Harrumph.

Well, I'm still on crutches and it seems will be supported by some manner of stick for some time to come. Yesterday I ordered myself a cane! (Akin to this guy - that's called a "derby handle", dontcha know! I didn't!) It's collapsible, which means I can keep it with me for whenever I need it, and can put it in my bag for my trip to DC next week. I asked Susan if I would be a fool to leave my crutches at home and she said yes. HARRUMPH!

While I can walk (slooowly) without pain, I'm so cautious about it that Susan said I was "an accident waiting to happen". "I can't say that to anyone but you!" she said. :) It's true, though, I'm so nervous I'm going to mess something up that I probably will! There's also something to be said for giving people around you some sort of visual cue to indicate you need a little extra room and maybe assistance. Wandering the jampacked streets (and public transit system!) of DC in my own tottering way just doesn't seem wise.

Susan also showed me an alternate crutching technique where instead of putting 2 crutches forward and stepping, you move the right crutch with your left leg and left crutch with your right leg. It takes some getting used to and uses different arm muscles, but it feels comfortable (if slow - did I mention I'm slow?!) and also works the muscles of my left leg that've been dormant for nearly 3 weeks now, the ones that make me feel like I'm doing a wobbly circle around my left hip everytime I try to put weight on it to move my right leg. Turns out that's my gluteus minimus struggling in vain to keep me stable and, while my pool excercises do some to help strengthen it, I just lose more control every day I'm off it. Susan also pointed out (which hadn't even occurred to me) that because the pool is pretty much non-weight-bearing, I'm losing bone mass with every passing crutchy day, which is exactly what I DON'T need going into surgery. *sigh*

So I'm going to keep crutching for medium distances and am excited (really? really.) to pick up my cane this afternoon and get working on it - should be ideal for the store tomorrow. Susan thought it'd be good to have 2 canes for times when I feel like I need it, so I'm also hoping to pick up a sweet wooden cane or two now that I know how long they should be. I have to keep reminding myself (and my mother, who for some reason has decided that skepticism is what I really need right now) that this is all NORMAL for dysplastics, and that I'm lucky I haven't been crutching for MONTHS now, or even in a wheelchair! It's impossible to predict how frequently I'll need some stick support, because it really depends on the day, but I'm getting it all lined up anyway. I can tell already it's going to be a pretty "indoors" winter for me this year!

Meanwhile, I went in front of the faculty meeting Tuesday on crutches, so now everybody's curious about it. I entertained the thought that I might put out a memo to everyone explaining the situation so I don't have to keep going over it everytime I walk - or "walk" :) - down the hall, but then I remember that that was my original impetus for getting this blog up, and I still say the same shit a dozen times a day! Oh, best laid plans. I need to work on adjusting my attitude to all these concerned inquiries, though, because people just can't seem to NOT ask and I've found myself starting to get a little curt about it. But people are SO eager to offer any help they can that I feel like a jerk getting annoyed about it. Oh, and to think I used to so love any attention I could get! heh heh