Sunday Stroke Survival: It Works!

 When I walked into my Hanger appointment carrying my new AFO, the tech visibly girded her loin expecting a slew of complaints. She was pleasantly surprised to learn it was unnecessary. I told her the problem and she was relieved greatly.

My little nit picking problems were addressed and fixed and I was out of the office wearing my new AFO and a smile on my face in under an hour unlike previous appointments that last 2 or 3 hours. It only took them six years to produce a working AFO for me. 

I'm up to wearing this new AFO for six hours off and on so far with no issues other than my foot swelling. It swells in part because of the stress fracture that refuses to heal and my heart issues. Neither cause has anything to do with the brace itself.

Mt Emey Comfort walking shoe

I'm loving my new shoes too. Especially since I can now wear two of them again. The knobby soles allow me to walk without slipping and sliding even on inclines while the new AFO  straightens my foot with less than a 10° inversion. I feel more confident walking. I'm once again walking without watching my feet with every step. It's amazing how comfortable they are. I'm more sure footed. Of course, the bad habits of watching my feet and walking hunched over are two habits I'll have to work on to break again.

I opted for elastic laces to replace the cloth ones. I actually the chore of tying my shoes every time they have to be loosened or come untied got old fast. The left shoe (unaffected foot)is looser than the right so kicking the shoe off with it being tied was easy. It's only 1 1/2 sizes too big for my foot and twice the wide of my foot in order to fit my AFO clad foot on my right affected side. But you can't order two different sized shoes at a time. I wish. Some sacrifices have to be made walking post stroke. Now both shoes can be slipped on and off with ease and I don't have to bother with any shoe tying. I'm just that glad to be away from Velcro shoes.

At $129 a pop it's a good thing they only come in one color because I'd go into debt buying them out of pocket buying multiple pairs of this shoe. They are that comfortable and utilitarian for my lifestyle. It feels so good to walk and feel secure and not be in pain while doing it! I even did my post stroke version of an Irish jig after I got every thing in place again.

I'm back to collecting eggs and starting plants for the garden. Next month is planting season for our 1/2 acre garden and orchard and now I'm chomping at the bit to get at it again. It's hard not to get too excited and over doing. I'm still taking it slow getting the breaking in of the new shoes and AFO. I'm still trouble shooting and watching for new pressure sores. Blisters are bad enough. I want to nip them in the buds before they get worse and lay me up again.

While I'm in a holding pattern for moving, I still got to eat, right? The plan is to split whatever is put up between the two of us when I move. I'm still set on moving into a senior housing in south Georgia. It will be nice living in a community again although I'll miss the fresh eggs and chickens... well sort of miss the chickens. 😂

Nothing is impossible.

Sunday Stroke Survival: The Squirrel Ran Around the Tree...

Know most of us how to tie our shoes. We learned as children. With my own children, I either used the bunny ears or the squirrel-ran-around-the-tree learning poem seen in this video...

Look familiar? These methods haven't changed much in decades.

But all that changed for me after my stroke. I struggled with one handed shoe tying to the point where I just bought elastic laces. It was a cop out and a way to get my shoes on without breaking out in frustrated tears.  Just after your stroke, the least frustrating method is best because you are having to reteach your body how to do EVERYTHING! I know I'm not the only one who felt like they were in somebody else's body and trying to get it to move normally like a puppet master with disconnected strings. In the beginning, I chose what I could successfully achieve. The fogginess in my brain didn't really start to clear for several months and honestly after three years, there are still some issues that don't make sense when attempted.

Confused and Awkward

For me, it was the double whammy of having a stroke and losing the use of my dominant side also.Nothing is ever easy when you are trying to do something with your nondominant side. After all, for me, my dominant side has been in control for over fifty years. If it takes that long to make my nondominant side to become dominant, I'm just out of luck. It still feels awkward. I still mentally picture my right, affected side as dominant even though it's ate up with spasticity and partial paralysis.

Back to shoe tying or bow tying. I have mentioned before that now my stronger learning capabilities is visual. I spend a lot of time on YouTube and Vimeo just seeing if there is an easier way to do things, or how others missing the use of a limb accomplish tasks. Yes, there is also that "not alone" sense of gratification too.  All written instructions read like stereo instructions in a foreign language to me now. Watching a five to ten minute video cuts around dead brain cells fairly easily for me. I may have to watch it four or five times to get it locked into my brain. But that's the beauty of videos,  you can pause it, rewind it, and watch it again.

I guess it took me about a full year to even attempt tying a bow single handed. It probably would have been easier with shoe laces, but that wasn't the issue I was having. It was the bow on the front of my shorts. It wasn't because they wouldn't stay up because the waistband was elastic. When the ties came undone, they would hang below the length of the hem. This was especially/possibly a messy situation when going to the bathroom. Plus, it looked sloppy untied. I have enough not going for my looks without looking unkempt too. 

So I was sitting on the commode fiddling with it. I had watched several videos on how to tie shoes with one hand. Eventually, I settled on the one shown in this video. It just sort of clicked. There are many such methods so use the one that works for you.

I Love Success!

I hobbled out of the bathroom to my husband's hospital bed. I told him to watch. I undid the bow and retied it again. I was like a kid with a new toy!  I was so proud of myself. My hubby went into the cheering mode like he did with our youngest who'd had a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). You'd have to see this corny, backward hands clapping motion and him barking like a seal. I'll have to get my oldest to do it on a video to share with you. She does it best except she doesn't have his deep baritone voice. It's something that was uniquely his. A sign of approval and pride.

It was so unusual that the girls had mentioned it at the Pastor's visit before my hubby's funeral. It kicked in my PBA (PseudoBulbar Affect) at the funeral when the pastor recreated it for the mourners present. I went from crying tears of sadness to uncontrolled laughter. I had to stand and touch his casket to regain control. 

Anyhow, I can tie my shoes if I ever get shoes with laces on them again.  Right now, Velcro closure orthotics shoes are all I can wear with the special build ups because of my AFO, contractures in my Achilles tendon, and the spasticity in my leg. But in the meantime, I'll keep practicing on my shorts.

Nothing is impossible.