Daily Drivel

Leg update and a big thank you to all my friends!

Hello dear readers! I've been to the fracture clinic today to get my leg checked out. Stupidly didn't take any knitting or crochet with me. SO stupid. We waited for 2 hours. Anyway - it seems the leg is ok so far. I just need to keep doing what I am now for another week - erm - that will be nothing then! I've kept the same cast. Dr says I can expect to be out of the cast in another 5 weeks and should be ok to start my Zumba classes again in about 12 weeks. That seems an awful long time but nevermind. I'm really gutted about not being able to go to Zumba - I started going back in February and have been going 3 times a week for ages now. I really miss it :-( Nevermind the fact that I've lost one and a half stone since January (mostly thanks to the Zumba but I've been watching what I eat too). So - pretty fed up about the whole thing but there's nothing I can do about it.

My friends have been brilliant - I wasn't looking forward to being home alone with a dodgy leg but I've had someone different visit every day which has been lovely :-) Also a big thanks to my friends who live further afield but have been emailing, sending cards, tweeting etc! I think I might have gone mad this week without the internet!

That's better!

Your toes get cold when you have your leg in a cast. Mine have been cold at night and I don't like the duvet on top of my bad leg. So - I grabbed a bit of leftover handspun last night and started a large toe-up sock and this morning I finished this woolly-toe-cap!

I've made it nice and big so I can still wiggle my toes comfortably. The fibreglass cast is quite 'catchy' on stuff so I'm hoping I don't lose my toe-cap! I won't use it all the time but I have really noticed my toes being cold - but my leg is warm due to the cast (well, I hope that's why it's warm!). The yarn is a bfl/mohair mix, n-plied. My toes are nice and warm now :-)

I've also pimped my walking frame with some fleece in an attempt to make the handles more comfortable. They are just dreadful and I have a red mark on one hand already - I am sure a blister will soon follow :-( Not sure this will save me much pain but it's a bit better.

Ah good - 11.30am. Time to take some more painkillers!

Getting around...thoughts on using a walking frame

I was given crutches to use on Sunday when I broke my leg. I'm terrible at using them and have already scared myself stupid a few times by getting really unbalanced and almost falling. I think once I can put some weight on my bad leg they might be better but not at the moment. So, on Monday I was loaned a walking frame from the hospital. Just a bog standard one. Here it is:

I help out at a day centre once a week and lots of the clients use different types of walking frame. My main issue with using it is that because I am having to put all my weight on one leg/both hands the palms of my hands are already getting painful. Most people who are using these frames have them to help with their balance rather than to take their weight. I fear I am going to develop blisters quite quickly. Will have to try and sort out some padding for the hand grips soon! They are made of the hardest plastic you could imagine and are very uncomfortable if you have to put weight on your hands :-(

Because this is an NHS issue 'value' walking frame it's really basic. No frills. So - I haven't exactly 'pimped my frame' but I have attached a tote bag to the front just so that I can pop my mobile phone in there if I am moving about and can collect very light things. As you can see, I retrieved my granny stripe blanket project this morning and managed to stuff about 6 balls of yarn in the bag! Should keep me busy for a while today and I can cover my legs with the blanket while I'm working on it. Lots of the better frames have a built-in seat with a lid so you can pop things into the compartment to move them around and have a sit down if you need a rest. Apparently you can get attachments to allow you to put your dinner plate and a cup on there. Yeah - bet that's easy. I'm sure I'd end up back at the sofa with a trail of dinner behind me and nothing left to eat!

I'm finding it much easier than using crutches as the frame is obviously much more stable. If you have really good balance and are confident then crutches are a much quicker way to get around and I still find using a crutch to lower myself onto a chair / get up from a chair easier than using the frame.

Being immobile is no fun at all. Something which might normally take me a couple of minutes to do and no thought at all can take 15minutes and a bit of planning!

Time to do some of that crochet now I think :-)