It’s been a little while since Archibald has weighed in. After 6 weeks post injury and 5 weeks in an ankle brace, Archibald now has an orthopedic walking boot. The X-Ray this week indicates there is some healing; however, when I move wrong, I have mild pain. Is there any motion in the fracture if I accidentally put weight on the foot? That’s tough to say. Hopefully, the walking boot is going to stabilize things further; however, it remains to be seen whether I will be able to return to work before Christmas.
Guaging healing by the lack of pain is quite difficult for two reasons: first, I naturally tolerate a great deal of pain; second, I have suffered with fibromyalgia for more than 22 years, resulting in a baseline of pain before adding any pain from an injury. My natural response to pain is blunted.
As I continue to whirl around the house in a wheelchair or hop around on one leg, grasping the furniture, I also continue to make new observations. It’s shocking how many parts of our household are not handicapped-accessible. I continue to have to move things down to a level where I can grasp them from a wheelchair. I have learned to use the rubber chairs in our dining room to scoot around by resting my left knee on the chair while I propel myself with my good foot. I am also becoming an expert at bathing in one of those chairs with a towel under the chair to catch the rinse water. Having a chair with a back on it is much more stable than the shower chairs sometimes used in America.
When we went into our regional capital of Tamale on Thursday, I quickly learned that most public buildings are not handicapped-accessible. Even places that have wheelchair ramps have short ramps too steep for the average wheelchair operator.
The wheelchair I am using is made of light metal, and I doubt it would stand up to long-term use. I continue to wonder why someone in Ghana does not take up the production of simple sturdy wheelchairs as well as bicycle wheelchairs. I am certain there is a big need for such things, particularly in villages. Yet another item that should be produced locally is elbow crutches with molded fittings, rather than fittings that pivot. Those pivoting fittings can constitute a hazard when trying to take the crutches off or put them on.
For now, Archibald and I are continuing to use the wheelchair with limited use of the crutches. I just wish fractures came with gauges indicating healing-25%, 50 %, 75 %, etc.
Despite remaining in the house, I am still working, still taking calls from Kids Ward and NICU. Bob is still handing out breakfast biscuits to the kids on the ward. And we are still helping settle bills for medicine, hospital stays, and transfusions for indigent patients.
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