Wednesday, March 9, 2011.
Not Getting Around. At The Mercy Of The Freezer Queen.
I am very lucky that none of the work I do to bring home the bacon is physical in even the slightest. The pain of my broken ankle is not too bad, although it keeps me from moving around. But I don't have to move around to write my articles or host my radio show, both of which are routinely done from my office at home, right next to the bedroom and bathroom.
I am moving from one to another by pushing my desk chair around. The thresholds between rooms are a problem, but not a huge one. I have to stop and think how I will raise myself up to a standing position, taking into consideration the props and handholds within reach. I must force myself to do it all on the right foot; I am not supposed to put any weight at all on the broken one.
The crutches have been a non-starter. On my third attempt, when I was beginning to get a little confidence, I fell backwards and onto the floor. Twice on the way down my bad foot went down automatically. Fortunately, the splint gives not traction at all and the leg slipped out from under me. Still, how I avoided hurting myself is a mystery. A radio listener during the show today said I should get a walker. Another concurred, saying that about the age of fifty walkers are much better than crutches.
Mary Ann doesn't care about any of that. She just wants to keep me out of a wheel chair. Unless, of course, it will allow me to attend Eat Club and other remote broadcasts that she has sold. Those would be okay. But no wheelchair at home, she decreed.
Two of her brothers have already referred to her as "Nurse Ratched."
I am also at her mercy when it comes to food. She says that she will take this opportunity to lose twenty-five pounds. I won't be going out to dinner much, and she won't have to join me. Not only that, but she can burrow through her trove of leftovers to feed my captive, helpless mouth. Today she unearthed a shepherd's pie from the freezer for my supper. I don't want to know how long it was in there. It was all I had to eat today, other than my usual spartan breakfast.
But she's taking care of me, and how can I not be grateful?
