Walking Boot to a New Life
After six weeks of wearing a cast and using a knee scooter, cast is gone and now I’m in a walking boot for the next four weeks. I was so over being in a cast, so much so that I was really questioning my decision for this foot surgery. I was at the point of thinking it would have been worth not walking as much and trying to limit pain by limiting time on my foot. So long to hiking and anything that required extended walking. But after two days of getting used to the boot and weirdness of what looks like a flat bottom but feels like you’re walking on a baseball, I’m starting to get the hang of walking slower. Slower seems to be better for ensuring a natural heel to toe movement instead of a pegleg hobble. The other thing I have found is that walkers, rollators, etc. were not really designed for someone six foot two inches. I’ve been trying to walk more upright leaving the walker behind and by not leaning over and putting so much weight on my arms and hands that I’m actually more balanced and less pain in my knee area due to the pressure of the boot. I’m thinking maybe this was the right idea and as long as the pain is gone and I can walk without hurting, life might be good again. My days of running, jumping, and skipping are over, but I still will be able to explore by the simple art of walking. Four weeks, I got this and I’ll be in s shoe two weeks earlier than expected. More time to get ready for our island trip with our daughter and her family.
Had my follow up appointment with the surgeon who said the healing was ahead of schedule and looking great. I have an arch again and my foot turns out slightly instead of the pronated turning in for years. The idea of getting back to my routine of life again is so appealing and regaining lifestyle not only around home but also in our travels by exploring places like Hawaii and Tahoe will once again be invigorating instead of pure dread to be on my feet longer than a couple of hours. I am hopeful this new lease on life will be worth it and bring the feeling of recouping my retirement once again.
One of the worse things getting older is the breaking down of the body that you once took for granted. When you fell and you were younger, you rolled and popped right up. Now, if you fall, you lay there wondering what part of your body is about to scream out. Even if you don’t get the screaming pain, you’ll still spend the next week or two getting over the pain and will have spent money at the ER and getting X-Rays. Getting old isn’t easy and the wild approach just isn’t in the cards anymore. Measured thoughts about everything are the norm and thinking before doing is built into every decision. I admire those that try to retain their youth into older age, but eventually it catches up to everyone. Not to say you never do anything, but you think first do second. Jumping off a rock a couple feet takes on new meaning when you’ve had two back surgeries, but usually there is way around the rock versus the jump. We keep feeling every time we fix something on our body, that our warranty gives us another three years of pain free living. That sounds sad, but I know I’m paying for all the carefree lifestyle I had up to now, so taking chunks of joy with moments of anxiety increasingly are better than than a life of not doing anything and sitting around waiting to die. I might assume that life in my eighties, but not in my sixties. I’m banking on this fix getting me through another twenty years of pain-free life. Time will tell but if I can make good decisions and hold to them, it should be easy to do. After all, my days of impressing someone are long gone. I want to be around for as long as I can be here for my family and watching them grow and with number nine grandchild on the way, we have so much to be thankful for and to live for too.