[blparent] Question about Crutches

[Erin Rumer]

Hello Jo Elizabeth,

So terribly sorry to hear about your knee.  That's no fun and those type of
recoveries are often times very long.  I am far too familiar with knee
injuries from sports and from dogs running into me as well while playing.  I
have used both crutches and a walker depending on what position I had to
keep my leg and if I could apply any pressure on it or not.  Both have their
pros and cons and you should use what you're comfortable with.  There are
techniques with crutches where you can use one crutch as a cane ahead of you
before you move forward and then bring both crutches back together for the
actual step.  This is time consuming but works well if you have good
ballence.  The walker is nice for having something in front of you at all
times for protection and is good for ballence but it also doesn't allow one
to stand-up right the whole time while moving which can be hard on the back.
I always like crutches for familiar areas with no stairs but liked a walker
for longer distances and especially in unknown areas.

Hope this helps and heel quick.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jennifer
Jackson
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:06 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] Question about Crutches

Sorry to hear about your knee. I hurt my own knee a couple o years ago and
so gave some considerable thought while sitting around with ice packs as to
how I would handle crutches if it came to that. It just did not seem very
practical. I especially think it is a bad idea following a serious surgery.
I think a walker would be more stable. A walker also has the advantaged of
going in front of you and keeping you from bumping into things. You would b
e moving slowly, but at least you would be moving.

I hope it does not come to surgery.


Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dianna
Alley
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 2:33 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] Question about Crutches

I can not use them do not have the balance too.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 2:04 PM
Subject: [blparent] Question about Crutches


>I know this is a strange question, but have any of you ever been on 
>crutches?  How did you manage it since you couldn't see where to place the 
>crutches before you took a step?  I'm asking because last Thursday night, 
>my guide dog was off leash, running around like a maniac in the snow.  She 
>loves to play in it, especially during the first good snowfall of the 
>season.  She tried to run past me and ended up slamming into my knee, 
>bending it in a way I had no idea it could even go.  By the time I went to 
>an urgent care clinic near my house on Friday afternoon, my knee was 
>swollen and hot to the touch, and it burned as if I'd set a hot pan from 
>the oven right on it, only the burning was on the inside.  The urgent care 
>tech said I probably tore my meniscus, which is a thin sheet of cartilage 
>that keeps the bones in the knee from rubbing against each other.  She gave

>me a knee brace and told me to use ice and anti-inflammatory drugs over the

>weekend.  I saw a marked improvement from Friday to Saturday, but now it's 
>kind of stalled out.  I'm hoping time and ice will do the trick, but the 
>recovery time if I have to get arthroscopic surgery to mend the tear is a 
>month to six weeks, with crutches for at least some of that time.  I can't 
>even imagine how I would navigate with crutches, even if there weren't toys

>everywhere.
>
> Thanks,
> Jo Elizabeth
>
> Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may

> kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at 
> evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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