The Next Step, Walking Barefoot

It has now been over seven months since my left side was immobilized due to a stroke. Happily I continue to make gradual progress on the long road back to “normal.” Last week I did something I hadn’t been able to do in months – walk barefoot.

While in the third hospital in April I got fitted with an AFO – an ankle-foot orthosis. This device goes around my leg and helps hold my left foot in the proper position for walking. I’ve become used to wearing it but it does necessitate socks & shoes. For months just to say, get out of bed to go to the bathroom, has meant putting on the AFO & shoes.

But last week I tried walking without it. My ankle is still weak and thus when I step my left foot drops. Therefore I have to be cautious not to trip over it. I have almost no movement in this ankle but I hope that walking at home without the brace will help strengthen it. I’ve had a couple of AFO-free days now and despite walking slower than my usual slow pace it is wonderful.

For the most part I wear the AFO when I leave the house. However, last week friends and I went to dinner
at The Fountain on Locust (a new advertiser, welcome) and I didn’t wear it then. They were patient with me as we slowly walked to my car in the parking garage. I was wearing shorts & sandals!

What a relief it is to wear different shoes! My first memory waking up in the hospital is of one of my brothers being there showing me the new shoes he bought me. The shoes were New Balance which is ironic as I had completely lost my old balance. It was a couple of months later before I realized they were two sizes bigger than what I normally wear. The medical staff had told him to buy me larger shoes because they’d be easier to slip on (the second hospital added elastic laces) and to be able to get them on over the AFO that they knew I’d have eventually. So for many months I’ve worn long pants (to cover the AFO) and the same pair of shoes.

This also enables me to walk to my wheelchair without the AFO on. So for running to the store in the chair I may not be wearing the AFO. I hope to soon be able to take a shower while standing rather than sitting on a tub bench.

The analogy for cities is that while we may have had setbacks it is important to devise a plan to get back to where you were — it takes patience and a lot of hard work. If I applied the St Louis mentality to my personal situation I’d still be using a wheelchair daily and just accepting that I wouldn’t walk again. St Louis should not just accept major population loss and increasing auto dependence.   We need to regain our urban character — it will take focusing on the goal and making tiny steps toward getting there.

I can picture the day when I walk to the grocery store again — no brace, no cane and no wheelchair.  That may still be more than a year away but I know that I will get there.