Memorable Moments I Owe Entirely to Having to Use A Cane

I get a lot of reactions to my use of a cane. Some are funny, others are a little hurtful, but most have people trying to avoid asking about it but staring all the same. Today I woke up with numbness in my left foot which now matches my right foot in feeling. Hey ho! They're even now! (see my blog post on Surname Optimism if you are confused). 

Clearly my feet are on my mind even if my nerves aren't agreeing. Thinking about my 'missing' foot sensations randomly led to thinking about my cane(s). I suppose most people would get depressed and think about the sad times but I like to think about the 'completely took me by surprise what are you thinking' times. Since they are on my mind I thought I would recall a few memorable moments:

Slaying the dragon with my cane. Ah. If only it doubled as a sword

Moments on Questions of Self Protection. I have had more than one person ask if there is something cool about my cane and if I carry it as some type of self protection. I would love to say flames should out of the handle or pepper spray is activated by the adjustment button but sadly, it is just a cane. If I had to I could use it for self-defense...eh...then I would fall over so maybe not..

That guy from Tru Blood signs my cane

A Momentary place for autographs. My friend is a huge fan of Tru Blood and I jokingly said we should go to his meet and greet next weekend. She took it seriously, very seriously. Since she did not want to go alone and has been picking me up for years now with no complaints. I felt I owed it to her. She did get me Starbucks since we had to arrive four hours early. My other friend was spending the weekend with me so she got dragged along too and so did my wheelchair. The security people were having a massive discussion about how to get me up there. "I can walk with my cane.." They completely ignored me and kept discussing if they should life the wheelchair onto the platform or have him walk down to me (the latter happened). When he came down I realized I was missing an important detail. I had refused the picture for signing because I wasn't going to get an autograph. Everyone was waiting so I just handed him my cane like I wanted it to be signed all along. My friend was pretty much glowing. I hated to mention it had washed off a week later. 


A Moment Conversation Starter. A friend and I were out at a large roof top bar enjoying a drink or two. This young man sauntered up to us and said, "I noticed you have a cane. I just had to meet you and find out the story behind it!" I thought this was actually very creative of him and the three of us ended up talking for quite a while.

All senior citizens loved my cane in the ER. The folding is quite impressive

The Old Lady Who Dissed My Cane Moment. I was waiting at the medical building entrance after a visit to my cardiologist. Instead of standing, I opted to do the intelligent thing and sit on the bench outside the orthopedic area. This very, very old lady came out with a cane and I told her I liked hers. She literally looked my cane and me up and then down again. "My cane is better" she said in this wheezy voice and walked away. I was simply floored. WHO DOES THAT? I was thinking about this moment for hours before I realized: I am upset over an old lady's feelings on my cane. Now that's pathetic. Although the petty part of me will always mentally say my cane was better anyway. It folds up into four places for easy handling, matched my outfit, and has survived more than any cane should. Hers was puke orange, completely clashed with her clothes, and had the horrid four prong bottom.

Our first day of shopping in Vegas

Las Vegas. Multiple moments of The 'Sexy' Cane idea. I had numerous men who commented on my cane by asking if I 'used it to keep my man in line' or 'that's sexy. I like a woman with a naughty streak' or other very strange pervert ideas. We had to keep reassuring them, "My cane is for holding me up, using for walking, and stopping the elevator doors before they close." Thankfully those comments only happened in Vegas. The rest of the world seems to understand there ain't nothin' kinky about being chronically ill and needing a cane.


Optimistic thought of the day: If I weren't having numbness in my feet I wouldn't have started think of my cane and would never written this blog entry. So it all worked out in the end :)