Embrace each challenge as an opportunity for self-transformation. ~Bernie S. Siegel

Week one on a walker – I really have turned into my mother!

When the voice on the other end of the phone told me I would have to use a walker for at least a month, I cried.  I cried for the uncertainty that would not be resolved until I got to see the doctor two days from then.  Then I began to feel ridiculous because I knew this would only be a temporary situation that I was blowing out of proportion.  Yet I know I have a right to feel how I feel.

I have learned that I need to depend on others and ask for help.  That is not my strong suit.  I realize that needing help does not make you weak, but it does force you to open up and show your vulnerability. I am grateful that I have an understanding principal and colleagues who would do anything for me.

Being on a walker makes everyday tasks a chore.  Things I have taken for granted are now difficult.  My bathroom doors are now not wide enough.  I must shimmy the walker in sideways.

Getting my fluffy terry cloth bathrobe back on the hook in the bathroom requires me hang it “just right” over the front of the walker, so that I don’t trip over and cause more damage to my pelvic fracture.  Sleeping is now a challenge because I like to sleep on my right side which at the moment is impossible, so I spend most of my night trying to get comfortable on my back or on my left side.  Certain movements cause pains that wake me from the little time I do sleep. Chronic pain and chronic fatigue could be a recipe for disaster.  But I am trying to take a page from my mother, and grin and bear it. She has had arthritis since she was in her 50s, and now she is 89.  Mom never complains; she is happy everyday.  I’ll keep you posted!