Simple Tasks Become Complex When You’re Out of Commission

I’m feeling snarky, so bear with me. Last week during Taekwondo class my left ankle gave out and I fell, both breaking and spraining it. That was fun. The good news (well, I don’t need surgery, which is also good news) is that in examining this injury, it was found that I broke that ankle sometime in the past (quite likely in childhood – I was constantly twisting my ankles), and because the muscles weren’t rehabbed, they didn’t ever stabilize. Which explains why I’ve constantly had trouble with it. I’ve kept it in a light brace during my whole Taekwondo career to try and keep this exact thing from happening. But now that we know about the old break, I can rehab my ankle and it will be considerably more stable (and less likely to sprain or break) than it ever really was. Yahoo.

Good news aside, this sucks. It’s painful and I can’t put weight on it, so I’m confined to crutches and wear an air cast that goes most of the way up my shin. I’m grateful I didn’t need a plaster cast.

A note on crutches, for those of you who are fortunate enough to never have needed them. They are challenging to use properly, and using them properly is critical to not injuring other parts of yourself (elbows, shoulders, back) while you’re reliant on them. Particularly if you’re, ahem, older. Using crutches properly entails not resting them under your arms, but holding yourself up on them with your hands, arms, and upper back. It also entails (especially if you’re prone to shoulder issues, as I am, from competitive swimming) not using your shoulders – that’s where the upper back is important. Needless to say, hands, arms, and shoulders (try as I might) become tired and then sore quickly. The more you use them the easier it gets as you build up strength and endurance, but it takes time to get there.

So keep all that in mind, as I guide you through a part of my day.

I will note that this isn’t my first time on crutches, but it has reminded me that the world is made for the fully mobile individual. We’ve come a long way with accessibility, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t still a struggle for some folks to get around. And being on crutches or in a wheelchair is only one of many ways people can struggle to get through ‘simple’ tasks. Speaking from experience, chronic pain of any kind, fatigue, depression/anxiety/panic issues, and a whole host of challenges are faced by more people than you probably think. And some of these issues, unlike being on crutches or in a wheelchair, don’t have a visual cue to let others know that your tasks are more complicated than average.

An example of a task I take for granted as (usually) being easy, is keeping our woodstove going on winter days when I’m the only one home. Fatigue and exhaustion can make it more challenging, but being on crutches brings it to a new level. So, should you ever need it, I bring you a guide.:

How to Fill Up Your Woodstove (while on crutches) in 8 Easy Steps!

Yep, that’s right, just 8! Here we go:

Step 1: Crutch on over to the woodbox (ours isn’t really a box, but that’s simpler to say), and find a way to carefully prop your crutches up without them falling over in the process,

Step 2: Don gloves, and start selecting your pieces of wood; remember that the right pieces are never on top, you’ll have to dig.

Step 3: Gently toss/shove each piece of wood so that it lands within easy reach of the stove door; grab the poker (I always forget this) and place it also within reach of the stove door; take off gloves (unless you don’t mind the handles of your crutches covered in soot; you can guess how I learned that lesson) and put them on the wood near the stove within (you guessed it) reach of the stove door.

Step 4: Grab your crutches (without knocking them over or dropping them, which of course, never happens), crutch over to the ottoman/chair/whatever you have available, and drag it (don’t drop your crutches!) close enough to the stove door that you can sit on it and reach the stove, wood, gloves, and poker, all of which you absolutely remembered the first time and don’t have to get up and crutch back for. Make sure flammable furniture (or clothing) isn’t too close to the stove. Place crutches down on the floor within easy reach.

Step 5: Put on gloves, open the stove and adjust ashes as needed with the poker; put your wood in the stove, and be sure to stock it well so you don’t have to do this more than once or twice before someone comes home and relieves you of this burden task.

Step 6: Close the stove door, put gloves back in reach of both the stove door and the woodbox (which isn’t where they were but, whatever), and leave the poker lying near the stove so you don’t have to forget it next time.

Step 7: Pick up your crutches (don’t fall over!), and lean on both in one arm as you slowly move the ottoman/chair back in place – this should be carefully situated between the stove and all other furniture, to leave room to crutch around it on all sides, so don’t mess it up.

Note: if you don’t have/want to deal with an object to sit on in front of the stove, just remember how much fun it is to get up off the floor. Just sayin’.

Step 8: Sit the f*ck down, you’re tired.

Feel free to adapt as needed for your particular issue(s). The level of snark is up to you.