Burunche’s Blog

One of the many lessons Archibald the Ankle is teaching me is the value of various kinds of crutches. Several years ago, we helped Taala Ruth, a young girl with terrible orthopedic problems. Eventually, Taala reached the point that she can walk without crutches, even though she has undergone a Girdlestone procedure, removing the ball of her left thigh bone because of infection, and has a fused right knee due to infection, injury, and malnutrition at a critical time. It was only a few months ago that Taala gave back her elbow crutches, the same crutches I am now using.

For those needing crutches, elbow crutches are far superior to those with cross pieces that fit in the armpit. The danger of armpit crutches is that if one leans on the crosspiece, one can easily put too much pressure on the nerves, damaging them permanently and making it impossible to use the hand and forearm. A trick with these crutches is for them to be short enough that there is at least 2-3 inches between the armpit and the top of the crutch. All the patient’s weight should go on the hand grips and not on the top cross pieces. The advantage of armpit crutches is that they are simple and easily manufactured, making them the predominant type of crutch in rural Africa.

Elbow crutches depend on pressure on the hand grips with the elbow supports keeping the upper arm stable. But not all elbow crutches are created equal. When we looked for crutches for Taala Ruth, we got the best ones we could; however, they have mobile clips that fit around the upper arm. Threading one’s arm through these clips can be difficult, and removing the crutches when entering a vehicle or sitting down can also be difficult. There are more expensive kinds of elbow crutches that have a rigid support molded and attached to the crutch. Such crutches are easier to handle because they are less tricky when the user wants to put them aside.

Remember that my condition is not permanent. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and I am deeply grateful for many things:

1. I am grateful that my injury was minor and that I should heal within a few weeks without operation.
2. I am grateful that the pain is reducing daily. The pitfall is that I might forget and put more weight on my injured leg than I should.
3. I am grateful that my injury demonstrated the fact that obstructing a public path with a log might lead to disastrous injuries. Had a local motorcycle rider hit that log, he could have flown off his bike, landing on his head and snapping his neck, dying instantly. I do, however, agree that our local motorcycle riders and motoking drivers constitute a public menace. Controlling these people is a big problem.
4. I am grateful that we had crutches at the house and that we were able to secure a wheelchair.
5. I am grateful that I am able to maneuver around our home.
6. I am grateful that I am able to rest. Until my injury, I had not taken annual leave.
7. I am grateful that I am learning to handle videos and to convert Power Point presentations into videos for upload onto Youtube.
8. I am grateful for the loving care my husband and our friends give me daily.
9. I thank God that because of my injury, I will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving without worrying that I might be called to an emergency at the hospital. I cannot tell the numbers of holiday celebrations that have been forfeited or postponed because of my work. I have also been able to attend two weddings without interruption due to my injury.
10. I thank God that He continues to care for us and to provide. Despite my injury, we are still helping support patients and their families with medicines, blood, and feeding.
11. Most of all, I thank God for sending His Son Jesus Christ to live as a sinless man, to die for all of our sins, and to defeat death, hell, and the grave! Because He lives, we live also.