It occurs to me that I could offer a valuable community service to anyone who is planning on breaking their leg by offering some plan-ahead tips. So here goes:
10. Go grocery shopping ahead of time. It’s really difficult to get to the store, use the little motorized carts, (no chance of whiplash though they go way too slow), get purchased groceries into your car, and even harder, into your house and put away. Oh yeah, buy lots of stuff—you’re going to need it.
9. Learn to walk on crutches in advance. These jobbies are challenging (see previous post about falling off of them and smashing nose). Today I am celebrating (but cautiously-no dancing around) eight full days of not falling off the crutches! Yippee!
8. Also, some wheelchair training is a good idea.
7. Eliminate all unnecessary items (like rugs, tables, toddler toys, etc.) from the floor of your house in order to navigate more safely through it. Course it looks pretty plain but hey! you’ll thank me later.
6. If someone says “I want to bring you dinner”. You thank them nicely and say you’d love that. Send them a thank you card (I’m a bit behind on those)
5. If someone says “I’ll come clean your house” see answer for #6
4. Stock up on books to read, yarn for knitting, DVD’s of favorite movies, and other sedentary activity items.
3. Have the plumber install one of those shower heads that has a hose as part of it so you can sit on a bench in the tub to shower. One never realizes how wonderful showers are until one can’t take any.
2. If possible be prepared (I wasn’t a cub scout/girl scout leader for nothing—as a matter of fact I was “cookie chairman” one year but I digress). Purchase a bench for sitting in the shower, a “grabber” for reaching things from your chair with the elevated broken leg, (these can also be used for pinching should the need arise), stock up on masking tape and plastic bags for wrapping cast in while showering so it won’t get wet. One almost needs to have a nap after one is finally prepared to get into the shower. It’s exhausting just getting ready.
1. And last but not least: Shave your legs before you break your leg. It doesn’t matter if it’s February and you stopped shaving around Halloween or Thanksgiving for the winter, it’s quite embarrassing to have nurses, doctors, x-ray techs, (daughter-in-law who probably went home and told my son do you know that your mother doesn’t shave her legs in the winter –eeewww—she’s a nurse too), and other assorted people looking at your unshaven leg and thinking who-knows-what about you! Cause once it’s in that cast—well I rest my case….
SO! Here you go…my suggestions for if you are planning to break your leg! Toodles……Anita
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