13 month post- op = danced at sons wedding..now i canoed too!

[gigi67]

weeeel. 7 rehab visits aog....4 weeks ago I was still only partial weight bearing...and hardly walking even with crutches!!!! my goal since february was to walk at my sons wedding with NO cane or crutches AND to wear dress shoes for the first time in 13 months!!!!....to wear anything other than a ' boot" immobilizer or sneaker!!! .....well i had to change rehab treatment AND rehab company but iin 7 visits......i walked down that isle as the proud mother of the groom.......in a sandal witha low, wide heel...i had to struggle to walk and really focus on not limping any worse than i absolutley had to.............but thats not all!!!!....i changed into my sneakers after the wedding before th reception and....i danced at that reception!!!!! oh yeah!!!!!......albeit all i could do was stand and shake my shoulders and upper body but i danced....ANd.......i got to slow dance not just with my hubby BUT my son.........AND.....when the crowd on the dance floor formed a line on both sides for pople to dance through one at a time.... no one was wanting to be brave enuff to dance thru the line...soooooooo i couldnt let a perfectly good line go to waste....so i scooted  down that line one little inch at a time, limping...but shaking my shoulders and i made it down that line!!!!! of course some lovingly  said " Get out of the line youre too slow!!!" but when i reached the end...they cheered anyway!!! ....the song was over and no one elses could go....hee hee it was great!!!! ummmmmmm BUT my knee was totally swollen by the time it ended and has been hurting since...even tho i was ever so careful...but the point is.....set those goals!!!! right now i am walking 2/10ths of a mile but in  a few weeks i hpe to be up to 1/2 mile and by the end of the summers...... a mile minimum! every day i go a little further....thats progression.....just doing a little more each time....one step further....if need be but progressing.......i made my goal...i walked down that isle for my sons wedding with no cane.....and no sneakers......and i danced....and even danced more than i thoguht id be able to.....to me abilities and within boundaries but i made my goal!!! so keep pressing forward yall!!!!

[gigi67]

welllll call me the crazy canoe chick...yes at 13 months i went canoeing...now it was exhilarating, beautiful, fun, I had not had a fun in the sun day in two years and last year i watched my favortie time of the year go by from my window in my wheelchair....I have waited for this for a long time....and I did it!!!!!

BUT...in all honesty it will be the last time for at least a looong time.
So this is to educate any newcomers or even those only slightly behind me on recovery time.......you see i was o excited about going canoeing I failed to think it all through and one vital element was overlooked...my ability to get on my feet quickly, my ability to respond on my feet quickly, AND  lack of strength to withstand the  the current of the water...if i should tip over...and tip we did!

Normally, one of the funnest things about canoeing is tipping over..but when you have a disability or an inability to get on your feet fast it is only very scarry and creates total panic in everyone around you... we experienced soo much fear at those moments i cant explain it to you in words...and my bad leg...while i protected my knee at all costs every time i tipped... i inadvertently hurt other parts trying to protect my knee...my leg ( the same leg my knee and foot and ankle are bad on) is  pretty bruised from hitting the side of my leg...in the same place each time we tipped over...and i relaized after the first time we tipped that the place i kept hitting my leg....could have cracked my fibia with my thin bone problem...silly  silly girl! what was i thinking......yes i had fun and that was great but it was a fearful fun and left me with war wounds...so to speak and a visual reminder that i wasnt ready for that....just not strong enough yet. so for the remainder of the year i will be happy as a lark to float on a rubber raft in a pool of still water..not a current river!
yes it is important to have fun within your limits!    and my bruised backside will also attest to that!

So i am now going to really focus on strengthening my quads and also look for other fun things i can enjoy this summer...like horseshoes or washers...or....well you get the idea!!! 

[tanyap]

gigi - you rock!!!!

i just happened upon this thread and youve made me laugh so much - youre ever so slightly crazy - but in a way that id also like to be crazy!!!

well done to you for walking down the aisle, dancing, canoeing, and no doubt next time youll be posting you were off rock climbing or something similiarly mad!!!

fantastic thread!!!
xx

[gigi67]

well since my canoe mishaps i have calmed down a bit....BUT I  have progressed in walking to 4/10ths of a mile straight in a row...from 1/10th in a bout a month i guess....my next goal was half a mile by august 1st...i think i just might make it for sure! awesome!...then theres a great little trail thats half a mile i want to go to..thats what i am waiting on....not really what I am REALLy waiting onis getting back on my bike i miss so much!...but that wont be this year probably...but one day...... Right now i am just totally enjoying walking again...as a matter of fact...today i went to wal mart...and DIDNT have to get one of those electric buggies and it was like this epiphany...after i was done shopping I was coming oout of the restroom and it snapped into my brain..." WOah...i just walked through wal mart without a buggy ride!"...thats the first time in 14 months!!!!!!! and didnt even realize what i was doing until if was OVER.....ha! I really gotta be more observant to my own progress dont ya think?

[fatcats6]

So glad the wedding was such a triumph!  Go G!  Really happy for you.
Adrienne

[gigi67]

thanks fatcats for celebrating with me ! Especially with your own current situation. Its the small miles stones that keep us go ;Ding!