Disability Independence With A Rolling Walker

katlupe at The Wolf Mountain Nature Center

Living with a disability is easier with the right implements made for your particular disability. Mine is my knees and my ability to walk. For years I struggled with my cane. I thought that was the best I would be able to do. I lived in a home that was not designed for someone that was disabled. When I moved into my new apartment in May, I suddenly discovered a whole new world open to me. I could do so many things that I never thought I would be able to do in this lifetime again. One of the problems of walking with the cane over a walker, is that the cane causes you to walk incorrectly. It would cause me to have hip pain later that night or the next day. At the time I did not realize it was related to the cane. Maybe I was not using it properly, but I did the best I could.

ProBasics Rollator

After I moved, I was gifted by a friend, a rolling walker or a rollator. I love it! I have written about it before on here. It gave me back my independence. I could not walk very far without having to sit down. With the walker, I can sit down anytime anywhere. The more I have used it though, the less I have needed to sit down. Maybe the cane caused me to need to sit more often because I was not walking properly. There are some days I do not use it in my apartment at all and then others when I need to walk from my chair to the bathroom.

Laundry Day!

I like to keep it close by and it is really handy if I am carrying stuff. I use it when I do my laundry and can put my small laundry basket right on top of the seat. I take it downstairs to the laundry room that way. Later on, I just take the dry clothing to the closet or the dresser to put away right on the walker. My normal routine is to put my laundry in the washing machine and then come back upstairs and wait till it is time for the washer to be finished. Then I go back to put the clothes in the dryer. If I am doing a second load, I put it in now, as I do not like to hog the machines in case others need them. Plus, there are times I start doing the wash and just don't feel like doing that second load. So it can wait till tomorrow. Sometimes it is just easier on me that way instead of doing it all in one day.

Seat up and basket below fits a lot of stuff!

My rolling walker is manufactured in China for ProBasics and I think it is very sturdy and I feel confident using it. I am able to go places with it that were difficult for me to get to. Now I feel free! I like the fact that the seat opens up and there is basket below the seat that allows for me to carry my camera, my purse, whatever I buy at the store inside. It is great. It has hand brakes so when I am going down my ramp, it does drag me down, but the hand brakes make it so I can go at my own pace, which is slow. Coming up the ramp, I am able to go pretty fast. Every time I use this walker, I thank God for making it possible for me to have one. I can honestly say I would be lost without it.

Carrying distilled water home from the store.

Updated 2023 

Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2018  Kathleen G. Lupole

My Random Thoughts

The lobby at the front entrance of my apartment building.

I wake up early, free to do whatever I want. That is as long as I get Rabbit his handful of morning greens. He is doing binkys all around me as I try to make my way out to the kitchen. Turn the coffeepot on. Make my coffee. Drink the whole pot. Or pour it in the thermos. It will still be there later. No one to drink it up on me. I check my computer. I check my emails. Say good morning to my friends. Sometimes my adopted daughter, L, messages me to see if I am up. Needs her hair braided. She is just down the hall. She used to be my son’s girlfriend and just happened to be living in this very building that I wanted to move into. We have become pretty close now, even though they have been broken up for awhile and she has a new love in her life. It is fine with me, I understand exactly. Couples meet couples fall in love. couples fall out of love. couples split up. Not all, but it is a common cycle.  

It has been difficult for me trying to write my blog now. All those topics that used to appeal to my readers had to do with homesteading, self-sufficiency and self-reliance. None of those activities are a part of my life any longer. I am on to other goals and a completely different lifestyle. Some of the things I wrote about though, I still do. I still cook, I still am frugal, I still am caring for my pet rabbit and other things too. I remember all those days before I moved here wondering if I would even keep this blog going. I decided to do away with Solar Baby, my blog about living with solar, since I do not live with solar any longer. I have gotten so used to the grid electric, that I would not be able to get into writing an article about the solar. As my old life is fading, my new one is focusing on me more, not the lifestyle. 

At the age of 66, I want to establish a life that is simple, focused on me and accomplish the goals I had set down on paper more than two years ago. I am doing that right now. After I got moved in and settled, I had to get my son moved near by. He is disabled and I look out for him. Not easy, since he an adult and can be stubborn at times. But it is extremely important to me that he is a part of my life. I still have a number of health issues to take care of and one I am working on tomorrow. My first appointment to deal with that. It is a good feeling as I cross out a goal that I have accomplished. Some of them I never thought I would. 

It took me a few months to finally get my apartment set up and bring my stuff from my house and include it in this small 338 square foot room. I have a storage area downstairs also. So that helps, but it is not that big. I still have canning equipment to pick up from my house and not sure if I will actually be canning here. I do not have much room or need for that much food. Maybe I will sell that stuff little by little over time. Some of my jars are from my parents and I am quite sentimental about those. It is best for them to go to people who need them and will use them. The same sentiment I had when I sold their home. My first purchase of canning jars was from a lady who had lost her husband a few months before and did not need to can as much food anymore. She was a little sad selling them to me, but she kept some for small canning amounts. I loved doing it and it is hard knowing I may not ever do it again. 

Living in the downtown area of a small city makes it easier for me to do the things I need to do. Not having a vehicle is really not that hard since there is a few different types of public transportation here. They are much cheaper than a motor vehicle payment and related expenses. The bus is only fifty cents if you have a Medicare card, which I do. I just have not tried it yet. I was was waiting for a cool day. Now that fall is almost here, the weather hopefully will become cooler. Today it was. I could not stand to leave my air conditioned apartment the whole time it was so hot. I even dreaded going to the grocery store and I was riding in an air conditioned car. 

The one thing I have noticed is that your age is not what makes you feel old. It is either the way you live or not being happy and satisfied in your life. You can still have problems, illnesses, financial problems, family problems or a million other problems. You have to learn to deal with them so they do not overwhelm you. Set aside a certain time of the day to try to figure out how to take care of them and when that time is over, put those problems aside till tomorrow. My mom always said to make a list of your problems and under each one a list of the pros and cons of how to solve them. It has always helped me. Sometimes your problems are not as bad as you think. I had a friend recently step in and help me with some problems that I felt were strangling me. I was depressed and upset constantly. He stepped in a few days ago and WHOOSH! Like that, those problems are history! Thank you my friend, you know who you are! 

 

Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2021

Low Carbs Does Not Leave You Hungry

Sausage Salad

Once again I am exasperated by a friend showing me a product she is going to buy to "suck her fat cells out." I say quietly, "all you have to do is eat low carbs." She ignores that and keeps talking about sucking her fat cells out. I tell her if she wants to lose that belly fat, there is a better way. Just stop eating grains and sugar. No pasta, no bread, no gingerale, no sweets of any kind. She says, "No gingerale?" With some people it is the bread they don't want to give up. I know how that is. I was the same way about bread. I loved it with cold butter. Now, I don't really miss it.

Bacon Satisfies Hunger

Yes people, there is no easy fix to getting rid of belly fat or any other fat. Nope. The only way is to find a low carb food plan that works for you. How many low fat diet plans are you going to start and stop over your lifetime? Too many. And you know why, don't you? Because you can not stay on them for very long. You start a diet and maybe you do lose some weight. Then you eventually fall off and start eating what you used to eat. Maybe being careful at first. But when the pounds start creeping back on, you say what the hell? Start eating what you want. Back to where you started before, but maybe with more weight this time. The sad part is the more times you do it over and over, the harder it is to lose it.

Scrambling Eggs

What most people don't understand about a low carb diet is that you are eating vegetables too. It is not just meat. Or just bacon and eggs. It does entail cooking, but you do not have to make long drawn out recipes with a zillion ingredients. I basically eat eggs with bacon or sausage for breakfast. And meat and salad for supper. Easy to do. While your meat is cooking, make the salad. If you don't mind leftovers, which I don't mind, cook up extra meat so the next few days it is even easier. After three days of eating low carbs, I will not be hungry in between. That means no snacking. If I need a snack, I will get one. I would rather eat a snack then to get so hungry that I eat something I shouldn't.

The famous 1 Minute Muffin

I like to carry portable food with me so I am not tempted. Especially if I am at other people's houses or out for the day somewhere, These foods can also be used for snacks if you need something at work or home. One is nuts and you can usually find them at any store. Convenience stores carry a large variety and the ones I usually eat are the smoked almonds. They come in little bags that can be tucked in a pocket or a purse and come in handy when you need them. I like pepperoni, beef jerky, pork rinds, string cheese, whipped cream cheese with salmon. Some of those would need refrigeration or an ice chest in your car if you are traveling. There are available some low carb crackers and things like that, but I cannot tell you anything about them since I do not use those.

Fresh Berries

Fruit sounds like a good snack. But if you are eating low carbs, other than berries, it is too high in carbs. Eating only 20 carbs a day for me about does it. It may not sound like a lot, but some days, I have trouble getting that many in. I like to make my own fat bombs using just cream cheese, heavy cream and one of DaVinci's sugar free syrups. Or some chopped up olives and grated cheese for a savory snack. The fat is what satisfies you so you are not hungry. Contrary to what "old school" medical doctors will tell you, fat is not the culprit. On the Ketogenic forum I belong to, the members always answer someone who says they are hungry, by telling them to eat more fat. So that is what I do, it works!

Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole