Buffle, Where Are Ya??

[[old] woolsmith]

Hey Buffles, are you there yet? <br /><br />I hope all's going well, and that you're on the path to getting that knee back in action!<br /><br />--Jen in WI

[[old] Bufflehead]

Here I am Woolsy!<br /><br />I haven't felt like sitting at the computer yet, so that's why I've been so quiet. I see I have a lot of catching up to do with the women's forum. You all have been quite busy! I'm still not ready to sit here for very long, but I thought I should give an update.<br /><br />I've been home a week now. That surgery sure knocked the stuffing out of this old duck! I can't believe I've been using a walker - and cheerfully I might add. I guess I'm coming along all right. At least that's what the physical therapist is telling me. <br /><br />I'll fill you in more when I can sit in here longer. I want to thank all of you for your support and especially for the personal messages sent. What a great flock we have!<br /><br />Your old, slow duck,<br />Buffles

[[old] seat5]

Great to have a quack from you. Be patient with yourself!!! My father in law has had both knees replaced a few times. You'll be back ok. He's 84 and rows 10 minutes every day! <br /><br />Happy New Knee Year!

[[old] woolsmith]

I had a good laugh with "Happy New Knee Year," Carla! <br /><br />And Buffles, just like Carla said, do what ya gotta do to get better the right way.<br /><br />My hubba had quite an accident falling off a 2 ft (yes, that's TWO foot) stepladder a couple of years ago--broke his left heel and his left ulna (in the lower arm for folks who don't know what that is) in 4 places--had surgery for pins and a rod. AND he's a lefty. Because he couldn't bear weight on that side of the body, even with a walker, his mobility was drastically limited. Couldn't use crutches as a result, either. So the PT folks rigged up a special platform on his walker for his left arm so he could at least use a walker to transfer from wheelchair to the couch, etc. <br /><br />Now keep in mind, the boy is 6'4" and about 240#.... Anyway, what I'm getting to with all this, is I reeeeealllly feel for you, knowing how hard it is to get around, just to get simple things done. We have a fairly open family room and *** DELETE - SPAM *** with a movable island, so we (I) just cleared everything out as much as I could so he could at least maneuver with the wheelchair. I tried to have stuff within his reach. Hotdog tongs are great thing-grabbers. We had the futon made into his bed, and even though we had a bathroom down here, it was too small to get into with even the walker since he could only hop. So, he got to use a commode. <br /><br />We had to quickly develop a plan to get him out of the house in case of fire, since we have no handicapped-accessible entries. Our first great adventure was getting him out of the house so he could go to a doc's appt. He had to get down on the floor and scoot to the steps in our attached garage, so he could use his walker and wheelchair to get to the SUV (this involved me getting all of these appliances properly located for the transers and then stored in the appropriate locations!). Getting a handicap sticker was more of a hassle than it was worth--he would have had to retake the written test and driving test for his license after the hc sticker expired. <br /><br />Finally, just getting him out to WalMart was like a wonderful field trip for him, because he could get OUT. Those little electric carts are pretty cool, and I gotta say, the WalMart staff were really great helping us get in and out of the place. Interestingly, he noticed that no one would look at him when he was driving the cart, and he was right. I now make a point to make eye contact with everyone who's in one of those things. And Bob learned that WalMart carried a lot more stuff than he remembered, because since he's so tall, he'd never seen the stuff on the bottom shelves before. <br /><br />Eventually, he got to where he could scoot backwards up the stairs to the second floor where he could take a real shower (still a trip to get him in and out of the tub/shower unit with a walker!) and sleep in his own bed. He's fine, now, thank goodness! <br /><br />Even though I'm a nurse and I've worked with lotsa folks in wheelchairs, with walkers and crutches, etc., it's a whooooole new world when it happens under your own roof! It's the gazillion LITTLE things that can boggle your mind with this kind of stuff. I have a renewed respect for folks having to deal with that kind of thing. <br /><br />What's funny is how protective our little Chihuahua, Kasey, got of Bob. She knew he was "sick," so it became her job, all 4 pounds of her, to defend Bob from those vicious PT people who came to "her" house for his therapy. She'd lay right by his thigh, and she was fine until they tried to touch his arm for his range-of-motion work. I had to lock her in the other part of the house when they came. <br /><br />Do you have someone to help you with stuff, or are you on your own??<br /><br />Anyway, quacks of support are coming at ya from WI!<br /><br />--Jen