May 17, 2007
Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane
I had been mentioning to my wife Jan for a few days that I might benefit from the use of a walking cane. Especially when my balance is at it's worse and I am seeming to be in a constant mime performance of the "Fall Of The Leaning Tower Of Pisa".
At my worst, my balance is an issue. When I am at home, I can usually reach out and lean against a wall or piece of furniture to steady myself, but out in the garage, the yard, or anywhere else for that matter, recover from a loss of balance is often difficult.
So we decide it it might be worth our while to invest in a cane and see if it helps. I have a walking stick, like a hiking stick, which I have used when getting mail or walking the yard, but at 7 feet tall, it is a bit impractical to lug around or use anywhere but outside like that.
When Jan goes to the pharmacy next for our meds, she picks up a cane for me.
It looks like this, is sort of a bronze/copper color, and cost about $14.
My first impressions using the cane were good ones, I am consciously trying not to depend on a cane to walk, I am using it more as a steadying device as I go along. It is a reassuring thing to have along incase it is needed.
Walking cane vs Hiking stick:
-Cane is more portable and practical for use in home and out in public.
-Stick, I can already see, in the long run would keep me standing and walking more upright.
-Cane has handle and non slide foot at bottom, stick is just a stick with no safety features.
-Both allow me to have something to grip my hands on to when I am shaky, thus lessening the embarrassment in public and also making me more apt to want to get out in public.
-Cane blends in more publically. People see a cane and they understand the person might be having some form of physical problem. Walking stick is tall and bulky and might indicate anything from "I'm coming off a hike and am now at the 7-11 stocking up on cheesy poofs", " I just saw the movie 'The Ten Commandments' and it has caused religious psychosis to kick in, I am carrying a staff to be like Moses now. Let my people go!" to it perhaps being seen as a potential weapon. In a park, in the outdoors, hiking stick will do well, indoors it will seem too out of the ordinary.
-Side benefits of having a cane handy. Cleaning up around the house is made a bit easier by having cane to assist on bending and getting up and down. It's a little easier on the knees and back to have something to lean on. Cane extends reach on some things, which is always nice.
So anyway, I'm no expert, I've just been using the cane a couple of days, but I'm already finding good uses for it and that it does help me along.
So far I am also doing okay with the psychological aspects of using/needing a cane. It feels kind of like when I started balding (which was quite a rapid process in my case), I accepted it as a part of my life process and went on from there. So far so good.
I know I'll be writing more on this as time goes and things occur to me, but I did want to encourage others out there if you are having difficulty with your gait or balance due to Parkinson's and it is becoming a safety issue, consider a cane at least as a part-time solution.
I have been hoping a doctor might see me hobbling into their office and bring the topic up, but the way most doctor appointments are, the nurses walk you back to the exam room, take your vitals, get your story and then you sit till the doctor arrives. I have rarely been asked to demonstrate gait or balance so it is rarely addressed. This cane thing was a decision I needed to make for myself before I had a major fall which then might have alerted the medical professionals to my need for balance assistance.
More on this as the story develops.
Posted by Lalo on May 17, 2007 4:16 AM