Saturday, January 18, 2014

My Cane

Around of the end of last summer, I started walking around my neighborhood without a cane. It was a little scary at first, but I'm happy that I've made the leap (so to speak). I'm putting more weight on my affected side, and in general I feel stronger.

But I still do use my cane, especially in bad weather. I also use it, for instance, when I go to a store; or to a meeting; or any time I might encounter a crowd--especially a crowd of children. When I have my cane, people give me more room to pass. They hold doors. Parents ask their children to step aside. When I can't spit out the words at a normal pace, people (usually) give me more time to speak if they see the cane.

Sometimes I think I should ditch the cane, but I wish there were some other way to signal that I might need extra space or time. I guess I could hang a sign around my neck, that says: "Warning: Brain-Injured Person," but the cane does seem more elegant.


I have many canes, but this is my favorite



2 comments:

  1. Children are a definite hazard! They are explosive in random directions. If I'm coming up behind them, I feel safer having my cane to create a buffer zone between them and me. If necessary, I can give them a light tap with my cane to get their attention. Thank goodness for attentive parents who reign them in!

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  2. My strokes were not quite 2 years ago. I find that if I wear my afo, people don't question why I use a walker or wheelchair (it is very icy in Alaska and I can't risk falling). It is almost as if the device just silently lets people know that you are in need of extra space/care. I find I put it on even if I'm not walking just because the world around me acts better.

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