You ROCK!

"You ROCK!!"  That was my co-worker and long distance friend declaring, in her usual ebullient way, her appreciation for my technical and social skills.  Yes, those with long time and direct knowledge of the latter will scratch their heads in disbelief, but there it is.  Still, mom always said, “never dispute a compliment, just accept it.”  So thank you Janet.

Janet’s declaration came to mind during a recent conversation.  As the millions of florida ramblings readers, well, perhaps millions of bits anyway, will recall, in a recent post I called “Xbox’s, bones and the pen” I related my encounter with a carpet, an encounter that resulted in the 5^th metatarsal of my left foot becoming spirally bisected.

Today marks the beginning of the second week of the third leg of that journey. The first leg was when that bone snapped like a chicken bone. The second began the day of surgery to securely attach to two parts to each other.

The third leg began last Monday.  Up to that point, from the day, or evening, I broke my foot; I had been unable to allow my foot to touch the floor, either due to the pain, or on pain of extending my recovery time and getting a severe scolding by my doctor.  For a week now I have been bipedal in amounts that are increasing daily.

Granted, it isn’t perfect. I am still required to wear my AirCast walking boot anytime I’m in any position other than seated or horizontal, that’s sleeping to those who are positionally challenged.  But with it I can move across the floor in some semblance of a walk.

And that brings us to the point of this post.  For 6 weeks I was able to motivate myself only with the assistance of either crutches or by using the “Turning Leg Caddy” so generously donated by a cousin-in-law.  I got really good at scooting across wide expanses on the four wheels of the “caddy,” able to cover some distances quicker than was possible with both healthy feet unless I was running.

Now, after two days, I’ve all but set aside the “Leg Caddy” depending only on my two feet, one encased in the AirCast, and a cane, actually a SwissGear walking pole.  But as happy as I am to be bipedal again, it is not without some shortcomings, temporary though they may be.

The AirCast, being a cast, restricts the motion of my ankle giving me a very stiff legged gait. Additionally, the AirCast adds a couple inches to the length of my leg. The resulting differential between left and right legs results in an ambling stride.  (I’m thinking that can be mostly rectified by a visit to the local western wear store for ½ of a pair of, say, Lucchese® 1883 Barnwood Tan Full Quill Ostrich Exotic R-Toe Western Boots.)

Coupled with the aforementioned immobile ankle these restrictions give me a very ungainly and idiosyncratic side to side motion while walking. I’m reminded of the old toy commercial with the theme song that went, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.”  Well, so far I’ve been able to maintain the point of that theme.

All that to say, as I was relaying to dearly beloved the difficulty of walking in my current configuration, especially compared to the ease of transport provided by the “scooter,” I said something to the effect of, “I can walk but it sure is a lot more difficult and takes a whole lot more effort.

Her retort was something to the effect of “you may not be able to walk, but you rock.”  Somehow I don’t think her meaning was along the same lines as Janet’s.

Thank you honey.