Roll a mile in my chair.

[+ purplekow]

Last week I was at my favorite Italian deli and while walking toward the counter, my foot slid under a moveable shelf which was just a bit out of line.  When I went to take a step, I fell forward and landed on a low shelf filled with bags of pasta and both shelf and the pasta were surprisingly sturdy/ So I did not fall to the ground,  but I did partially tear my Achilles tendon and I have a fairly bad tear of my calf muscle.  Though no surgery is required, conservative estimates are that I will be unable to resume most activities for 6 weeks to 3 months.  Fortunately, that does not include horizontal activities. 

Anyway, I have been going to work and using a wheel chair.   At times, I can walk a short distance using the chair as a walker.  As I work in a hospital, there are also handrails I can use to pull myself along.  Also, for rounds, my residents have taken to wheeling me from patient to patient.  However, when I go to leave at night, there really is no one to help and I have been struggling to get back to my care.  Once I am home, I can get myself back into the house.  I have been struck by how helpful so many individuals have been.  These are not people I know but with only a few exceptions, people have asked if they can assist me in any way as I am making my way around.  Tonight, as I was trying to pull myself up a gentle incline the chair kept sliding back and I fully understood the torture of Sisyphus and the Rock.  Finally a stranger happened by and not only pushed me up the incline, he pushed me to my car and loaded the chair in my trunk.  This was not the first act of kindness I have received, only the latest.  

So, if anyone here has used or is using a wheelchair, are people as considerate as the people I have come across?  And how has your experience been in trying to deal with a world that is to my mind, not very considerate of the differently abled.  

[+ Coolwave35]

I was in Disney world once and a motorized wheelchair died on the incline up to the monorail. Throngs of people parted to go around the woman as it was late and they wanted to leave. I asked her if there was anything I could do to help. She asked if I could find the nearest outlet, and push her there so she could recharge. The nearest was at town hall. If you know Disney that was FAR. It was my good deed of the month. 
 

Other than that I assume differentlyabled folks are capable and tend not to offer assistance. 
 

 

[samhexum]

1 hour ago, purplekow said:

if anyone here has used or is using a wheelchair, are people as considerate as the people I have come across?  And how has your experience been in trying to deal with a world that is to my mind, not very considerate of the differently abled.  

I don't use one, but have to use the handicapped cart in supermarkets, and have found almost everyone I encounter, workers or shoppers, to be very considerate and helpful.

Most of the time I'm out (which is not often) I use a rolling walker and experience the same.

P.S.  Sorry about your travails.

P.P.S.  If you're wondering why I gave you a confused emoji, it's because I didn't know whether to give you a crying one for your injuries, or an applause one for the experiences you've had as a result.

P.P.P.S.  If you weren't a doctor, I'd say keep your spirits up by thinking of all the extra providers you'll be able to afford to hire after you win your lawsuit, or settle with the deli's insurance company.

Edited December 9, 2022 by samhexum
just for the hell of it

[+ bashful]

Recovering from ankle surgery at present.  No weight on it first two weeks when in cast, and using a knee scooter to get anywhere.  

Now in a boot for the last month and with physical therapy (twice a week), slowly began to put weight on it if wearing the boot, and have progressed to walking around to house.  Finally was able to get into the shower a couple of weeks ago,  They will now start weaning me off the the boot.  Wearing a brace will be the following phase.  

I'm fortunate my brother came to stay with me for the surgery in October till now.  In the beginning, he did everything.  Cooked, shopped, laundry, drove me to appointments, etc..

Now, I'm feeling much better with less pain, and more mobility.  The parking garage was the worst test as the path to my car is on an incline, and almost wiped out on the scooter when going down hill, and pushing myself up hill wasn't all that easy.

When my neighbors see me rolling down the hall, always a smile, a kind word about my progress as we chat, and they always say to let them know if I need anything.  They have become fans of my brother's dog, even the neighbor whom the dog barks at through the door since she began dropping the paper at my door.

If only this hadn't happen when @tristanbaldwin was going to be in town.  I texted my regrets I was unable to ask for any time, and he called with his sympathies.  

Edited December 9, 2022 by bashful

[+ Pensant]

The kindness of strangers. Most people are pretty nice, I’ve found.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I just want to know, what variant of pasta broke your fall?

I'd guess it was a robust rigatoni.  

 

Seriously though, sorry for your tumble and here's to a speedy recovery 👍

[CuriousByNature]

6 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

I just want to know, what variant of pasta broke your fall?

I'd guess it was a robust rigatoni.  

 

Seriously though, sorry for your tumble and here's to a speedy recovery 👍

Must have been made with good Durum wheat.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

I just want to know, what variant of pasta broke your fall?...

Probably penne pasta

But seriously, sorry this happened to you. I'm not sure I'm understanding why you're in a wheelchair, though, if this was just a unilateral injury. The ankle can be immobilized with a Cam Walker, or with a walking or non-walking cast. If you need to keep all weight off the lower extremity, a knee walker-scooter/knee Rover could be used. Perhaps a physical therapist would be helpful in selecting the optimal mobility aid. They're highly trained to determine the best option.

[+ purplekow]

4 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

I just want to know, what variant of pasta broke your fall?

I'd guess it was a robust rigatoni.  

 

Seriously though, sorry for your tumble and here's to a speedy recovery 👍

It actually was about 50 bags of pasta the vast majority of which were rigatoni, including the one I was carrying. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

1 hour ago, purplekow said:

It actually was about 50 bags of pasta the vast majority of which were rigatoni, including the one I was carrying. 

My next question is what kind of sauce were you planning on putting over said rigatoni?

If store bought, I hope it was Raos.

[samhexum]

42 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

My next question is what kind of sauce were you planning on putting over said rigatoni?

If store bought, I hope it was Raos.

Their frozen entrees are only okay.  I had the chicken parm & the lasagna with meat sauce.

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

23 minutes ago, samhexum said:

Their frozen entrees are only okay.  I had the chicken parm & the lasagna with meat sauce.

 

I highly don't recommend their frozen stuff.  It's nowhere near what you get eating there.

The bottled sauce is fantastic and nearly a carbon copy of the original in Harlem.  The condiments are also solid (olive oil, vinegar, olives, mushrooms, pesto).

[+ purplekow]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:47 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

My next question is what kind of sauce were you planning on putting over said rigatoni?

If store bought, I hope it was Raos.

We have met, granted in the most platonic of meetings, nothing as intimate as a home cooked meal,  much to my remorse. So do I strike you as the kind of first generation Italian American who would regularly use store bought sauce.  I used sauce as you did to avoid the entire, tired, gravy vs sauce debate.  So, the sauce was to be bolognese.  Best to use a fatty flavorful cut of meat such as flank, chuck.  My mother used to mix veal or pork in with the beef, but I prefer the beef. (Small wonder why I love the beef.) I don't mind adding a veal bracciole though.   For the sauce, I use fresh tomatoes.  In the summer in New Jersey many people have lots of home grown tomatoes.  I do use canned tomato paste, as my mother did.  The sauce is simmered for hours and then the meat is added after a light saute in virgin olive oil.  I try to use as little oil as possible as I do not want the oil tainting the flavor of the sauce but do want a insouciance of that flavor.  For the braciole, whether it is to be veal or a properly hammered piece of firm tasty beef tenderized to perfection by my incessant hammering, I lightly coat the egg white dipped meal with a zesty bread crumb (my mother used to make her own bread crumbs from the heels of Italian bread or buying day old bread and then letting it get more stale for a few days and then grating it and adding basil, rosemary, oregano and a bit of garlic and onion).  Add a dash and a half of paresean cheese and roll the meat around a hard boiled egg and tie off the meat.  Make sure the meat is tightly bound straining against the restraint, as we do not want it escaping prematurely.  The braciole is added to the sauce and allowed to simmer until it is tender.  It is removed and left to cool while the sauce is still simmering and the water is boiling for the pasta.  The braciole will be ready to be untied and perfectly tender to eat before or with the pasta.  As with all fully appreciated meat, it is a delight to the tongue.

So the short answer was Bolognese, home made.  As it was, I bought a container of the deli made sauce and it was excellent.   

Edited December 11, 2022 by purplekow

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

5 hours ago, purplekow said:

We have met, granted in the most platonic of meetings, nothing as intimate as a home cooked meal,  much to my remorse. So do I strike you as the kind of first generation Italian American who would regularly use store bought sauce.  I used sauce as you did to avoid the entire, tired, gravy vs sauce debate.  So, the sauce was to be bolognese.  Best to use a fatty flavorful cut of meat such as flank, chuck.  My mother used to mix veal or pork in with the beef, but I prefer the beef. (Small wonder why I love the beef.) I don't mind adding a veal bracciole though.   For the sauce, I use fresh tomatoes.  In the summer in New Jersey many people have lots of home grown tomatoes.  I do use canned tomato paste, as my mother did.  The sauce is simmered for hours and then the meat is added after a light saute in virgin olive oil.  I try to use as little oil as possible as I do not want the oil tainting the flavor of the sauce but do want a insouciance of that flavor.  For the braciole, whether it is to be veal or a properly hammered piece of firm tasty beef tenderized to perfection by my incessant hammering, I lightly coat the egg white dipped meal with a zesty bread crumb (my mother used to make her own bread crumbs from the heels of Italian bread or buying day old bread and then letting it get more stale for a few days and then grating it and adding basil, rosemary, oregano and a bit of garlic and onion).  Add a dash and a half of paresean cheese and roll the meat around a hard boiled egg and tie off the meat.  Make sure the meat is tightly bound straining against the restraint, as we do not want it escaping prematurely.  The braciole is added to the sauce and allowed to simmer until it is tender.  It is removed and left to cool while the sauce is still simmering and the water is boiling for the pasta.  The braciole will be ready to be untied and perfectly tender to eat before or with the pasta.  As with all fully appreciated meat, it is a delight to the tongue.

So the short answer was Bolognese, home made.  As it was, I bought a container of the deli made sauce and it was excellent.   

This whole reply, aside from being heavy foreplay for me, deserves a standing ovation.

Or at the very least a shot at your own Food Network show 😀

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by BenjaminNicholas

[Guest]

I hope your recovery is quicker than estimated!