It has been eight months since last summer when I ditched the chair and went on my long vacation using only a walker for the first time. I can still remember how hard that was, and how scared I was. When I got home, I got rid of my house chair, but used my outside chair for trips to the store, etc.
When I moved back up north, I left even that chair behind. I have been walking with just a walker and have had zero access to a wheelchair for 2 1/2 months now. I still use a scooter for trips to Walmart or the grocery store, but I still have to walk in and out of the store, and if I want to go somewhere that doesn't have a scooter, I have to suck it up and do my best. I do think my endurance has definitely improved. Maybe not as fast as I would like it to, but it has, and I know my lower body is stronger. I can stand for much longer periods of time without getting so extremely fatigued that I have to sit down or I will collapse. In fact, I am in shock at how long I can stand now. As long as I shift my weight now and then and change my posture, I do very well and only continue to improve. I have also noticed a big change in my ability to balance.
There is just so much that goes into learning to walk all over again, and after twelve years of not walking, I guess my body is going to need some time. Eight months seems like a long time, but in reality it's just a blink. It has taken me this long to regain better balance, endurance, and very minimal strength. I think now that my balance and endurance are coming back, I will be able to work more on the strength part.
I am even considering using my forearm crutches at home. I am certainly going to take them out and give them a try, and if I feel I can maneuver them fairly well without falling, I will use them on a regular basis. They are much harder to use, but that's kind of the point. Push the body beyond its comfort zone so as to build strength and better balance.
I'm also getting much more used to going out in public with my old grandma walker :-) It was tough for a while, but it has become such a routine for me that I hardly notice anymore.
Spring is just around the corner here in the Arctic Circle, and although I have really enjoyed the snow and change of scenery, I am looking forward to Spring now, too. Spring means less ice to maneuver and more warm weather to be outside more :-) That is after "Big Red" (the Red River of the North) gets done swelling and possibly flooding! March melt is here and Big Red is on the rise!
