When Bill asked me where I was headed, I explained that my folks were in New
York for three weeks, and I was staying with friends, as a matter of fact the
very same lady I spoke about earlier in our conversation, the one that built
these braces and set me up with the chair and all, was the same one with whom I
was to stay, lest of and as a matter of course, I chose to do something
different, and this was, by all accounts "different," so I told him
that all I need do was to call Jan and explain where I was and what I was up to
`,so that she would not worry and all, so Bill handed me his cell phone and
explained how to call her .
So I called the Morgan's and Mary answered the phone and wanted to know where I
was and what had happened and all the rest of it. After I filled her in as to
why I was so late in calling she told me that her mom had gone to the
wheelchair place and they told her they kicked me loose, thinking that I was a
local and didn't even give a thought to the fact that I was a newbie and when
they figured it out, I was already gone, So Jan knowing that I was familiar
with that area, did not worry ....much. At any rate she was relieved that I was
all good, although she was a might pissed that I had stopped in a bar for a
cold one, but she soon forgot about it and wondered what had happened to me so
I explained it all over again to Jan, and when I was done she only asked if
"Bills name was Arneson and I confirmed that and asked how she knew that
.She told me that she knew who he was and that he was an excellent technician
and was to be trusted implicitly, which set my mind at ease.
Jan wanted to know how I was doing with my new additions and with the new chair
so I filled her in on all of the details and told her that I was going over to
Bills house and that we were going to have dinner and a talk about gimping, and
he was going to show me some of his work .I then asked her if I could remove
all of this hardware, in order that I might try on some of bills creations, but
she refused and said that we had a deal and then I remembered it and nothing
more was said.
During the next six weeks, Bill and I made the rounds and were seen in public a
number of times and each time it got better and the six week "wear in
period" went by quickly after which Jan allowed me to remove my braces to
try out some of Bills toys. In the mean time my folks had returned and had
taken off again at least five other times since then and, I think it was on the
second or third time they got back, that they finally noticed that I was
wearing some braces and my mother inquired as to where these devices had come
from and when I told her that while I was staying with the Morgan's, Jan had
noticed some defect in the way I walked and stood and she had taken me to one
of the docs with whom she works and he prescribed them, expecting a an uproar
,and deep concern over my well being ,all I got was ... "Oh, I see, well
Jan knows best what to do with things like that I guess". "How long
will you have to wear them "she asked, and I said "evidently quite a
long time as there were some very serious problems that needed to be corrected
"again all she said was "oh". Ever the unflappable, good ol' Mom
.So I can now come home wearing any type of brace and /or cast and not have to
worry about what will be said at home. This is a cool thing and has worked out
rather well at that. Anyway after all this had gotten back to
"normal" I asked Jan why she was so determined to keep me in those
braces for so long at a time and she explained that she "enjoyed seeing me
wearing them, and the state of near helplessness it set me to, and, she said
she also knew that I have wanted to be braced for a long time, and the addition
of the bi-lateral h.k.a.f.o's and the powered chair was the topper for her.
Some months ago she had gotten a special deal on a powered wheelchair for a
large adult, so she picked it up for little more than a song, as for the cost
of the rest of the braces, well, when you build them for a living another
set-up like the ones she put me into, was just a snap ---- and the hkafo's were
actually built for someone else and that party never returned for the final
fitting, so when she discovered that those braces were so close to the
measurements she took from me that it was a good way for her to turn them over
to me . So now that Mary was done with her actual medical needs for her brace
she could get down to the recreational side of braces. Mary had explained to
her mom that she wouldn't do any of it unless I was to get hooked up with a set
of braces of my own, so that we could go out in braces together and
"publik "in them .So when I availed myself to "tryout"
Mary's Milwaukee brace, Jan just grabbed at a golden opportunity and went ahead
with the total brace concept as Mary had suggested.
Bill was promoted to manager of his company's new branch and had to move to
the other side of the state. Mary and I kept adding to our collection of
orthopedic toys, and our circle of recreationally braced friends grew steadily,
and Mary and I would go off on little jaunts to other towns and places even
farther away, we would go see bill about twice a year.
One time we checked into a swanky hotel in full iron and the hotel staff
literally fell all over themselves to provide us with grand service, and when
we discovered that they would not accept even a nickel ($5) in tips we were
ecstatic and we had a ball. Later, we learned that the hotel had just been
fined very heavily for non-compliance with A.D.A. Standards, so they were
trying to avoid any further complaints ..So, we decided to push their envelope,
as it were, and showed up for dinner in a formal dining room in sweats and
braces, and in our power chairs, although we got a lot of stares,' nary a word
was ere aspoke', and we continued to enjoy our dinner, a word of advice
however, if you are wearing a Milwaukee brace. Do not ever order the lobster,
as it is messy at best without the m/b, it is a disaster in one, Mary did and,
was making a total mess of it. Over the next years we also learned that if you
intend to party don't overindulge, as emmesis is even worse in brace than it is
out. Other things to avoid are, snowmobiles (this one especially as you cant
keep out all of the wind and the bumps feel like they will just pop your head
right off the top of your spine Both Mary and I are pretty fair water skiers
out, but in brace is a whole different story as with the added weight and
diminished mobility it just doesn't work the same ..
If passion overtakes you, and you feel that you just have to do the nasty, we
recommend that you take off any upper torso braces as, with, the extra
dimensions braces such as Milwaukee's, Minerva's and so forth add, tends to
make it difficult, if not impossible altogether. Give it a try if you don't
believe it ..We are both in brace for most of the day and a good share of the
evening and sometimes we will do the 23 hour thing, just to stay in practice,
and as with any activities we will do the exercises that are recommended by
those folks that know about such things, this avoids atrophy, or muscle tissue
loss..
bracecabst@hotmail.com for e-mail or comments
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