For all of the thousands of Charcot Foot sufferers around the world, remember that for every bad day, there is a good day just around the corner! For me today was a good day, but it had a lot of frustration because I had four stops to make on my errand list. For those of you who are semi-mobile like myself, (that is, can drive and get your wheelchair out of the car), or are using crutches or a walker, you know that stops = WORK. Especially if one is a place you’ve never been before. Today I had to make a stop at my insurance agent, and the parking lots handicap “ramp” was about as narrow as the wheelchair and had a big uplifted crack which stopped my wheels. Then there was a step up into their office…fortunately my friendly agent whipped me up the step with ease. But it’s scary and a tad embarrassing all the same! Then I got frustrated at the grocery store, because I wanted to do the self checkout so that I could load my own bag…(I get tired of telling the clerk or bagger to try to get everything in one bag…”ALL of it??!!” is their usual reply…but it’s imperative because I can only handle one bag, I don’t care how heavy it is!) But then I couldn’t read the screen from wheelchair height, and typing in the codes for produce was a challenge…I had to rely on my 10-key knowledge to guess the number pad….oops, the avocado rang up as a cheaper banana!! (don’t tell anyone!)
Well, the whole affair gets me so frustrated sometimes I want to tear-up a bit…but by the time I get back into the car and the music is happening, I am back to my chipper self. It is just extremely hard being disabled, every task is about 4 times more complicated that it would be otherwise. We just have to remember that it is important to not get too stressed over it, because stress is very unhealthy! So hang in there fellow Charcoters…try to stay cool while the summer heat hesitates to go away, and remember to keep your chins up…a better day is coming along!
-Cassandra, Charcotchacha copyright 2015