Given that my current health status as an above knee amputee portends a shorter than average lifespan, I signed up for SS with a start date of January 2025, the date 6 months prior to my 07/28/2025 application date. The Social Security Administration credited my checking account with 7 months of benefits today (August 12). The online application process was easy and trouble-free.
Was released from Rehab on Saturday. Already started practicing left foot driving in my Tesla and can now smoothly apply the throttle and pump the brake when required. Also signed up for FSD as an additional safety measure.
Yep, And going up and down the 15 steps to my condo unaided.
I’ve also improved on the techniques the physical therapists reluctantly taught me to navigate the steps when I insisted that I was returning to my home. (It helps to have long arms and a bit of upper body strength.
My only complaint is that I’m doing all this while connected to a 2 liter Foley bag and I’m deathly afraid of catching the hose on something and getting it snapped out of place.{{ LOL }}
Hopefully they’ll remove it on Thursday. I’ve noticed that the 24 hr urine volume I’ve been calculating is down more than 2 liters from my last days in rehab – back to more normal levels for me..
Still using data driven decision-making as usual, despite the unfortunate health issue. Good luck with your recovery, sounds like you are well on your way already.
You will really enjoy it because it definitely reduces fatigue while driving. You may want to consider springing for a newer HW4 model (despite the cost and the hassle) because it does do a little better under various circumstances, and it provides some extra features (for example, enter destination, press blue button, and the car brings you there, and sometimes even parks the car upon arrival).
Good. I learned to do that while kart racing (you have to left-foot brake, you have no choice). When I tried to do that in a car however (left foot brake, still right on gas) I had problems and could not understand why. Then I realized - I was using my left foot on the brake pedal as if it were a clutch. In particular, lifting the heel off the floor, which you have to do for the force required for a clutch. Once I kept the left heel on the floorboard, like I do with the right foot, left-foot-braking became easy.
Great. Glad to have you back in the fold and good luck with the rehab. I have found that if you set a goal it helps. In my case my goal was to play golf again after colon cancer surgery. Took about 8-9 months and I was back playing again. Just wish my scores would cooperate.
I’d consider a housing arrangement with no or minimal (1, 2, 3) steps. At 69 strength (yes even with weight lifting), balance, and reflexes will continue to become more “not what they used to be.”
We installed an elevator about 5 years ago when we moved into a 2 story house. It doesn’t work for everyone obviously - and particularly not for condo living I’m sure - but it sure works for me! And the cat.
Curious…are you using a wheel chair, crutches, some of both? (Since not taking a wheel chair up the stairs). How easy (or difficult) is it to carry groceries home or are you ordering online.
Old friends added a stair lift, in their 3 level home when his Mom lived with them, and it came in handy later when his Multiple Myeloma got pretty bad. His wife/widow, now uses it to bring the groceries up from the garage to the kitchen, hasn’t bothered to remove the next level, to the BR, as she may need it later on… just set on it, push the button, it runs on a track, safe, quiet, she has it serviced once a year… Safety First!!
Here’s a video of me going up and down the stairs to my condo. The trick is to position your grip on the railing at the point where you are using a pendulum motion to transition to the next step.
I’m sure I could to this with a 10 lb backpack today and with practice in the coming weeks and months get up to a 20 ib backpack.
They didn’t teach this technique in rehab since most elderly patients don’t have the upper body strength to do it.
I primarily use a wheelchair when in my condo and I can stand in place for 2 or 3 minutes (with the wheelchair locked behind me for safety) if I have to get something from a top shelf in the kitchen.
I use a walker to traverse the 30 ft from the bottom of the stairs to my garage, where it’s pretty easy to transition to the driver’s seat of my Model Y. After driving to my destination, I use a walker to go the 20 feet to the cargo door of the Model Y and I have a second wheelchair that I permanently keep in the vehicle. I sit on the cargo floor while assembling the foldable wheelchair (i.e., you pull the frame out and unfold it, then attach the wheels which have quick release hubs and drop the padded seat cushion into the chair. It’s a time consuming process but doable.
Yes, but that’s a 4 to 6 month process. You have to wait for the stump to heal and stop changing shape before getting the permanent prosthetic. A temporary prosthetic could be fitted as early as 3 months to allow you to train on using it.
My goal is the walk again without a cane or crutches, but obviously not the 5-10 miles/day I was doing preamputation.
Even with a prosthetic, above knee amputees will still spend a significant part of the day in their wheelchair. It’s energy draining to use a prosthetic.
An old friend, many years ago now, fellow motorcyclist, dirt bikes, and Bell System guy, became a paraplegic after getting tossed of his bike into a pile to mine tailings in Nevada, many years ago. A trip I’d missed, but anyway, it was many miles out of Yerrington where we’d camp, from time to time, running around the desert… Rushed to town, then transferred to Reno, but they couldn’t fix his spine, did OK with collapsed lung, bruised heart… After a while he returned to work, chair bound, determined, said I shouldn’t arm wrestle him any more as his upper body strength went way up, hoisting himself & his chair in/out of his car/truck… Moved on to a Honda Odyssey, as it only needed hand controls. But someone had to be nearby, in case he flipped, would be stuck like an upside down turtle! He even did some racing on our local dirt track for a while… As he was the owner of our local Yamaha shop, he did have to give that up, passed it to his son, looked bad to be in the chair, there… RIP Angus!!
