I'm away...

...taking a blog break enjoying my new No. 6 thigh high boots. I've said it before. I'll say it again. OMG!!!

(Thank you again, honeybee! Best. Christmas. Present. EVAH!)

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Melissa Krebs]

Golly, Lindsey, those are gorgeous! You really have the long legs for boots like that! I am so happy your honeybee could please you so.

[kathy ann]

Those OTK boots are gorgeous on you. I'll second what Melissa said, you have the long legs for boots like that. At 5' 2", I don't think I could get away with them. Enjoy. You deserve them!

We had a wonderful Christmas, in spite of my circumstances. The cast comes off the right arm in 1 week, so I will have much greater mobility and ability to get things done. Casts on both arms are a total bummer, especially around the holidays, as I am not able to do much except type with my right index finger, can't do a blessed thing around the house, not even get dressed or wash without assistance. Thank God for family and friends who have pitched in, that has been my real Christmas present.

Happy New Year to all!

[Lindsey Cochran]

Our thoughts are with you as you mend. And here's hoping you're able to accept and enjoy the down time. I know it's always hard for me, but sometimes so necessary!

And thank you! These boots do rawk!

[kathy ann]

Thank God I can get on the Net, it's really the only thing I can do on my own, at least for the next 6 months or so.

There's a good chance my left leg will heal shorter than the right, so that means rebreaking by the summer, more surgeries and whatnot to lengthen it.

Right now, the orthopaedist told me that realistically I will need a wheelchair in some form or another for a year to 18 months.

It gives me an appreciation of what the permanently disabled confront permanently. With the grace of God and docs, I will be good as new by next year or so.

Until that time, we are trying to make the house handicap accessible for the long haul--like a wheelchair ramp. Hubby is leasing a wheelchair accessible van so I can get around as I can no longer ride the subways or take the buses. I used to use mass transit and rarely, if ever, drove our one car.

Never in a million years did I ever think I would be a wheelchair-bound cripple, not even for a few weeks. All because of a stupid household accident!

Well, everyone out there, watch those steps, you don't want to wind up like me!

[Lindsey Cochran]

I can relate if only slightly. My ex- slipped on the family room staircase (three steps) and did enough damage to a leg that we had to postpone a trip to France until it was healed. I think it was your former neighbor John Lennon who once sang, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans." I'm so glad you have someone to be your support through this experience.

[kathy ann]

It is simply amazing at the kind of catastrophic damage you can do in a household accident. I feel like such a jerk for tripping on my own cellar stairs.

When we went to Radio City for the Christmas show 2 weeks ago, I was in my rented motorized wheelchair. We had great seats right up front reserved for those with disabilities.

Some people came over who were curious and asked, "What in hell happened to you?" Rather than admit I fell on my own stairs, I said it was a mountain climbing accident on the Matterhorn in Switzerland, which elicited a lot of sympathy. But if I say I fell on my cellar steps, I get a look of disgust and a comment like, "Well, next time you should be more careful." It you have an accident on the Matterhorn, it's OK, but on your own steps, you're judged an idiot. Go figure!

[Melissa Krebs]

I know someone who backed up at a party and fell over a low retaining wall; she snapped all three bones in one leg and needed surgery, plus spent four months in casts; then needed physical therapy to get her muscles built back up. She told me it was such a minor-feeling fall, she didn't register how badly she was hurt until she tried to stand!

Kathy Ann, I think about you often.

[kathy ann]

Melissa,

Thanks for your thoughts. I've been told I will need months and months of PT to build up my muscles back to normal, but that won't start until probably the spring or summer.

It is amazing how such a "little" mishap can cause such catastrophic consequences. I never in a million years thought something like this could happen to me.

I never thought I would ever wind up in such a helpless condition, unable to do the most basic things, like wash, dress myself, eat. I cannot even use the toilet on my own and cannot wipe you know what myself. Other than my laptop, I'm petty much unable to do literally anything, I can't even put on and take off my eyeglasses. When I'm home alone--except for my 5-year-old daughter--I dread having to use the toilet, I simply cannot do it unless I get a neighbor or friend to help me. My other fear is fire. If there is one, I am a dead woman--no way I could get out on my own.

Truth be told, I really belong in a nursing home for the next 6 months. But for my daughter, that's where I'd be, but it would be too upsetting for her emotionally if Mommy "went away" for 6 months.

Since I'm looking at a year or more in the chair, we're looking into hiring a home health aide for me. I don't see how I can survive for that length of time without assistance.

My husband takes me out of bed and plops be in the wheelchair for the day, but once he's gone--if I cannot get a friend or neighbor to help--I'm unable to do anything.

I love ogling all the wonderful clogs but, unfortunately, it will be a long time before I get to slip them on my feet again.

[Johanna]

Poor Kathy Ann! Santa should have left you his carriage and reindeer to cart you around. Or perhaps a giant clog with a few husky's to pull it... Then you could be queen of the streets again. ;-)
My very best wishes to you.

[Thomas Wright]

Oh, those boots are nice. The all-black look is stylish on ya!

With that said, how's your leg now, Kathy? Even if it's for a few months, adjusting your movement and transportation must be pretty tough. It can be frustrating at times, but don't push yourself. Concentrate on recovering one step at a time. Try to find convenience on the wheelchair and the wheelchair-friendly van.