Another Senior Moment

One of the things I hate about paralysis is just that paralysis. Not being able to move parts of your body and even more subtle is your body not being able to do unconscious things to itself that used to do. I know this doesn't much sense, but I mean is been able hold your feet flat on the surface or naturally keep your legs together and not splayed. If I don't manually push my legs together they tend to just sort of flop apart. I never really paid much attention to this attribute especially when I used to manually push my chair. I was able to use this phenomenon of the “spread legs” to my benefit by carrying my backpack between my legs. It was really when I began to use power chairs that my legs are really beginning to splay. Not only was my splayed legs unsightly but it can be quite painful on my ankles and I have a bunion on my foot that when my leg displays over it puts pressure on the bunion and hurts like the dickens.

As you read yesterday, this was the day of the Assist, Inc. Christmas/holiday function. All day I waited for the time to come to catch the bus downtown. As I suited up to make the trip I was quite dismayed when all the sudden the strap I used to bind my legs together so they will not splay apart suddenly stopped working. I was getting ready to go and I slipped my belt/strap under my legs and then I covered my legs with the flannel blanket that I've been using all fall to bind my legs. I put the blanket over my legs and tuck it in as well as I can and then I applied the strap underneath my legs then up around them as I bring it over my legs I try to incorporate as much of the flannel blanket that I can for two reasons. One to make sure the legs are covered and not exposed to the cold are two viewing and secondly to make sure the blanket stays in place as I zoom along to my destination. The strap that I'm using is a nice piece of technologythat I picked up a couple years ago when my power chair came back from overhaul. I don't know if I was ever charged for this piece of technology or if they just threw it in because I such a great customer. About 6 inches wide and about 72 inches long I think. It's long enough to wrap around my legs cinched tight and then have the leftover length fall between my legs. What's really great is that there is a “thumb hole” that quads like myself can use the pull the strap tight and apply to the other side of the strap securing the legs. To my dismay no matter how hard I pressed on the surface the Velcro would not adhere to the other side of the strap long enough to really be of use. I could not believe how this was happening. It worked just fine the day before. I looked at the Velcro side and there was a lot of junk on it, you know hair, strings, but even look like fur and I don't even have any beasts. I thought maybe if I cleaned out some of the density gunk it would cling again. I did a fairly decent job but it didn't do any good. It was only when I had suffered through not only the trip to the open house but the trip home that I noticed on the train that I was actually trying to use the wrong side of the strap that didn't have the material that the Velcro needed to adhere to exposed. Unbelievable! I turned over the strap to the black side applied the Velcro and sure enough it held tight. I'm not telling anyone this but this was definitely a another senior moment! I knew better but I struggled anyway.

I guess the story has a happy ending I didn't have to get another strap, and the strap that I do have is just fine I just have to remember which end is up… No small feat!