I’ve ditched the cane, now. I hobble around with the brace, walking slowly and making sure the leg swings the full range of motion with each stride so as to gently stretch everything.
The brace was killing me, though. It was designed for someone with straight legs, and mine are slightly bowed. The brace consists of two hinged arms held together by four straps, two each above and below the knee. Each arm floats, aligned by the shared strap mountings. The hinges can be set to limit motion in various ways. The outside arm was okay, but the inside arm near the bottom was pressing hard into the side of my calf, to the point it started to bruise.
At some point I decided to try bending it myself, having seen it done a few times in the past. I wore one like this back with the first surgery in the 1990s. While the design of the braces have changed a great deal since then, the fundamental idea remains the same. So I locked it down against a padded mat on the floor and pulled so as to bend right below the hinge controls. It was easier than I anticipated and bent just enough to keep from digging into my flesh. I pulled it outward to match the bowing effect in my knees. Now it doesn’t bite me any more. Woohoo!
I note that the comfrey tincture supplied by Sister Christine has a wonderful scent. It smells like healing to me. I didn’t have enough coconut oil to mix with it to make a salve, so I just carefully apply one or two drops each above and below the wound and spread it around the still swollen joint. My heart knows this is helping things rebuild inside the joint.
The only thing hindering my time outside is intermittent storm fronts washing back and forth over the state. However, a critical element in healing holistically is that I can hobble around and pick up the cigarette butts and litter that accumulate in and around our breezeway. It’s a blessing to put some healing back into the the world.
You’re doing great! Storms are good, the air is full of nitrogen and the earth’s magnetic field is at its most healing. I’m so impressed by your brace modifications and tossing the cane!
Yep, that comfrey is really something, and even that little will go a long way. I love the fragrance and texture, so smooth. It tastes like healing, too, and it won’t do any harm to lick your fingers after you use it. Although “not recommended for internal use”, it’s only heavy-duty long term ingestion that I’d caution against. Interestingly, this is one herb that the FDA are trying particularly hard to scare people away from using – meanwhile, it’s the #1 plant my readers and students are being ‘called’ by their inner voice to grow!
We’re still praying for you Brother 🙂 I’ll be making more tincture, too.
Yes, I like stormy air, but we have no good protection for sitting outside when they come through. I have to catch those times between the storms and just sit on my chair and enjoy the air.
It is so very good to hear how well your healing is coming along, Ed! My heart doth rejoice! I just planted two comfrey plants and am happy to see them settling in as well as they are. Lifting you up as always!