Seeing Life Through a Different Pair of Glasses

By Barbara Day

Guess what I got for Christmas this year? A stress fracture in my left hip.

The Friday before Christmas, I was diagnosed as having a stress fracture in the base of the femoral neck of my hip. I have to admit I was shocked. The pain actually started the end of September. I just assumed that it was my back – like always. None of the strategies that had been effective in treating my ongoing back problem helped get rid of this particular groin pain.

Of course, I continued running and going to spinning class but the pain just wouldn't go away. None of the stretching, the icing, the chiropractic care, the trigger point massage therapy, and even resting, curtailed the constant pain.

At the encouragement of two orthopedists who attend spinning classes with me, I finally had a MRI on Dec.19.

My visit to orthopedist, Kittie George, M.D., which included answering lots of questions and undergoing an extensive exam, made her think there was more to the story than just another back injury. (In her first life, Dr. George had been a physical therapist so I thought sure she would send me to physical therapy because I was so convinced the pain was from my back).

Dr. George called me to tell me the news while on her vacation: Crutches for 4 weeks then another MRI. Well, after hearing the news, entertaining Christmas Eve with our entire family was certainly going to be a challenge. Plus, going to the Orange Bowl on crutches was going to be an even bigger challenge. But, Christmas Eve was not a big issue since my daughter-in-laws, husband and all my sons just chipped in and took care of everything. I was being waited on not waiting on everyone else – a situation that only occurred in the past when I was recovering from one of my three C-Sections.

Admiration People Who Need to Use Crutches!

When I was growing up, one of my girl friends had cerebral palsy. She was 8 years old, too. She used crutches and also had to wear braces, but boy could she move around. I can honestly say I never knew how difficult it was to maneuver on crutches. Even though I have had a number of injuries to my feet and legs, in all cases I had weight bearing casts or removable boots.

Managing My Life

An hour into my crutch use — my shoulders ached, my arms hurt and eventually my lower back and my hips hurt from lifting my legs to swing with the crutches. A Google search by my husband, Ordie, on How to Use Crutches Effectively, was very helpful. My hands were bruised from putting my weight on the crutches. Ordie suggested using my bike gloves, which had padding where I needed the extra padding. This strategy helped out tremendously! It's even hard to take a shower standing on one foot so Ordie bought a plastic shower chair (about $20) with handles that I could use sitting in the shower and also dressing outside the shower. Going up and down stairs on crutches was a little tricky for me until I got the hang of it.

The Ultimate Bag Lady!

When at home, I resorted to carrying plastic bags with me everywhere to carry items such as books, papers, or anything I needed to carry from room to room. Kitchen garbage size bags were useful for transporting the clothes to the and from laundry room. When out and about I used a backpack rather than a purse.

Off to the Grocery

The first time I went to the grocery on crutches really humbled me, too. I thought – I can do this I'm strong . However, after I got into the store I realized I needed one of the motor carts. I was exhausted – my back hurt, my shoulders hurt. Lucky for me a stock guy at Kroger's retrieved a motor cart for me to use. Using the motorized cart was extremely helpful. However, many of the products I use consistently seemed to be on the top shelves. Fortunately, I could put weight on my good leg and hip and stand up to retrieve the item I needed. Refrigerator doors posed an additional challenge as well. In fact, if there were too many carts in an aisle or large product displays, I had to approach the product I needed in another way or just wait until I could move down the aisle without any obstacles. The trip to the store took me three times as long as it usually did. After checking out, a store clerk accompanied me to my car and helped me load the groceries, too.

Unfortunately, I didn't plan on how to get the groceries out of my car and into my house while on crutches. Carrying the grocery bags, on crutches and up the stairs, well let's just say I used a lot of energy. I tried to maximize the effort and the trip for efficiency but it was awkward and took me awhile to get the car unloaded and the groceries put away.

When I went to Paul's Fruit Market, the stock guys helped me shop and load the car. In fact, one of the guys shared with me that his aunt in Michigan recently suffered a stress fracture of her hip, too, and he hoped someone would offer to help with her shopping.

Negotiating the Orange Bowl Trip by Wheel (Chair)

We had already signed up to go on a four-day Champion Sports Tour to the Orange Bowl before my diagnosis. Fortunately, my brother-in-law, Rick, had a wheelchair that we borrowed while we were in Florida. Equipped with a wheelchair, we elected to go forward.

I contacted Champion Sports to alert them of my situation. We were going to stay at the Hyatt Regency in Fort Lauderdale. They contacted the Hyatt to let them know that I needed a wheel chair accessible room. They also made note that I would need first seating on the Southwest Charter. In addition, I contacted U of L to see if I could exchange my tickets for disabled seating. They had already assigned all of those types of seats. Fortunately Brad Barber, with the U of L Ticket Office, was able to trade out our tickets for disabled seating. We picked our new tickets up at U of L will-call in Miami on game day. Even though I think I am a fit person, I would never have been able to use my crutches to hike to and from the stadium from where our buses were parked. So, with all the bases covered we began our trip.

A Successful Trip to the Orange Bowl for the Cards and Me, too!

The Southwest charter flight to and from proved to be easy but going through security was interesting. My wheelchair was X-rayed and I was personally frisked all over by a female security officer – in areas that I have been frisked before. I was loaded first in the front of the plane and was able to use my wheelchair down the walkway. The wheelchair was stored up front on the plane. I used my crutches to actually board the plane. The Champion Sports Tour took care of all our luggage at the airport and actually delivered the luggage to our rooms. This is one of the amenities that Champion Sport Tours provides. Our group was boarded on buses quickly and efficiently and taken to the Hyatt-Fort Lauderdale. Sonny Schonburg and his wife, Lisa, took extra special care of myself, and the others, on our flight that needed some assistance. In fact, there were a number of people who had canes or broken bones and also needed some assistance. Thanks, Champion Sport Tours for all your assistance.

Our Room At the Hyatt–Fort Lauderdale

We were assigned to a wheelchair accessible room. While the room was very close to the lobby, it was not the greatest room. The room did not have carpeting due to the wheelchair access. After several days we complained because the room was not very clean. In addition, while I was able to get around using crutches, I will say that if I had been confined to a wheelchair, this room was clearly not correctly set up. For example, the toilet did not have any type of rail to hold to, the shower had a seat but the stability rail was under the showerhead and you would need some assistance to actually reach it from the seat. Because I could balance on my good leg, it wasn't a problem with me but for others it might be.

The Orange Bowl Parties

A chartered bus transported our group to a U of L Fan Appreciation Party on Dec. 30 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. There were tons of Card fans celebrating but being on crutches and in a wheelchair was somewhat a navigational nightmare. We did get into the party first, however. I ended up using my crutches to visit with friends but I must admit, people were shocked to see me in a wheelchair/crutches.

Sight Seeing Using Bigger Wheels

Although Ordie was a great wheelchair negotiator we realized we needed bigger wheels to get around Miami so we rented a car. We ended up driving down A1A to Delray Beach for lunch one day where the pace was slower. On New Year's Eve, we went to an early show and had a wonderful Italian dinner afterward. We opted out of the South Beach or downtown Fort Lauderdale for New Year's Eve partying because of the wheelchair situation. On New Year's Day, we had planned on hanging out at South Beach. As we cruised the area, the only parking we could find was so far from South Beach, we decided taking the wheelchair was going to be a long journey so we passed on the WaMU Orange Bowl Fan Fest. BUMMER! But hey we took advantage of the car and did some other sightseeing in Miami along the bay.

The Orange Bowl Game Day

On the chartered buses, and armed with a police escort, our group was off to a pre-game University of Louisville Alumni Association party at the Calder Race Course. The skies opened up and the rain came down in buckets. Fortunately, the party was under tents, but most of us got wet waiting to get into the tents. Nobody cared – there was real excitement in the air! We had bought some cheap ponchos, which helped to provide some protection from the rain. However, the U of L Marching Band played in the rain. The cheerleaders and dance team were on hand for all the festivities, too. When the party was over, 39 police-escorted buses were off to the Orange Bowl.

Before the game, there was a Budweiser Tailgate Party at Dolphin Stadium for all the fans from both teams. Ordie wheeled me over to the party but we elected to go into the stadium early because of the rain, the mud and the mass confusion. Once in Dolphin Stadium, however, we took a walking/riding tour around the stadium. Fortunately when the game started the rain stopped. Our seats were in disabled seating area and we actually had really great seats! The atmosphere was electric for the Cards' fans and we all had fun. When it came to cheering for my team, I was out of my chair and up on my crutches. What a game!

What To Expect

I guess I never thought about what it was like to be on crutches or in a wheelchair until I experienced it firsthand. I must admit I did meet a lot of people while on the crutches. In fact, many people went out of their way to assist me or offer assistance. Many times they would tell me about their experiences using crutches or being in a wheelchair.

The good thing about my situation is that I will heal, but many of the folks we see in wheelchairs may actually be in that situation for the rest of their life. What I found is that managing a wheelchair or crutches is not easy. I hope that if one is confined to a wheelchair they spend time with an occupational therapist to learn the how to's on navigating a wheelchair. I have gained a whole new respect for people on crutches and for those who are confined to a wheelchair. In fact, my heart goes out to our troops who are injured in the line of fire and in a split second their lives change dramatically and really anyone who is confined to a wheelchair or on crutches.

Congratulations to the CARDS and also to the University of Kentucky Wildcats for their great bowl game wins!

Next year, I plan to celebrate our next bowl game using my own two legs and feet instead of a couple of wheels to get me around.