Baby Steps. Literally.

Ok, so it’s been a few days with the new foot, which we’ve affectionately named “Chip.” (David owns naming rights in the family. My wheelchair is now officially “Milo.” You are up to date.)

The deal, as they say, is this. On the first day, you start by wearing the foot a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening, and then add a half hour incrementally until you are wearing it all day.

Of course, I wore it for four hours on the first day. Shoot me. I was excited.

So, I’ve been walking with a walker, trying to work up to a cane. It’s been a little bit of a challenge, which, of course, it always was going to be, but I now know for sure that any illusion of me just putting this foot on and starting to walk without training has fallen by the wayside.

I can see a path to how it will be when I’m up and walking, and it is really exciting, and I’ve already done some things I hadn’t been able to do before, like walk up curbs and steps inside my house, which is super exciting.

I’m still pretty good at standing for long stretches of time, and I’m trying to reposition my body into something that doesn’t resemble the hunch I’ve built up over the past seven months, while hunched over the wheels of my wheelchair.

Also, this week, I’ve made it to the schedule for outpatient therapy, which means that my home PT and home health nurses have discharged me. And so, no more visits to our house, which is the end of an era. It was good, but it’s time. I’m happy it’s over now.

And, so, it’s a lot of walking with baby steps. Literally. I can only walk a little at a time, and my strides are kind of short. But, I suspect I’ll be elongating soon. Part of my outpatient therapy is gait training, so I’ll learn.

Which is all super encouraging, and I know it’s only been four days, but I’m impatient, friends. I want to be able to do all the things. Even though I know I’ll only eventually be able to do 90% of the things.

But maybe I’ll fill the other 10% out with other things.

THINGS!

—

As always, if you have it in you, please give a thought to donating time or money to Hospice Austin. They do amazing work for people who are going through the hardest thing a person can face.

—