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ventaThe story begins at Day 1. The short version: I ruptured knee ligaments skiing and am still shuffling about slowly and painfully on crutches.
Most of last week was a little miserable (enlivened only by exciting encounters with MRI machines). The doctor had predicted on my previous visit that I might be walking carefully, without crutches or a legbrace, in the privacy of my own home, by the end of next week.
This seemed incredibly unlikely, as I didn't feel I was making any headway at all. Everything hurt, and everything seemed exactly as difficult as it had been for the past week or so. Sure, it was better than it had been immediately after falling over, but progress really didn't feel like it was being made.
Then, all of a sudden, I appeared to get better overnight. I bounded out of bed (for small values of bounded), I realised that I could put a little weight on my leg unsupported. I even shuffled a few steps across the living room without any crutches.
Most importantly, I realised that I could walk reasonably effectively for short periods with just one crutch. This is revelatory, because it means I can carry a cup of tea. Or indeed any of a large variety of household objects. If you can pick it up in one hand, and it's not unbalancingly heavy, I'm on it. This makes an enormous amount of practical difference to my day.
I've also realised that if you have an injured rightleg knee[*], and are walking with one crutch, you want that crutch to be on your left hand side. This will, of course, not be news to anyone who's ever walked with a crutch or stick. But I'd assumed you'd want it on your injured side. The consultant confirmed that this is a pretty common mistake for people to make; most people rapidly work out that it isn't what they want after all.
The MRI machine, by the way, did produce proper pictures of my left leg and there is nothing sinister wrong with it. It is merely a ruptured medial ligament, which would be perfectly all right if I hadn't been hopping about on it for three weeks. It'll mend.
[*] Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bopeepsheep for pointing out that what I said was overly general.
Most of last week was a little miserable (enlivened only by exciting encounters with MRI machines). The doctor had predicted on my previous visit that I might be walking carefully, without crutches or a legbrace, in the privacy of my own home, by the end of next week.
This seemed incredibly unlikely, as I didn't feel I was making any headway at all. Everything hurt, and everything seemed exactly as difficult as it had been for the past week or so. Sure, it was better than it had been immediately after falling over, but progress really didn't feel like it was being made.
Then, all of a sudden, I appeared to get better overnight. I bounded out of bed (for small values of bounded), I realised that I could put a little weight on my leg unsupported. I even shuffled a few steps across the living room without any crutches.
Most importantly, I realised that I could walk reasonably effectively for short periods with just one crutch. This is revelatory, because it means I can carry a cup of tea. Or indeed any of a large variety of household objects. If you can pick it up in one hand, and it's not unbalancingly heavy, I'm on it. This makes an enormous amount of practical difference to my day.
I've also realised that if you have an injured right
The MRI machine, by the way, did produce proper pictures of my left leg and there is nothing sinister wrong with it. It is merely a ruptured medial ligament, which would be perfectly all right if I hadn't been hopping about on it for three weeks. It'll mend.
[*] Thanks to
bopeepsheep for pointing out that what I said was overly general.
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no subject
Date: 2016-03-15 04:39 pm (UTC)