Suck it, other crutch

I'm down to one again.  Kinda.  I can move around my apartment with just the one, on the left side, using it in congress with my bum leg.  I have to keep my big ass brace on the entire time while moving like this, but that is a small price to pay for the freedom of one of my hands.  I no longer have to scoot in my wheelie chair if I want to get anything.  Nowadays, I can put a decent amount of pressure on the leg and move about with more freedom, which is a boon to my ego. 

The other progress is with stairs.  I have been given a new method for going up and down stairs.  Granted, the efficiency of this is not great, and it won't be until I am out of all apparatus and can move about freely.  The progress is that I don't have to launch myself up each stair.  In the before time, I had to use each crutch as a springboard and lift myself up to the next stair, placing my good leg down as a support and pulling ole deadfoot along after. 

All of this goodness has to be tempered if I want to do anything outside of my apartment.  I can go anywhere I can walk to.  Still not allowed to drive.  But I can fit in the front now and walk about, so long as I have the energy.  My leg is weak, and I need to use both crutches to move around town.  Only a couple more weeks with them though, and therefore, only a couple of more weeks before I can drive again.  I tried to go around town last weekend, but couldn't make it too long.  I was up and about a lot during the day, so I think that I just don't have the stamina to go too crazy.  The brace is heavy, and I think that takes a lot out of me as well. 

Everyday, despite the weight of the brace and the lack of pure strength that I had before, I am getting more and more confident in my ability to be functional.  I have to be cautious though.  Going too hard too fast is a bad idea, so I have to take it easy.  Knowing this is part of my recovery, and recovery is my entire existence right now, so I have to pay attention to that more than anything else.  As long as I don't lose my mind, I think everything will work out. 

Slowly but surely, I'm getting closer to living normally.  This means getting back to work and a routine that doesn't seem forced.  I try to get up in the morning and take care of myself.  This includes taking showers, now.  The best part is the shower.  I got to do that today for the first time since my surgery.  Felt great.  I didn't realize how much I missed being clean.  Sponge bathing in a sink lacks the tangible feeling of cleanliness that taking a shower has.

I should take a vacation.

SD