A little background first. I am not a little person, 5’9″ and come from good stock. But according to my foot surgeon, my mother gave me the wrong feet. Yes, he is her doctor too, so he should know. Basically my feet were not designed to carry my stature. In the past I have been primarily an event and travel photographer. This can play hell with your feet. So we finally came to a point where it was time to do something about it. So on May 16, 2019 I had surgery on my left foot – Big toe, MPJ arthrodesis and second toe, metatarsal Weil osteotomy. Fancy names for ouch!
So, this page is here for a couple of reasons. First and foremost the lack of resources on how to survive 6-weeks without putting your foot to the ground. I spent hours on the internet trying to find solutions, and found very few. I am halfway through my 6-weeks, and here is what I have learned.
First – my doctor gave me a prescription for a knee scooter. We went the prescription route and checked with a medical supply. We could rent one for $55 a month. Two months $110, and you give it back afterwards. A little search on Amazon and we found the KneeRover Scooter on sale for $107. Kind of a no-brainer there.
We got the scooter a few weeks early so I could practice. It did help a little, but it doesn’t prepare you for things you don’t think about. Like going to the bathroom.
I could fairly easily get into the bathroom. I could park along side of the toilet with my right foot on the ground – then what? Well the grab-bar is a necessity. You take your left foot and cross it in front of your right ankle, place your right hand on the grab-bar, and your left on the seat of the scooter – sit.
To get up you cross your left foot behind your right. place your left hand on the seat of the scooter, use the grab-bar with your right hand and pull yourself up.
Now I know not everyone has their bathroom set up this way. And I have thought about the fact that at some point I will have to have my right foot done. So these are things I am looking at now as well.
You might ask why there is a piece of wood behind the grab-bar. When installing it, my husband discovered that the studs in the wall were not where they would usually be. You want to be sure to have the grab-bar in the studs as you will be putting a lot of strain on it. So, in order to do that, he mounted the bar to the wood, and the wood to the studs.
Click here to read Foot Hack – Stairs