We've all seen people walking around in the foam-lined Frankenstein boots that have replaced plaster walking casts for the most part. They are a true modern medical advancement, and I speak from experience. When I had the bone graft in my left ankle lo, these many years ago, I had a cast from my toes to my hip for a month, then a plaster walking cast -- it had a hard rubber bump in the center -- for another month. So, yes, the boot is better, but it isn't perfect.
Everything has become a production. The first step is to put my foot into the boot, wrap the foam liner around it, then secure it firmly but not tightly each of the six straps. Because the boot is designed to keep weight off of my toes, the center of gravity is shifted to my heel, which means that I have to make a conscious effort not to fall over when I stand up. Try it yourself -- keep your weight on your heel, your toes in the air, and stand up. It would make a great party game!
Then it's step-clump-step-clump-step-clump. "It's alive! It's alive!!"
After I learned to walk in it and not fall over, I had to reaccustom myself to being able to move from one place to another while carrying something in my hands! I felt truly liberated. Although, once I've sat down and removed the boot, it's still easier to ask Mike to do me a favor.
Oh, yes, it must be removed."Firm but not tight" becomes "tight!!" when you're not walking around. But, without a doubt, a vast improvement on a splint and crutches.
I've pretty much stopped taking the codeine, although still on naproxen twice daily, and use of ice bags is now more or less limited to evenings, when everyone's feet swell, not just those of us who paid someone to cut it open (think about that -- I not only asked for this, I paid for it! And I'll be doing it again in a few weeks.) I'm still spending days in bed, because my foot still has to be elevated. This room needs new objets d'art.
The day after I got the boot, our neighbors, Mike and Lois, invited us to a benefit for the New Orleans Spina Bifada foundation, north of St. Francisville. Friends of theirs were providing the music and there was food -- what more could a shut-in ask for? I just kept my foot elevated on a chair, and did pretty well, although I did ask Mike for a bag of ice after a couple of hours. Always carry an ice bag with you! I had to dig a little sandwich bag out of my purse, and of course it had a hole in it, which bothered me not at all at that point.
I did find that, while walking was not a problem, standing was. My foot does not swell when I'm walking -- but once I've stopped . . . it does. Well, not foot precisely, but big toe and the space between it and the next toe.
I also got to go shopping this week and drive the motorized cart around Sam's Club. I may save the boot for future use. People are so much more polite, and move their carts out of your way.
And, then, on Monday, it happened. Mike put in a load of washing, and several minutes later, came to tell me that our 6 1/2 year-old Kenmore washer was not working. I blithely assumed that he had simply not pulled out the knob, but,he had -- and it was not agitating. It had filled with water, but would not agitate. It drained. It spun. It filled. It did not agitate. I was agitated, however, very agitated.
He was (and remains) convinced that he had somehow broken it. After I had a screaming fit, I calmed down and realized that he simply could not have -- and if he did, then there was something wrong with the machine beforehand.
Angie's List provided Mark's Maintenance, we called, and Tuesday afternoon he came out. He replaced the agitator dogs in 20 minutes, hooked it back up, started a load --- and it still wasn't agitating. He finally diagnosed it as a stuck clutch brake, which is does not fix as it is as 5-hour job and costs more than a new machine. He did not charge us for the work, as he could not fix it. His business card is next to our phone now.
So, after a crying jag and debating whether to just use a laundromat for the next 6 months, I went online and ordered a new Samsung from Lowe's. There goes my range, again. It was delivered on Wednesday evening, and we spent all day Thursday catching up on nearly 3 weeks worth of laundry -- with a few loads left for today.
It's HE, it's Energy Star, it's sleek and modern and chimes when it's finished. It does bedding (shall I tell Mike that, according to what I've been reading, doing bedding in a direct-drive machine, such as a Kenmore or Whirlpool, can lead to clutch brake damage?) and has a "no spin" option, for handwash items. It has an Eco-warm setting -- I think most of us would call that "tepid" -- which balances temperature and wash time. And a 10 year warranty. So maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get a new range in another year.
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