30 Days in the Hospital - Going Home

Walking
All through these posts I've talked about walking and how my walking is progressing, but I suspect that your definition of walking and my new definition of walking are different. Yes, I am vertical and I'm putting one foot in front of the other, most of the time.  My muscles are strong from the workouts before surgery, but my legs have no endurance ... two laps around the hallway is about 300 metres.  That's it.  I'm done. Have to rest my legs for at least an hour before I try to do anything that involves being on my feet.  I'm not walking all over the hospital, wandering around whacking people with my cane, instead I cautiously make my way around the hall in my unit, staying close to the rails installed on the wall. 

Fortunately I live in a small house, so endurance can be built, but me and my canes are not ready for the outside world ... I'll need wheels for that for a while.

Carrying Stuff
Canes are fabulous for mobility in small spaces, but really not so good for carrying stuff.  How do I get my cup of coffee from the coffee maker to the table? How do I bring in the mail? How do I carry a plate to the dishwasher? As I think about my daily life at home, I'm surprised at the amount of things I carry or pick up over the course of a day.  Take a moment and think about what you did in the first hour you were up this morning.  If you brushed your teeth, you picked up your toothbrush and toothpaste ... both at the same time. You made coffee or tea and took it to your favourite place to drink it. You carried your clothes from the closet to where you actually put them on. You pulled out your transit pass ...

Yesterday the Occupational Therapist had me make coffee and boil and egg.  It took 35 minutes. She suggested that for the first week, I plan for an hour for any task that would have taken me 10 minutes. Upon consideration, life walking with two canes is a complicated life.

The Big Bad Outdoors
Then there is the real world. Outside.  Right now, walking outside is an unrealistic expectation. I am confident that that progress will come, but it's not here today. I will have some problems to solve when I'm ready to tackle more than my front porch.  When I can drive, can I go alone - how do I get my wheelchair out of the trunk, exactly? How do I push a grocery cart? How do I get into a place that isn't "accessible"?  It looks like the answer is that I don't go out alone at first ... sigh, more being babysat :)  But I'll get there ... practice, practice, practice, build the endurance and I'll be able to go alone when I can handle canes outside.  Or with my "geriatric rollator" that has a seat :)

People who have many more disabilities than I do, do these things. They do them every day.  I solve problems and try to improve processes for a living, so I know I'll figure it out. It just needs some good thinking, some input from people who know stuff, a bit of trial and error and a make it happen attitude.

I'll be fine.

A special thank you to the great nursing and physio staff in rehab ... I'll walk in and visit some day soon.