Skiing Accident, Surgery or Covid?
Help is available!
Being retired and quite independent, I was pleased with myself. I had no skiing accident (probably because I don’t ski) and I hadn’t even caught Covid 19 on into 2022! I’d escaped, or so I thought.
My son brought that dreaded plague home from work and shared it with me. He was ill for only a short time, thankfully. For me, however, it became a matter of life and death.
A downward spiral began for me. I was sick and even called the ambulance to come to take me to the emergency room. What a nightmare that was as many were suffering from covid, and the ER was backed up with no open hospital beds available. Being a retired Registered Nurse, I knew I was in trouble physically but could not count on the hospital to care for me. Against medical advice, I journeyed home after calling my son asking him to pick me up. I needed to get out of there!
Now what?
Zoom calls with my doctor were the best I could do…and wait it out. In the meantime, due to the doctor’s medication error (unknown to me), I was becoming weaker and weaker. Even a second trip to the ER was disappointingly dangerous. Yes, I was ill but a Code Black was declared at the hospital and there would be no new patients welcomed to the hospital that day. We were all sent home.
As I continued becoming sicker and sicker, my son stayed overnight and through each day. It was a long 17 days for each of us! I could no longer walk!
The Wheelchair
My only option was to use a wheelchair which I’d purchased and stored in a closet in case I’d ever need it.
Surprise! I needed it! …often throughout the day and night!
I was just glad that I could stand, pivot and get into the wheelchair from the bed or from my recliner!
Let’s look back to see how far our modern day wheelchair has progressed
The wheelchair may have been invented as early as the 12th century.
My favorite part of its history is around 1655 when a disabled German watchmaker, Stephan Farfler, made a three-wheeled chair that he could propel by use of a rotary handle on the front wheel.
Around 1750, English inventor James Heath introduced the bath chair, intended for use by ladies and invalids. The bath chair was a popular means of transport, particularly in Victorian Britain, where it served as an apparatus for injured, sick, or disabled persons and as a rickshaw kind of transportation for the wealthy.
In the 1880s, wheelchairs were used in the United States, often for those injured in the Civil War. They had wooden frames and seats with backs made of cane.
Here is one I’d not seen before:
Most recently, folding wheelchairs made of tubular steel were created which allowed people to use them outside of the home.
This is the kind we recognize today:
Aren’t we glad that, if we need to use a wheelchair, that they are much easier to use!
I can’t say I was very happy for having to use that wheelchair, but I had no choice.
A Walker
Also known as a walking frame, this is a wonderful invention for anyone needing more stability in walking and maintaining their independence.
After 17 days of illness, home health care entered the picture. The medication error was corrected. Labs were drawn to see where I was. On the home care team was an Occupational Therapist. He worked with me until I could stand… walk a few steps and I then could use a walker when I became stronger.
That walker became my own new best friend. He (the walker) went with me everywhere, always sitting beside me waiting for action.
So far in your life, have you ever had to use a walker?
If so, did you ever think about who invented it?
I, for one, don’t remember my elderly grandmother or aunts and uncles using a walker. That probably is due to the fact that, according to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_(mobility)#Rollators,I’m they didn’t begin appearing until the early 1950s. (I would only have been 3 years old). The first patented design in the U.S. was in 1965! I was just out of high school.
Walkers are, basically, used to give support to maintain balance or stability. Injuries may necessitate its use but usually we see the walker used in the elderly who are too frail to walk on their own.
A Rollator
In 1978, Aina Wifalk, who had polio, designed the first rollator which is a walker with wheels, a seat, a basket and brakes. I’m the proud owner of ‘Ruby’ my very own Rollator. She’s easy to use and a delight to push.
Have you noticed that it has been people with disabilities who have been instrumental in designing aids which they, themselves, needed?
The Cane
After a few week of getting stronger and going from a wheelchair to a walker, I was graduated to the use of a cane.
I don’t think we need to research too hard concerning canes. We can picture cavemen and women using a cane made of wood or a bone. Nowadays, they can be quite fancy! Yet, we must be wise in the choice since certain canes are meant to aid certain conditions.
Since I’d been strengthening myself by using the walker, I was ready! I used my fancy looking cane to walk a few times in the long hallway in my home but, after a spin down the hall, I threw that cane into the hands of my helper. It seemed more of a hindrance than a help to me!
Off I went, walking on my own.
Yet, I was so thankful for the walking aids available for use when I needed them!
Whether due to an accident, surgery or illness, help is available!
britannica.com
wikipedia
Thank you for reading!
If you would like to be added or deleted from my list, please let me know.
Alma Curry Doris Rouse Ken Van Camp Mary Papas Sharon Hillam Greg Smith Jemimah Susie Winfield Diana Pippin Haley K. Julie KingGood Lee Byrd Lu Skerdoo Sharon Meyers Nikita Rayne Johnson Paula Thomas Leslie Flemons
