cane
 

well after falling off the scale at the doctors office on monday, and having broken a few things falling, and throwing out my back and side coughing and not being able to stand up straight, i started using a cane to get around. Ive used crutches before but that was for a probable finite period. I find that after having read over the years of people here who had to start using a cane or wheelchair and what changes in self perception that leads to, that surprisingly it really doesnt bother me as much as i thought it would. I guess that ive been innoculated over time.

I started using...
 

a walking stick instead of a cane, last year. Especially when it is slippery out.

Canes are more for weight bearing. I found a reasonable walking stick at
Dunhams, and it works well for me for the balance issues.

My feet have more balance problems than needing weight bearing removed.

Mine is sort of like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-802-25.../dp/B0009PUQHI


I have a cedar one up North, that I made, which is more sturdy for walking on the rocky shore.

Crutches and canes can throw your back out, hurt the shoulders etc.

I can commiserate with you however...most of my problems result from falls!:o

a walking stick, good idea, ill have to look into it...those look nice and lightweight.

yes,
 

The aluminum one is really nice... Mine was reasonable in price too. Less than $20, and Dunham's here gives a discount if you have a AAA auto insurance membership. So I got that discount too.:p

Some cost almost $100! :yikes:

I used it all winter, since I cannot walk well on ice anymore.
The Coleman one I have has a spring inside too, to help you grip.
The tip comes off and a pointy thing is there for ice.

It telescopes up into a small size like a small folding umbrella.

I did attract alot of unpleasant attention at work...the snarky people there
always made fun of my limp etc...you know the cruel small minded ones....
but I didn't really let them get to me. The pole worked really well, walking long distance from parking lot to door. At our age a serious fall can be fatal now,
not just embarrassing.

im long past caring what other people think of me

I picked up a "Missouri Walking Stick" the last time I was in Sedalia MO
(my wife's home town) at a craft fair. There was a whole barrel of 'em made from natural, crooked, tree branches. I just happened to have bumped my foot a few days earlier, and hurt my toe (I think I broke it), so I bought one for about $15. It helped a lot. And I still keep it around, and handy. Some days aren't as good as others.

What I'm realizing is we live in a world with some uncaring and ignorant people. Its hard to not take it personally for me but I try to focus on what is best for me and less on what others think. I know the assistance can be hard but at least your pushing yourself so you can do more in a safe way. That is great.

Alright Bob B!!! You finally got yourself a cane - hooray for you! I don't think we ever get use to using a cane but after a while it does become second nature. And, your gonna be grateful for it when you realize how many times it will have kept you from falling....and it will do that for you. And, in a pinch, it makes a pretty good defensive weapon too. :cool:

Well, HeyJoe, that has to go down as the "ultimate" in weigh-ins... Hope the things you broke were not bones and that you are OK and mending well...

I think falling down must be catching on this board... That one is right on up there with falling off of my shoe...

Cathie

Wow, whoopie!!!!
 

That was a terrible way to do it, but some of us thought you needed this cane before. I've used crutches (right now), canes, those wonderful walking sticks (I used two of them), and now I've got a bright blue walker with a basket. I'm not at all ashamed when I use any of them. I'm long past that. I really could care less what other people think of the way I look. I just wish they would get out of my way. I am slow now. The crutches really are more difficult and sometimes trip me up. But I am not able to weight bear at this time.

I think that whatever you need in order to be mobile and most of all SAFE is what you do. Don't worry about it, tell them to GET OVER IT if they don't like the way you look.

And if I ever get off these crutches, I'll buy myself a new bright shiney cane.:D

Hope you are feeling better.

Billye

Canes for me!
 

I 'tried' crutches once! All at the hospital as well as I felt that I would be safer with either a walker or cane[s].
Luckily I figured out that canes come in different heights...and have adjusted mine for that. A too high cane, or too low, makes you more miserable than you need to be. Hurts our backs, hands, wrists, elbows, feet you name it if it's not right.
A silly question during my last PT set of sessions I was able to learn that I needed about 1-1/2" of one cane, and it made such a difference! Plus a 'lesson' on how to walk properly with one or even two.
Joe, I gotta admit, I have had some dramatic falls [tho no one ever saw them?] but that series of events of yours has got to be in the top 10 of all time?

What should the 'prize' be? Maybe a faux-gold-plated cane of the perfect height? [Simply could not resist!]. Of course, we will have to find a 'sponsor' to donate the cane[s]. Sigh.

May we all toodle or toddle tenderly - j

Hey Joe
 

I did that ayear ago,no one and I mean no one asked me to weigh in
agin. But i do get wieghed on a scale in a wheelchair...You could always bop
croops on the head. Never mind you might fall trying.....Hugs Sue

Don't give a "hoot" about what people think. Do whatever it takes to get you around safely.

I have a bright blue cart on wheels, also with a basket and a seat. I didn't want people to know I even had it, that is, until I took it to a quilt show and my friends saw it. Every time I left it to walk into a booth, I would come back to find one of them sitting on it, wanting to borrow it...

Cathie

Then again, there always the "Scooter Store".
They guarantee that if Medicare doesn't pay for it, its 'free'.
(gotta meet their requirements, and get an Rx for it first, I suppose)
the TV commercials make 'em look like they're fun.

me too
 

I also have walking sticks. I had never seen them until a year ago, when on vacation a bird-watching couple in my group was using them. I knew it was the way to go, and asked for them as a birthday gift from my kids. I've got the kind that collapse, so they can be packed or stuck in a bag, to be pulled out when needed. They're great for uneven ground.

Bob
 

Hi - I have one of those scooters (but not paid by Medicare - they have super strict regs like you cannot ambulate at all I think) but I got very small one that is supposed to come apart and will fit in a car (but one I suppose would have to read directions to do that!) but its very lightweight and I use to get just around the neighborhood - but they are SLOW! Max 5 MPH - which is better then nothing! But yes, do use whatever you need to help you stay safe! I have a cane with a "foot" - a rolling walker - and also a manual wheelchair - use whatever needed to keep me safe - taken too many headers and who cares what others think is right - you need to stay safe! Crutches, agree with others - used them several times when healthy for broken bones, torn cartiladge in knee, etc... I was always getting them tangled up in my legs and falling down - found very difficult to manuver around on.... (and if someone is really rude to use - oops -did I just I poke you in the foot with my cane - sorry!) ok, slightly evil.... but it is interesting to see peoples reactions sometimes to assistive devices - because we now have something that can be "seen" - most people are kind - some are not... (tough!)

;)

I don't know about
 

folks being kinder to you with a cane, my experience is they either keep a very wide berth [if they see you] or just try and run you over [I guess it's the walk and talk on the phone issue for them?].
The only other thing I've found is that with the cane, many start talking LOUDER to me....because of the cane. When that happens I simply start to speak even more softly than I normally would...HEE? As you can guess it's a pet peeve of mine?
Happy trails to all ....no tripping allowed! - j

Canes can be entertaining
 

My foot cane is adjustable - and I was using it one day when a group of people over - it kept feeling stranger and stranger every time I tried to use it - and they finally confessed that every time I wasnt looking they were shortening it one notch.... so - can be entertainment for all too!:)

Power chair
 

Is great for me. But you can not reach top s thing you must wait
for help,a glass jar hurts. My hands even with those reachers are to
weak..Clean up on aisle2 My chair is big people have bummed,
banged ran in to mine,with me in it..I have been hit by bread ,
meat,beer,and ect. carts. Oh my a college town hard to go downtown.
Not to mention Van lift so. Mine goes 10 miles a hr. and Honest
I love it,you can go up to 25 miles. But I would love to be able to
walk on a Mo. walking Stick...Sedalia ia a pretty town Bob. Sue

Oh My!
 

Kmeb, I can believe that happening? My walker didn't quite 'lock' the adjustable legs at first... Had to go to that durned 'web/internet' thing the docs CURSE to find instructions! The docs forgot that very important part?
Sue last year while doing 'time' in the wheelchair, I really hated trying to fix anything at all to eat cause the counter was at sort-of 'nose-level'? If I ever do get to the 'remodel' stage...well there will be an ostensibly 'kid friendly counter area', but we all will know different, rite?
I am finding I am only 'shopping' in stores that have those electric carts. Many of them near me have tall flags on poles. Unfortuneately that only works for folks coming at you from behind. Not those coming at you. I just do one really loud imitation of a BEEP BEEP! as someone who appears brain-dead approaches. Sort of 'Road Runner' style. Usually penetrates the 'fogs'. I only wish those store carts had rear-view mirrors, you know?
As for walkers, chairs or scooters in my house? I am afraid that my home's inside doorways aren't all 'accessable'. I hate the process of having someone come in and do work to make it so. Not to mention the costs - there are soo many surpises in such work - I really wouldn't tolerate it all too well, you all know?
I still hate it when people automatically talk at you louder tho.... Hugs to all - j

a cow catcher to safely move people determined to bang into you like they used to have on steam trains would come in handy for those motorized carts

Hey Joe
 

That and j loud nosie should do it...Heh heh Sue

Joe? Yes a ....
 

'cow catcher' in more aspects than the current definitions I guess. Just so they don't fall ON me, rather next to me!
I mean, just imagine the potential 'liability' issues? Dorks talking on phone, falling over red cart with BIG flag? Injure cart driver, injure selfs...who gets sued? Who all goes to hospital?
But, with a cow catcher, I could just go "TOOT! TOOT! CHOO-CHOO" Life is dangerous enuf, ya know?
From the little train that might... - j

i had to rephrase that post a few times before i posted it...ha

sue you are funny i hope everything turns around for you real soon.

Carts are fun... When I first rented one to navigate a huge flea market, only older individuals rented these and younger people acted embarrassed to even be standing there looking at them. You could tell they didn't want to walk all over hell's half acre... Now, people of all ages rent them, and sometimes you have to have reservations a month in advance, or you can't even get one...

Meanwhile, with rentals at $7-8.00 an hour, some have set up shop with numerous carts in places like this and are making a killing with people standing in line waiting to rent...

Cathie