Crutchless

Wow, one letter off and this might have been a very different post. A reminder to always check your spelling. :-)

I am officially crutchless. As most of you know I've been slowly weaning myself off the crutches for the last two weeks. It was slower than I expected but then again I never was good at just diving into something. I had gone from two crutches to one sometime last week and that felt good. Jeff and I were even able to go out and do some window shopping on Friday without too much trouble. And although I moved to the single crutch I noticed that I was starting to pick that crutch up when I walked. I realized how little I needed it. So last night I stuck my crutches into a corner and went to dinner without them. This morning I surprised my physical therapist by appearing in her office without them. I've been walking all over the house today without them and even managed to get out to lunch without them.

The thing that amazes me about this transition is how comfortable and natural it feels (nothing else in this entire process has seemed natural). It struck me as I stood outside our house talking with one of my neighbors. I hadn't seen this neighbor since December so she had no idea that I'd even broken anything. We were standing in front of the house catching up and I realized just how comfortable I was without having anything to hold me up. I stood with my feet at equal weight and I was perfectly balanced. I didn't even have any pain. It felt amazingly good.

For the first time in months, I can carry things. I put all my stuff back into my purse last night and no longer have to carry the backpack. I can even get into the car like a normal person now. I was originally terrified of getting rid of the crutches. Now I find it exhilarating. I never realized how normal I would feel so quickly. The physical therapy has really made the difference for me. I'm well on my way to recovery.