I walked again today at the Mall with Jerald, my prothesist, and he wants me to be able to stand on leg and balance. It is hard and scary but I can do it while standing on my real leg without holding on to anything!!!! Before I could never do that! Now he wants me to be able to balance on my Prosthetic leg.....Much more scary and difficult. Jerald wants me to be able to do it with just having one finger on a wall. This is incredibly arduous but I already said that....Sorry..... I can do it somewhat but with practice, I will be able to do it and eventually he argues I will be able to do it without holding on to any thing. Time will tell.
As I walked today my flow and gate have improved dramatically over the last time that we were together. I am getting better and better in not hesitating as I take a step with my artificial leg;moreover my real side is improving too in terms of not lifting up on my rignt side as I take a step with my prosthetic side. And I am getting a heal strike with my real foot and my real foot is not turn out nearly as much before so it looks normal as I step. I am getting much more relaxed as I walk and I am doing it now pretty much without thinking. WOW!!! Thank you so much Jerald.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Mall #2 and I-Pod
I met my prosthesist, Jerald, at the Mall today bright and early 7:30 a.m. and we walked a ton without the cane. Boy sometimes I really miss my cane..... I walked well on my artificial side in terms of flow and gate. I was really bending my knee and stepping well!! My real side though had some problems in the beginning for I wasn't walking on my right(real) side well for I was in the beginning, not setting my real heal down long enough before taking a step with my prosthetic side; moreover I was lifting up too much on my real side. Jerald told me that I don't have to do that and I don't do on my prosthetic side so why do it on my real side?? It took awhile, but I finally figured it out.....He also told me that I have plently of ground clearance on both sides and then he gave me this I-Pod thing to wear and listen too. I am a little technologically challenged and I didn't even know what an I-Pod thing was. A funny thing happened when I was listening to the thing. I was just walking without thinking and low and behold I was walking much better without thinking in terms of flow and gate. I guess normal people walk without thinking.....and my arms were swinging and again I guess that is how normal people walk.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Mall
My Prosthesist wanted me to go to the Mall and walk around before the Mall even opens. Evidently people go there to walk around for exercise before the Mall opens. Being a good patient I met him there to walk around the mall. He made an attachment to my leg that goes up the left side of my body to prevent me from collapsing on my left side as I walk. He says I only need it for a short time to retrain my brain not to collapse on my left side as I walk. I can feel it and eventually I will be able to walk without feeling the the thing he made that goes all the way up to my ribs on the left side. It is kind of ironic for my father has been saying for over a year that when I take a step with my artificial leg (my left leg) lean to the right and now I do that with the the thing that Jerald made me. Dad was right. My flow and gate have improved so much and it is now hard to tell that I have an artificial leg on when I wear long pants.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Right Leg and Right Foot
My Prosthesist is very happy with my artificial leg and foot now in the way I am walking. He is now concerned with my real leg and real foot which is my right leg and foot. He wants me to relax while I walk especially on my real side. To do this he has given me some relaxing exercises to do to relax my real side. He argues that I will get to the point where I can walk without thinking!!!! I know has he been drinking copious amounts of alchol???
He maintains that I will get to the point of just walking without thinking. Relaxed with my upper body relaxed and my arms swinging. Time will tell if he is right but thus far people have noticed a big difference. I guess I am just too close to it but I do know that walking is becoming much easier for me and I can do without thinking if the terrain is easy.
MMMMHHHHHHHH maybe I should drink lots of adult beverages and walk relaxed. I will keep you posted.
He maintains that I will get to the point of just walking without thinking. Relaxed with my upper body relaxed and my arms swinging. Time will tell if he is right but thus far people have noticed a big difference. I guess I am just too close to it but I do know that walking is becoming much easier for me and I can do without thinking if the terrain is easy.
MMMMHHHHHHHH maybe I should drink lots of adult beverages and walk relaxed. I will keep you posted.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
No Cane
My prosthesist wants me to practice walking without my cane. Is he crazy???? I don't know but being a good patient, I am attempting to do just that. Before all the latest feces happened, I walked without a cane but I did it wrong. I did by hiking my hip but now he wants me to do it correctly. What does he mean by that? Glad you asked.
He wants me to have flow and walk pretending to kick the ball as I walk. According to him "normal" people swing their arms as they walk; moreover they walk relaxed without thinking. I tried to tell him that I wasn't normal but he wouldn't accept that. I am beginning to do that and many people have noticed an improved difference. In fact I played golf yesterday for the first time on my new socket and I didn't use the cane once and most importantly I didn't fall once. My score.....?? Well let's just say tiger has nothing to worry about from me. Besides, he has enough to worry about....
He still wants me to use the cane in unfamiliar places and when I get tired. He maintains that it takes much more energy for me to get around than it does a person with two real legs. Finally we agree on something. Doing this and all that he wants me to do, I have noticed as have others that my balance has dramatically improved.
He wants me to have flow and walk pretending to kick the ball as I walk. According to him "normal" people swing their arms as they walk; moreover they walk relaxed without thinking. I tried to tell him that I wasn't normal but he wouldn't accept that. I am beginning to do that and many people have noticed an improved difference. In fact I played golf yesterday for the first time on my new socket and I didn't use the cane once and most importantly I didn't fall once. My score.....?? Well let's just say tiger has nothing to worry about from me. Besides, he has enough to worry about....
He still wants me to use the cane in unfamiliar places and when I get tired. He maintains that it takes much more energy for me to get around than it does a person with two real legs. Finally we agree on something. Doing this and all that he wants me to do, I have noticed as have others that my balance has dramatically improved.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Kick the Ball
I am in the process of getting a new socket built which should be more comfortable when I walk. My prosthesist is in the process of putting the finishing touches on my socket and it should be ready in two weeks. He made me a test socket out of clear material but it wasn't hard and I broke it after a week. That scared the bejesus out of me but it provided information to my prosthesis who has now giving me a hard test socket. I still have some discomfort in an area that is important to guys......if you know what I mean?
He wants me to pretend to be kicking a ball when I walk with my prosthetic leg. He says if I do this right I won't circumduct so much....and I will walk more normally using the proper muscles that are left in my stump. Oh yeah - he hates that word - I mean residual limb.... Once I do that or remember to that, a funny thing happened and I walk much more normally. Wow!! I think I will walk even better when the discomfort is completely gone from my special area. Phew that will make me feel better and my girlfriend too.
I think she might like that special area too. At times I have to say to myself out loud "kick the ball" but hopefully after time it will become natural to me. Time will tell.
He wants me to pretend to be kicking a ball when I walk with my prosthetic leg. He says if I do this right I won't circumduct so much....and I will walk more normally using the proper muscles that are left in my stump. Oh yeah - he hates that word - I mean residual limb.... Once I do that or remember to that, a funny thing happened and I walk much more normally. Wow!! I think I will walk even better when the discomfort is completely gone from my special area. Phew that will make me feel better and my girlfriend too.
I think she might like that special area too. At times I have to say to myself out loud "kick the ball" but hopefully after time it will become natural to me. Time will tell.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Dream
This going to sound so weird at least it is extremely weird to me. For the past couple of nights I have had a dream of me running!!! But I can't run for I am an amputee! I can walk mostly with the assistance of a cane and sometimes without one in confined spaces. So why would I dream of running when it is at this time impossible.
The dreams are so vivid! I am not only running but in one of the dreams I am actually racing. It is so strange on a plethora of fronts. I usually can never remember my dreams but these two dreams I can recall. Why?? Maybe I am not done improving and once my new liner arrives and my new socket is built, I will continue to improve and perhaps even run. Wow - that would be something. Wouldn't it?
The dreams are so vivid! I am not only running but in one of the dreams I am actually racing. It is so strange on a plethora of fronts. I usually can never remember my dreams but these two dreams I can recall. Why?? Maybe I am not done improving and once my new liner arrives and my new socket is built, I will continue to improve and perhaps even run. Wow - that would be something. Wouldn't it?
Monday, August 9, 2010
Flow and Gate
After losing my left leg above the knee, I had to learn to walk all over again. I don't remember when I fist learned how to walk for I was only one or something like that but I am sure it had to be easier than this. As a kid and when my sons learned how to walk, they didn't really think about it - they just did it. Nike would be so proud.
After getting my prosthesis, I just thought that I would strap it on and start walking. How wrong I was..... To make a long story short, that didn't happen. I began by using a walker and I could get around ok with that, but the experts were not happy with the amount of time that I would stay on my prosthetic side. Evidently, I would get off my prosthetic side as quickly as possible and thus my flow and gate suffered.
I guess when normal people walk they have a heel strike on both of their feet. I could have a heel strike on my artificial foot but I would step with my real foot and not have a heel strike thus my gate suffered. I had to think when I walked rather than just walking. I had to spend enough time on my prosthetic side to make the artificial knee bend and then I had to walk on my real side with a heel strike on my right(real) foot. When I concentrated, I could do it the way my physiatrist and therapist wanted, but then a funny thing happened.
My physiatrist wanted me to walk without thinking. He made me walk fast with my cane and he maintained that my flow and gate improved when I did that because I was walking without thinking. His name is Dr. Foxx and he is convinced that my flow and gate suffered not from the amputation of my left leg but from my brain injury suffered in the accident. He believes that I walk better on my artificial side than I do on my real side. My prosthesist and my therapists agree. In short I had to trust my arificial leg. It has been a long process because at times I still hike my left hip rather than walking through with my artificial leg and my flow suffers.
After getting my prosthesis, I just thought that I would strap it on and start walking. How wrong I was..... To make a long story short, that didn't happen. I began by using a walker and I could get around ok with that, but the experts were not happy with the amount of time that I would stay on my prosthetic side. Evidently, I would get off my prosthetic side as quickly as possible and thus my flow and gate suffered.
I guess when normal people walk they have a heel strike on both of their feet. I could have a heel strike on my artificial foot but I would step with my real foot and not have a heel strike thus my gate suffered. I had to think when I walked rather than just walking. I had to spend enough time on my prosthetic side to make the artificial knee bend and then I had to walk on my real side with a heel strike on my right(real) foot. When I concentrated, I could do it the way my physiatrist and therapist wanted, but then a funny thing happened.
My physiatrist wanted me to walk without thinking. He made me walk fast with my cane and he maintained that my flow and gate improved when I did that because I was walking without thinking. His name is Dr. Foxx and he is convinced that my flow and gate suffered not from the amputation of my left leg but from my brain injury suffered in the accident. He believes that I walk better on my artificial side than I do on my real side. My prosthesist and my therapists agree. In short I had to trust my arificial leg. It has been a long process because at times I still hike my left hip rather than walking through with my artificial leg and my flow suffers.
Friday, August 6, 2010
which leg
I am now on my second leg. I am an above the knee amputee and my first leg was a C-Leg and it was a very good leg. It only let me down once when it malfunctioned when I was living in Florida and it dropped me and I broke my collar bone. I got my C-Leg in Maine and against all my advice from my prosthetist and my doctors, I returned to Florida to teach high school social studies classes. The experts wanted me to stay in Maine and learn how to use the leg before returning to Florida to teach.
I taught at Freedom High School in Tampa and I wanted to return asap for a myriad of different reasons. The school opened in 2002 which was my first year there and I wanted to back for the first graduating class and I wanted to pay back all my students who drove over an hour to come see me when I was stuck in Heartland Nursing Home in Brooksville, Florida. They would come and see me and bring me food and just hang out with me.
I was married at the time but my wife rarely came to see me and initially never brought my sons to come and visit their Dad. My parents were told by my wife that I was brain dead. I had received a large insurance check for $17,000.00 and my wife forged my name and cashed the check. The check was to pay for me to get an artificial leg but my wife used the money to get a boob job and to have scars removed and lyposuction. I guess that was more important than having her husband walk again. My parents learned the truth and came down to rescue me from my imprisonment in the nursing home and brought me to Maine where I received my C-Leg from Atlantic ProCare. Except for letting me down once and breaking my collar bone, the C-Leg was a very good prosthetic leg but it didn't last that long. Now I have a Rheo Knee and I like this leg better. It is safer and more secure to walk on.
My therapists are concerned with flow and my gait which were two terms that I had to learn and master. For the most part I can walk in confined areas without the use of a cain, but in unfamiliar ground and long trips, I use the cane and my gate and flow is much better with the cane than without it.
I taught at Freedom High School in Tampa and I wanted to return asap for a myriad of different reasons. The school opened in 2002 which was my first year there and I wanted to back for the first graduating class and I wanted to pay back all my students who drove over an hour to come see me when I was stuck in Heartland Nursing Home in Brooksville, Florida. They would come and see me and bring me food and just hang out with me.
I was married at the time but my wife rarely came to see me and initially never brought my sons to come and visit their Dad. My parents were told by my wife that I was brain dead. I had received a large insurance check for $17,000.00 and my wife forged my name and cashed the check. The check was to pay for me to get an artificial leg but my wife used the money to get a boob job and to have scars removed and lyposuction. I guess that was more important than having her husband walk again. My parents learned the truth and came down to rescue me from my imprisonment in the nursing home and brought me to Maine where I received my C-Leg from Atlantic ProCare. Except for letting me down once and breaking my collar bone, the C-Leg was a very good prosthetic leg but it didn't last that long. Now I have a Rheo Knee and I like this leg better. It is safer and more secure to walk on.
My therapists are concerned with flow and my gait which were two terms that I had to learn and master. For the most part I can walk in confined areas without the use of a cain, but in unfamiliar ground and long trips, I use the cane and my gate and flow is much better with the cane than without it.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
My Prosthesist 8/4/10
I went to see my prosthesist today at Atlantic ProCare for I am having an issue with my socket. It is not fitting right for I have a sore on my stump but my therapists hate that word and they make me call it a residual limb. I got casted today for a new socket and this will make my fourth socket since losing my leg. Why do I need a new socket? Good question......Something guys never want to talk about has happened - Shrinkage!!! My residual limb has shrunk. Why won't it grow? I always thought that bigger was better, but oh well.
He also ordered my a new liner for he thinks that the liner is causing the sore on my stump. The liner that I have is basically straight and it needs to be flared to make it wider toward my groin area to make it more comfortable. As us guys know the groin area is a sensitive manly area. Comfort is the key when using a prosthetic leg.
I have now had two different types of artificial legs and the bottom line is it doesn't matter what the leg will do and all the bells and whistles it might have, it won't mean a thing if it isn't comfortable to wear.
He also ordered my a new liner for he thinks that the liner is causing the sore on my stump. The liner that I have is basically straight and it needs to be flared to make it wider toward my groin area to make it more comfortable. As us guys know the groin area is a sensitive manly area. Comfort is the key when using a prosthetic leg.
I have now had two different types of artificial legs and the bottom line is it doesn't matter what the leg will do and all the bells and whistles it might have, it won't mean a thing if it isn't comfortable to wear.
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