A Long Way Down

Actually, it wasn't that long at all, but because it was so slow, it felt like it.

Despite my orthopedic surgeon forbidding me to fsll, I disobeyed him today. On the way to my pre-op appointment, I was using my walker to get to the car and the shoe on the end of my prosthesis stuck, my microprocessor knee buckled, and down I went. But the microprocessor knee let me down easy. Not even my pride was hurt, though it did scare me a bit.

The poor medical assistant who led me back to the doctor's office for my appointment could barely walk slow enough for me to keep up with her. She was a good sport and shuffled along with me, chatting as I took eeny weeny itty bitty baby steps, so afraid I would fall again.

The appointment went well, and we headed home until my physical therapy appointment later that afternoon. The timing couldn't be better, because I knew the PT would be able to figure out why I fell and fix it.

I was convinced I fell because I was wearing new shoes and the rubber soles were sticky. And maybe that was true, but it didn't really matter because the therapist worked and worked with me until I was convinced that no matter what shoes I was wearing, I'd be able to walk.

She initially had me walk down the hall, watching my gait. She then got me on the parallel bars with a foam pad to walk on. I stood on my left leg, and she had me "swing" my right leg to get the knee to bend. We did this over and over.

She then had me back on the walker, using that same swing to get my knee to bend, and then bring it in front to transfer my weight onto the prosthesis.

It turns out that when your gait resembles normal walking, the prosthesis sounds a nearly imperceptible beep. On that last walk in PT, my prosthesis beeped nearly every step.

I left PT not taking baby steps, but walking with a far more natural gait and a whole lot more confidence.

I'm spending the morning at the shelter tomorrow to socialize cats, and to be able to navigate the shelter I will be back in my wheelchair. I guess I'm okay with that. When I get home I will do some more walking.

Wednesday the prosthesis stays home when I go into the hospital for surgery. I'm not sure when I will be able to wear it again. It could be a couple days or a couple weeks.

But muscle memory and confidence are wonderful things. After today's PT session I really believe I will retain what I learned and pick up where I left off.

While I'm still incredibly nervous about the surgery, I feel so much better about getting it over with and moving on.

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