For anyone who normally leads a very active lifestyle, coming to an almost complete stop can prove to be very difficult.
I struggled some with my transition from getting up early and heading out the door to work everyday followed by an afternoon run and visiting family and friends, to living in India where I was unemployed, knew no one and had no where to go.
Over the course of the first month, I managed to adjust and soon found myself busy again most every day, with touring the streets and markets, enjoying weekly lunches with the Expat group and nightlife with Gwen and friends visiting Indian pubs and restaurants.
Then suddenly the accident happened and I found myself in a position where I was alone all day, stuck in an apartment with poor English TV selection, intermittent power and Internet service and no friends to visit with until Gwen arrived home from work.
I was determined to continue with as much activity as was possible with the limitations of my broken leg and having to hobble around with my walker.
Luckily, nearly everything you could possible want or need is available for delivery to your door in India, so I promptly learned how to order my groceries online.
I learned how to do the one-legged dish wash. Fill the sink with soapy water and submerge a third of the dishes.
Head for the couch and elevate the leg to reduce blood swelling in my foot. Return to the kitchen and wash and rinse the soakers and drop in the next third. Back to the couch and repeat until dishes are completed.
The down side to this system is that even as strong as I am on my one good leg, I do lose my balance often and have to make a quick grab for the counter. This usually results in a dish going flying through the air or smashing against the sink.
On the bright side, this has reduced the number of dishes I have to wash, but we will need to serve our guests on paper plates if this destruction continues much longer.
I was intent on continuing to do the cooking, but Indian food is a lot of preparing and chopping and proved difficult on one leg, especially when you loose balance with a large sharp knife in your hand.
So I came up with the idea of taking everything to the couch, where I could prop my leg up and rest and still achieve my food preparation. Getting there was a bit of a challenge.
With the walker, I require both hands to manoeuvre, and as you can tell by our nice white tiled floors everywhere I go with a tea cup in my hand leaves a trail of drips or whatever I am attempting to carry.
Several trips though and I had all I needed to chop the ingredients for a nice dinner. I got all settled in on the couch, leg on a pillow, pillow behind my back for support and I am ready.
Darn, where is the knife! Back into the kitchen and find the knife and then get resettled on the couch.
Fifteen minutes later and everything is chopped and cut and ready to be cooked.
I get up off the couch and turn to grab the cutting board and the couch looks like someone threw a bowl of salad on it. There is cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, ginger and coriander everywhere.
Good thing Gwen was not home because I scooped most of it back on to the cutting board for dinner and headed to the kitchen.
Now getting to the couch with whole vegetables was hard, but getting back to the kitchen with chopped veggies was impossible. The board was half empty when I placed it on the counter and the floor now had the tossed salad look.
Our washer spin dryer unit is very small and this means a load or two every day to keep up.
With two legs and arms that is easily attainable. Hopping on one leg and trying to hold laundry while holding on to the walker was impossible. Every step a shirt or pair of underwear or something was hitting the floor.
So I was forced to come up with a solution which turned out to be Gwen’s swimming wrap. I tied it around my neck and used it as a pouch like a kangaroo to carry laundry back and forth. This allowed me two free hands to use my walker.
Simple tasks, such as bathing, was now a shaky undertaking. I was forced to wash my hair in the kitchen sink which has no hot water.
I could have waited for Gwen’s help with a boiled kettle but that would mean admitting I needed assistance so that was out of the question. Balancing on one foot with your hands in your hair is not that hard until you have to close your eyes, then it becomes a true challenge.
Even when we do venture from home, it is obvious Hyderabad is not a handicap-friendly city. The sidewalks, which are about 16 inches high for flood purposes, do not have handicap access.
Most commercial buildings are four storeys high, and if the building does have an elevator, it almost always starts on the second floor, so you have a good dozen or so steps to navigate in order to reach it.
That said, most sites have lot employees who are so very helpful, especially when they see me coming with the old walker. At one establishment, two gentlemen nearly carried me up and down the stairs to ensure my safety and comfort.
I am looking at another six weeks or so with my walker and am slowly expanding my circle on a daily basis. I have started walking to the complex market during the day to pick up a few fresh veggies, not because I can’t get them delivered, but to give me a reason to get out of the apartment. This is always an experience with a lot of stares and many questions about what is wrong with my leg.
I did have a great visit with a group of the head bowl ladies who were moving sand for a new sidewalk. I even offered to carry some sand with them, which drew an enormous laughter from the group.
I had my stitches removed last Monday and have started physio to get my leg bending again. Early November the doctor has said we will start putting pressure on the foot to walk.
I look forward to being able to climb aboard the scooter and once again explore the wonderful sights of India.