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Assistive Devices

Client's Comments

I work three days a week in my profession of occupational therapy, visiting young children with special needs in their homes. I service children in two school districts.

My work days are 8-10 hours long, much of the time spent driving my Blazer. A cell phone gives me security if I have a flat tire, and the ability to contact a family from my vehicle.

In May 1997, I fell in my bedroom while holding on to a cane and the bed. As I squatted down after losing my balance, I felt a snap, crackle and pop in my left knee. A quick trip to St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis confirmed my worst fears--a comminuted fracture of the left patella. After open reduction, with epidural anesthesia, I returned home to the country 18 hours after surgery, with a full leg canvas splint and a large ice bag!

With a rental wheelchair, a new pair of forearm Lofstrand crutches, and gentle assistance from my daughter and husband, I had a speedy recovery.

Ten days later, I presented three times at the International Post Polio Conference and Independent Living Conference in St. Louis. It was not easy, moving on carpeting in the wheelchair, or walking on crutches for the first time in many years.

A course of physical therapy to strengthen the muscles supporting the joint and to regain the flexion I had before the fall followed for about 6 weeks. I have been walking with one or two crutches since the fall, finding I have more support from a crutch than from a cane. Using both crutches when shopping where people are around me provides security. I use the crutches for support, though I can move about my home, using the walls or furniture as props. I am not using the expensive full leg brace made for me, as the crutches provide the support I need. Ultralight crutches are available now, and I'm hoping to get a pair soon--and they come in designer colors!

I work in the gardens, modifying my movements according to where the plants are, putting in seeds or trimming bushes. The John Deere "green machine" moves me about our farm. I pick wildflowers in the field, gather rocks from the creek bed to border flower gardens, and drive our grandsons around to find turtles and deer tracks. There are always more tasks than time, but the balance of three days away from the farm working is reasonable at this time.

I plan to continue with the First Steps program and my school districts for two more years, until I become a legitimate senior citizen at 65. I would like to develop a treatment program on our farm, emphasizing wellness using myofascial release techniques I have learned in several seminars. It seems that rural folks do not have ready information about the concept of wellness, particularly nutrition and exercise. Perhaps I can serve individuals in the rural communities nearby and maintain my professional connection.