Rant #3,330: Going To a Go-Go

Today is a big day in my rehabilitation.

It is the final day that I have to wear my leg brace on my injured left leg.

I wore that brace continually for many months, because my injury was so severe, that my doctor felt that I needed the stability the brace gave me.

And I had the brace on when I tore my quad the second time, so it could only protect me so much.

But several weeks ago, my doctor allowed me to not wear the brace when I was at home, but I still had to wear it when I went outside.

I wore that brace continually for such a long time that even when the brace is not on, it still feels like I am wearing it.

It was on me so long that it felt like part of my body.

So after today, that brace is history, barring anything unforeseen.

Now beyond the obvious, what does not being restricted by the brace mean?

Well, first off, it means that I am getting better by the day, which is one of my main rehab goals.

Second, it brings me closer to the goal that I have had since day one of this nightmare--to not only get back to where I was before these horrific things happened to me, but on that path to normalcy, to be able to drive my car once again.

Being able to drive is paramount in my recovery. I won't basically be restricted to the house anymore. 

I will be able to do errands--like drive my son back and forth to work--and it will provide me a bit of freedom, which is very important--

Equally as important, it will help out my family--primarily my wife, who has been burdened with all the driving for the past six months.

Now, it isn't as easy as just going into the car and taking off into the sunset.

I still am not very steady on my feet, and I still need to use crutches and my walker to get around.

I have a very serious leg injury, and the very first thing I am going to have to do is to see if I can get in and out of the car.

If I can do that, then driving, even after six months of not doing so, should be a cinch.

So the very first thing I have to do is to practice getting in and out of the car, with my crutches with me in the car, helping me to get in and out of the vehicle.

If I can do that with as little discomfort as possible, that will be great!

But if I can't do it just yet, then I will push everything back for as long as it takes for me to be able to to this.

I want to do this so badly, and I have said from day one that one of my goals to my recovery is that I want to be driving by my 67th birthday on April 28.

I have been given the go-ahead by my doctor, so if it happens, it happens. 

If not by then, then it will happen sooner or later.

I have barely seen my car since I had the first accident.

I have not been in my car in six months.

Just the other day, for the first time since the accident, I went outside with my wife, opened up the car's trunk, saw what I put into it in the midst of moving to our new residence, and took these things up to our apartment, six months after the fact.

One benefit that i have--if there is one with a leg injury like I experienced--is that I injured my left leg rather than my right one.

Since you drive with the right foot, it might be easier for me to drive, since i will be using my normal foot to drive.

Others have told me that they have been able to drive even with the right leg injured, some using their left foot rather than the right one to drive.

Others have told me that they had no choice, and drove with the right foot even though the leg was injured.

I think anyone with these problems must be looked at as an individual case, so I am going to have to see if I can do this right away, or if I am going to have to put off this goal until I can safely and comfortably do this.

It is something I really, really want and need to do, and it will be the best birthday gift I can give myself if I can accomplish this.

So today is a very important day, and tomorrow--when I start trying to get in and out if the car--it will be an even more important day.

If I can do this, I will figuratively, and literally, be on the road to full recovery--

And I have the inner drive to get this done.