Dueling walkers




Winnie
Ugh! more progression, albeit gradual, of my ataxia.  The short, nocturnal treks to the bathroom were nerve-wracking for both Earl and me. Being picked up off the floor was getting old and it was time for a more forgiving walker.  I loved my 3–wheeled Winnie Rollator, but for all her convenience and portability, I now needed more stability.  The primary mission was to be less prone to falling.

 My friends gave me back the walker my dad's wife had used.  It was foldable, but still too heavy and big. The trouble with a conventional four–point walker in the house, is that it's difficult to go through doorways without hitting the door jam.  I have one upstairs I use when I navigate the room or work out on the Wii–Fit, but I don't need to go through a doorway, so it's width is not an issue.  The web–based, virtual shopping trip was on (you've got to love technology).  
Walker over Wii–fit
 
I found "Let's Go Indoor Lightweight Walker Rollator" and ordered it because it was the most narrow four–point walker I could find, inexpensive, and lightweight.  When it came, I kept going back to the familiarity of Winnie.  OK, I over–personify...sue me.  
The newcomer

 Gradually, I became accustomed to using the new one in the house and relegated Winnie to the garage and car.  It seemed to be a good solution while I got to know the newcomer.  It was a bit higher, forcing me to stand more upright. Using a walker fostered my "senior hunch".  If my mother could see my posture now, she'd roll over in her...ash tray. The advantages of both using a four–point walker and having an indoor/outdoor arrangement soon became clear.  I could use Winnie when out and about and that helped me not feel so unfaithful.

But three major pluses that I hadn't given much thought to, became evident. My carrying pouch on Winnie was a long reach down.  The new pouch was higher and much easier to reach.  Although Winnie came with a small tray, I had to choose collapsability or carefully install the basket/tray combo.  The new walker came with a bigger tray that just sat on the pouch or lifted up easily for stashing things.  It never occurred to me that tray size was important, but the larger tray allowed me to carry more (dishes, laundry, food) than before.  The most significant benefit of the new walker was being able to use, drive and brake with one hand.  One–handed manuevering wouldn't be my choice, but sometimes it was necessary.  With Winnie's two bike–handle brakes, one–handed anything was courting disaster.
 
One more small issue came up.  I had purchased a collapsible cup holder for Winnie and loved it.  It wouldn't hold a cup with a handle or a stemmed glass, but that was OK.  Having decided not to cannibalize Winnie, I ordered a universal cup holder for the new rollator even though it wasn't collapsible.  When it arrived, Earl installed it for me.  It may not have collapsed, but it held plain glasses, mugs with handles and stemmed glasses. 

The lesson:  I need a cup holder that can carry a wine glass. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We have contact

Image
Skeeter alerted me to an eyesight problem when I realized there were times when I had to navigate precisely while scooting.  I found myself dealing with my deliberate mono–vision by closing one eye in order to gauge available distance.  How much space was between Earl's car and my car, and between the telephone pole and the edge of the sidewalk?  How much asphalt before the road dropped off into dirt?  It was like my old "contact lens" days when one lens isn't in–blurry around the edge (not exactly double vision) .  Hmm, cataracts (at that time in life) , diminishing acuity (OK,  predictable... ) , Ataxia (a typical symptom for some people) ? Around 1993, I had radial keratotomy (RK) after years of wearing contact lenses or coke bottle glasses for being legally blind.  The surgeons gave me one eye for reading and one for distance (mono–vision) .  It was a good solution for someone in the 40s.  But, as I aged, the difference between the eyes was too significant.
Read more

Resume and Update

Image
It's been almost a year since I last blogged. I'd like to think that I was busy, but in fact, I was just too lazy and got overwhelmed at the thought of writing. The other issue is that not a whole lot new has happened and when friends would say, "You haven't blogged in a while," I just nodded my head and stared blankly. I thought maybe it was time to retire the blog and move on.  I mean-- geez! I started this in 2011. There are nearly 200 posts, two thirds of them after publishing my book.  How much blabbing can a person do?  However, the prospect of not being able to blab was just too much to deal with. So, I decided to dig in and update some old posts-- like, "Whatever happened to...?" or "w hatever happened after...?". Going through old posts was rewarding. I discovered that being honest has paid off in that most of my old observations were still valid.  I was relieved to know that there were few instances of "I wish I hadn't said t
Read more

East Coast Roadtrip

Image
East Coast Fall foliage It had been more than two years since we had ventured on our first roadtrip*.  It was time to move from using a walker to a wheelchair.  That was a particularly difficult humiliation bullet to bite.  I thought I had accepted the inevitability of progression, but I found myself whining, "No-o-o-o!"  Was this the end of the road before absolute immobility? Were my traveling days over?  More importantly, would I strain Earl's back and were my scooting days over? 😱 As with previous transitions, logic and practicality won out.  I was so freakin' slow with a walker. I didn't appreciate how frightening my precarious balance was to others.  Finally, I knew an injury was the bigger personal threat and was to be avoided at all costs.  Thelma and Louise ** became a permanent part of my next chapter.  Wheelchair use gave me greater mobility and freedom than I had expected.  It didn't impact my travel, scooting, and I didn't "
Read more