Hi,
This is a question for those of you who are walking, but not steady on their feet.
I am a thirty-year-old woman with cerebral palsy. I used to be able to walk fairly easily (without walking aids), until I had an accident at the age of 24, which shattered my right knee. After the fracture repair, I got a bone infection. This rendered me unable, for a while, to put any weight on my right leg at all. My left leg (which had always been the one most affected by cerebral palsy) wasn't much help, so I spent the better part of four years using a wheelchair nearly full time. Through a combination of luck, serendipity, and finally meeting the right doctor (I guess), the bone infection and most of the damage it left behind have been dealt with now. First I regained the ability to bear weight on my right leg. And then, slowly and with much PT, the ability to walk mostly unassisted. It's gotten to the point now where I never leave the house without a pair of crutches, but as soon as I'm in a safe environment where I can't hurt myself too much if I fall, I'll put them aside and walk unassisted.
So far, it's all good. The problem (and yes, this is a good problem to have): I had come up with all sorts of useful strategies to deal with daily life from a wheelchair. For shopping, specifically, I have a light-weight shopping basket that fits exactly across my lap when I'm sitting. I just put all the groceries in there and roll home with it in my lap. But now that I'm walking again, I'd like to go shopping without the chair (it makes it infinitely easier to reach the high shelves). Only, I can't carry a shopping bag or a shopping basket while walking, because it will mess up my balance, and I can't hold on to any walking aid while carrying something. A shopping trolley that I pull behind me won't work for the same reason, once there's any significant weight in it. What I really need, I guess, is something that I can push out in front of me and which, at the same time, is stable enough to help me keep my balance while I'm pushing it. I guess the ideal solution would be an actual shopping cart, but I don't suppose one can simply go out and buy one of those (I've looked online, but haven't had much luck). I don't feel good about 'stealing' one from the grocery store, either.
Any other ideas? How do other walking crips do it?
This is a question for those of you who are walking, but not steady on their feet.
I am a thirty-year-old woman with cerebral palsy. I used to be able to walk fairly easily (without walking aids), until I had an accident at the age of 24, which shattered my right knee. After the fracture repair, I got a bone infection. This rendered me unable, for a while, to put any weight on my right leg at all. My left leg (which had always been the one most affected by cerebral palsy) wasn't much help, so I spent the better part of four years using a wheelchair nearly full time. Through a combination of luck, serendipity, and finally meeting the right doctor (I guess), the bone infection and most of the damage it left behind have been dealt with now. First I regained the ability to bear weight on my right leg. And then, slowly and with much PT, the ability to walk mostly unassisted. It's gotten to the point now where I never leave the house without a pair of crutches, but as soon as I'm in a safe environment where I can't hurt myself too much if I fall, I'll put them aside and walk unassisted.
So far, it's all good. The problem (and yes, this is a good problem to have): I had come up with all sorts of useful strategies to deal with daily life from a wheelchair. For shopping, specifically, I have a light-weight shopping basket that fits exactly across my lap when I'm sitting. I just put all the groceries in there and roll home with it in my lap. But now that I'm walking again, I'd like to go shopping without the chair (it makes it infinitely easier to reach the high shelves). Only, I can't carry a shopping bag or a shopping basket while walking, because it will mess up my balance, and I can't hold on to any walking aid while carrying something. A shopping trolley that I pull behind me won't work for the same reason, once there's any significant weight in it. What I really need, I guess, is something that I can push out in front of me and which, at the same time, is stable enough to help me keep my balance while I'm pushing it. I guess the ideal solution would be an actual shopping cart, but I don't suppose one can simply go out and buy one of those (I've looked online, but haven't had much luck). I don't feel good about 'stealing' one from the grocery store, either.
Any other ideas? How do other walking crips do it?
Shopping for walking cripplesA
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