I became handicapped this past weekend.
A planned fishing afternoon with my visiting son turned into a disaster when I fell off the dock and landed on my back across rocks and water. I had a huge goose egg on my head, a bleeding elbow and a huge bleeding gash in my right calf.
I struggled to exit the water with my son’s assistance and then hobbled to a shower to rinse the blood. Then my wife took over, and we discovered that we lacked adequate first aid supplies to handle the bleeding. A run to the neighbours brought a nurse with lots of supplies. Everything was wrapped up.
By Friday night, I realized that my injury was more than a bit of bleeding and my right leg ached when any pressure was applied. Now I needed to get into and out of our boat and then a ride to the hospital. I couldn’t place any weight on my leg, and I hobbled with assistance on the dock and then was ferried in a cart to the car.
Emergency was quick. New dressings on my bleeding wounds, a tetanus shot, antibiotics to prevent infection and finally X-rays of my elbow and lower leg. My doctor came back to check on whether I was still feeling any pain. He knew the answer. I had fractured the fibula of my right leg. He bound me up in a cast, ordered antibiotics and crutches and sent me on my way. It was under three hours.
Now I realize that was the easy part. We live in a two-storey home with lots of stairs. The bedrooms and shower are now unavailable. Two nights on the couch were equally tough. My son and wife moved a bed from upstairs to the living room. I slept better on the third night.
It will be a while before I enjoy a hot shower. Even putting on shoes and socks is a trial. My right foot is swollen, and I am now barefoot or wearing a sock.
I am now being chauffeured. Chores like mowing the lawn and taking the trash out on garbage days have been taken over by my wife.
Fort Frances praises itself for being a safe community, and we are. But now I know we have a lot of work to do too. Our sidewalks make it difficult for a person using a walker or crutches to walk in our neighbourhoods. Every intersection with sidewalks should have curb eases, rather than vertical corners. I never realized how important self-opening doors are until I navigated my screen door that would rather keep me in than let me out.
Even going in and out of businesses can be difficult. Opening doors can be troublesome. I appreciate the automatic doors and the mechanical door openings. It makes moving through the doors on crutches easier.
The doctor says it will take six to eight weeks before the cast will be removed. I am hopeful that he is wrong. In the interim, it means boat and cabin season will end much sooner than we had planned. It probably means that travel plans will now be adjusted. It also has given me a new perspective on the challenges faced by people with physical disabilities.
