Allbymyself

I'm continuing along, getting the house ready, assembling the equipment, and moving things down to the first floor - all in preparation for the heel surgery I THINK I am having on Monday.  I THINK I am, because it's scheduled, I'm pre-admitted, and I've been obeying all the pre-surgery do's and don'ts, and take this but don't take that, from all the reams of lists and informational papers I've been given.  However, because of my weird EKG's, I still need to see a cardiologist and get the clearance from him before we proceed to GO.

Yesterday my friendly package guy delivered three boxes.  Today then, I set about opening them up and seeing what I could do about their contents.  Usually I wait for the husband/lover/handyman to do these sorts of construction jobs, but the heel was hurting so badly today, that I just had to accomplish something, anything, in the direction of getting better.

That large box on the bottom of the pile contains the pieces and parts to a knee scooter, prescribed by the doctor to use most times instead of crutches.  Since my left heel is also almost as bad as the right to-be-surgeried heel, crutches will be hard for me.  The scooter will help bear more of my weight during the months of recovery.

A cushy seat cover and a basket are in the smaller two boxes.

Isn't she a beaut?

After a mere two hours, and using only two tools - a scissors to open the boxes, and an allen wrench key, I put the scooter together ALLBYMYSELF.  And, not only that, but it works, too.

Yes, folks I am a handywoman in disguise.  After all those years raising four children, and never doing one iota of the assembly work at Christmas time - you know, the trikes, bikes, and Barbie cars, who knew?  I did this ALLBYMYSELF.

I am proud of myself, and besides that, it was a good two hours of distraction from the pain.  So that's a good thing.

I also added a snazzy sheepskin seat cover.  This was recommended in several other recovery blogs I had read, so I decided to take the advice of those who know.

I'm just hoping that puppy Sheila will not think this seat is some sort of a security blanket.  Weimaraners are known for "nursing" on soft furry things, and Sheila has a sheepskin-like bed that she drags around the house and uses.  I do not want to see her sitting beside my seat, kneading it and nursing it.  That's just too weird.

Sheila with her special dog blanket

Finally, I added a basket to my scooter.  Since I will need my hands for steering, a basket for carrying things will be helpful.  I have already decided that my first true sign of rehabilitation will be when I can make my own cup of coffee and then carry it to another location.  Baby steps, baby steps.

Son Caleb made a few adjustments on the braking system, and then raced around the house with it, terrorizing the dog and me.  Then he said, "Here mom, you try it."

So I did.

Um, maybe it's a good thing that I still have several days until my scheduled surgery.  I nearly threw myself out over the handlebars when I applied the brakes the first time.  Then I did a trial run and scootered into the bathroom.  I had to do a 16-point turn to get myself out of there.  Note to self:  work on reverse.

For now, I'll be doing some laps, and getting the hang of this sweet piece of equipment.  

I think I'll call her MOLLY, short for MOBILITY.  What do you think?