Time to Put My Foot Down!

Tomorrow the cast comes off!! So for only one more night, do I go to bed with this view!! I am besiiiiiide myself!!

So on this final eve: I’m reflecting on this flamingo journey – and have noticed it hasn’t been all bad!!!

1. The world did not explode, collapse or stop spinning even though I could not walk or drive.

2. My family is in fact fully capable of doing all the washing, cooking and cleaning, and I even always had clean undies!! (Wow)

3. My gorgeous friends and family have been soooo very kind – driving both me and my children all over Brisbane, cooking, visiting, listening to me whinge, delivering and retrieving various things I’ve needed throughout the entire 6 weeks without complaining once!!

4. Surprisingly I have been able to appreciate the increased simplicity of being on one leg – despite its inconvenience it has been just a little less crazy than normal, which was actually pretty awesome. So If I can I’m going to try to maintain just a little bit of the serenity and stop over-committing myself quite so much!

5. I have a completely new appreciation for the simple stuff – and can’t wait to go grocery shopping (sad but true story), drive down to the shop if I’ve run out of milk, go up to school for reading, go out without crutches, my food to the table (😁), and walk the dog.

And for you my fellow flamingoes?? Thank you for all of your kind comments, clicks and views which have truly kept me going through the tough times!!

From pining for my skinny pants, to viewing nearly every image in Pinterest to buying, borrowing or renting any device designed for flamingoes – it’s been quite the journey. And it’s not quite over – as I move on to moon-boots, Physio and stiffness – but the hard part is done, and I look forward to continuing my recovery journey on two feet!

Crutch Confidence…..It’s a Worry!

So, now I have moved into the next stage; the stage where it’s safe to say accidents may happen.

source: cluestolife.wordpress.com

So here’s how it unfolds; after about 2-3 weeks you master the crutches, you start to be able to carry things while you crutch. As a result you pick up the pace, and with that comes the increased confidence to brave situations, so you start going out. You take care the first few times and after a while, you realise; ‘Hey this is nice. Everyone is looking after me. I always have a drink in my hand. Life is good’. So you accept some more invitations, and go out some more.

 

A few phenomena start to occur:

1. You realise you can have a glass of champagne or two at every event you go to as you don’t have to / cannot drive home afterwards.

2. It hits you that you are not getting up or pouring your own drinks, so lord knows how many you are actually having.

3. It occurs to you that alcohol decreases balance. Balance is required for effective use of crutches, especially on grass or stairs, both of which are in more places than you have ever noticed before.

Now before you think I’m about to tell you another injury story, I haven’t actually had a ‘drink and crutch’ fall. Well, not yet anyway. However, I’ve got a potential event coming up that I need to have a preventative plan in place for. Next weekend, we are going to the Brookfield Long Lunch which is being held out in a paddock with a few hundred people. History says it’s going to be a big day, and the empathy I seem to get from my friends while out assures me that my glass will never be empty.

So I’ve researched it – (there were surprisingly a number of forums on this topic!!) and here are my top 3 survival tips for staying safe throughout the day. I’m going to:

1. Alternate champagne with soda water.

2. Count my drinks, including top-ups.

3. Assess my crutch ability at each toilet trip, comparing it to the last. ‘Am I finding it harder? Wobbling more? If so, slow it down – add a few more soda waters into the rotation!’

I’ll let you know how I fare with this trio of wisdom this time next week!

Oh, and one more thing. I’m going to get myself one of these little nifty foot warmers delivered before next weekend (see below). It’s going to be cold out in the paddock, and my toes have been a bit chilly in the winter breezes! So, i’m ordering one of these puppies from http://www.goodbyecrutches.com for $12.99. Hope they can get it to me by Friday!

Source: http://www.goodbyecrutches.com Cozy Toe Warmer

Until my next post! Happy Sunday.