November 19, 2021
Dear Everyone:
It’s been nearly six
months since I was afflicted with a Malady of Unknown Origin.
My left leg still hurts, and I still can’t get around without the
trusty walker. On the other
hand, the pain is a lot less than it was when this all started.
It is, however, a
matter of relativity. Pain
is pain. A low, dull pain is
not as bad as a sharp, intense pain; but it’s still pain.
If you get hit by a
snowball, you have to deal with the snow.
If you get buried by an avalanche, you also have to deal with
snow. But I think I can
guess which one you would prefer.
It reminds me of a
time when one of my co-workers called to say that she would be late for
work; she would explain when she got there.
Several hours later, she showed up and told us about being
wakened by her little girl:
“Mommy!
Mommy! The fishies
have been real bad! They
splashed water all over everything!”
Out in the living
room, a large aquarium had sprung a leak during the night and had only a
few inches of water left in it.
The fishies, which had not actually misbehaved, were mostly dead.
Big mess to clean up.
Compared to spilling
a glass on the floor, this would count as worse.
Nevertheless, spilled water is spilled water.
So, while I can
almost get around with very little pain, there is still the matter of
having to deal with the walker.
In addition to being inherently awkward to drag around
everywhere, there is also the issue of my hands.
The walker I’m using
now is smaller than “average”, so it’s a bit easier to use than the one
I started with. But it is
mass-produced for people with longer arms than I have.
Consequently, my hands don’t “land” inside the formed “handholds”
along the top. Instead, the
heel of my hand tends to land directly on top of a sharp ridge of very
solid plastic. After a few
weeks of this, I have nerve damage in both hands.
Whether or not it
counts as genuine Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I have almost no feeling in
the tips of my fingers. This
interferes with a number of normal activities.
Typing, for instance.
I learned Touch Typing in High School, but it doesn’t work as well when
you don’t know which keys your fingers are touching.
Buttoning and
unbuttoning things can also become an exercise in frustration.
Fortunately, I
figured out a way to cover the handholds with thick foam.
Sewing the covers in place got tricky, since I can’t feel either
needle or thread. Still, it
does help.
At first, I didn’t
consider anything else since I was hoping that using the walker would
only be temporary. It’s been
four months now. I’m not
sure how much more “temporary” things are going to continue to be.
So I’m looking into
another kind of walker where the User stands erect and uses her forearms
to hold her weight instead of her hands.
Where to look for such a piece of equipment?
Amazon, of course.
That’s where I got the current walker.
Even if I get
something elsewhere, Amazon is a great place to do some research and
cost comparison.
So I went to Amazon
and searched on “upright walker”.
I found a remarkable selection of walkers designed for people, as
in seniors, with mobility issues.
And others designed for toddlers.
Also, not all the walkers for seniors were intended to use the
forearms.
So then I tried
“erect walker”. Lots of the
same merchandise. Plus a
headset for people who like to walk around while they listen to music or
the TV. And plenty of
supplies for gentlemen concerned with erectile disfunction.
Once I narrowed my
search down to just walkers for people who want to use their forearms, I
had dozens of hits. I was
able to narrow this group down pretty quickly by looking for the
intended height of the User.
Anything designed for people five feet or taller could immediately be
discarded.
According to my
Primary Care Physician’s assistant, I am officially four feet,
ten-and-one-half inches tall.
On a good day.
In any case, I now
have about a dozen possible “armrest” walkers to research further.
I expect to have some finalists identified in the next week or
so.
In the meantime,
everyone have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving next week.
I am informed that Andy will be joining us and expects pizza to
be provided. After that, I
don’t know what our plans will be, so I don’t anticipate writing a
Letter amid leftovers. Back
in December.
Love, as always,
Pete
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