The Saga Continues

The "smell" of recovery is on the wind...it's so close but not quite here. I've graduated from the wheelchair to the walker. There's a big difference between the 2 helpers of conveyance. In the wheelchair no one sees you (or they attempt not to see you); but with a walker, they do see you (as you are now at eye level) but they still don't know what do say to you. They ignore the walker or think some awful thoughts about what is wrong with this person. No matter what they think, I can now get their attention and start the conversation on my terms. With the wheelchair, I never caught their attention.

So the walker is lighter, easier to maneuver, and very helpful. It even has a convenient bench that can be used as a seat, or as a shelf to haul things. The shelf allows me to be a little bit of help around the house. I'm still more of a drone than a helper, but I'm hoping that might change a little bit. I do a whole house walk a couple of times a day, and yesterday I even walked outside. I did a whopping 1604 steps yesterday and I was tired.

I've decided not to name my walker yet, but "Johnny Walker" comes to mind. That is not original with me, I had a friend named Waverly who named her walker "Johnny"....but I have not named this guy as I do not want him to be part of my permanent "cadre of helpers." To that end I named my cane "Michael" a long time ago, as I've used a cane on and off for years due to 3 bunion surgeries and a broken great toe.

I now know the reason why I had the ulcer. During the summer I hurt my hip. To ease the pain I took too much OTC medication that eventually caused the ulcer. With the debilitating effects of the ulcer becoming first and foremost in my mind, the hip pain was minor. Now that the ulcer pain is gone, the hip pain is evident again. To that end, I saw an orthopedic surgeon last week. He took an X-ray that told the whole story. My left hip is rubbing bone on bone with the left femur, causing pain every time I move. The damage has accrued over the years and now I'm a candidate for a hip replacement. He gave me a shot right at the spot which is of some help but not a permanent fix. I cannot get the replacement now, but when I fully recover from the ulcer, the hip will be replaced. So the saga continues. I'm on the mend and then we'll have the rest of the story...