; the spectators on the bus were quite impressed. (My "stride" with crutches was longer than my regular stride, which made up for the basic inefficiencies in the form.) I could do steps easily, even on tricky surfaces. Snow was only a problem because of depth, not because of slickness. While it was a major cramp in my style that I could not walk while carrying an open can of Diet Coke, in most other respects the crutches were not a serious barrier to life. That really, really surprised me.
[1] I don't say "I broke my leg", because it was definitely not my action that led to that state. If you're going to run a red light while speeding (and with small kids in the car to boot!), you should at least look for obstacles like pedestrians.
She said she was trying to find the best way to get around in her current state; the walker had hurt her hands too much. I asked about crutches; she said she had tried those but they hurt under her arms. I told her that if her armpits were resting on the crutches, instead of hovering a couple inches above them, they were too long for her, a fact I think she had not considered. (Don't the ER folks try to fit these things any more?) Maybe I'll see her with crutches tomorrow.
I had a broken leg several years ago [1]. I was initially intimidated by crutches and handled the steps in my house while sitting (butt-slide down; crab-walk up; stayed off the banister :-) ) for the first couple days. I realized, though, that this doesn't generalize, especially outdoors in December.
Crutches turned out not to be that bad once I got used to them. By the end of this period of time I was, I think, far above average in proficiency. I once "ran" for a bus and was not much slower than if I'd had the use of both legs; the spectators on the bus were quite impressed. (My "stride" with crutches was longer than my regular stride, which made up for the basic inefficiencies in the form.) I could do steps easily, even on tricky surfaces. Snow was only a problem because of depth, not because of slickness. While it was a major cramp in my style that I could not walk while carrying an open can of Diet Coke, in most other respects the crutches were not a serious barrier to life. That really, really surprised me.
[1] I don't say "I broke my leg", because it was definitely not my action that led to that state. If you're going to run a red light while speeding (and with small kids in the car to boot!), you should at least look for obstacles like pedestrians.
no subject
My daughter had a finger broken in an accident, and always corrected me if I told someone she broke it-- "I didn't brake it-- Kayla broke it!"
no subject
Re:
no subject
By the time I was cleared to stop using them, I was actually moving faster in some contexts than I would normally - the teacher were particularly apprehensive every time they saw me vault down one of the wheelchair ramps rather than inching down the stairs next to them.
no subject
no subject
I don't know if you've met Baroness Mistress etc Janelyn, who lost a leg when she was a kid. She gets around on crutches, and is damned amazing with them -- I know few people who can run as fast as she can, because she uses the extra stride length to great effect.
She's always been one of my most useful dance "examples". When people tell me that they can't dance because they have two left feet, I describe her, point out that she doesn't have any left feet (IIRC -- I don't actually remember which leg it is offhand), and is justly one of the more renowned dancemistresses in the Society. That tends to get them to try a little harder...
no subject
Janelyn
Broken bones