Footplate of doom

The trick when you hurt yourself is to withstand the initial shock and urge to throw up.

The pain doesn't weaken, but I have found that if I can survive the initial jolt, I get a moment of clarity when I can figure out just how the heck to extricate myself.

Like the other night.

I ran over my foot, which should not really be possible but happens all too often to me because I stupidly don't use my footplate all the time. When I am going a short distance and transferring at the beginning and end of the journey, I often bypass the footplate. This is dumb. I know this.

Without my footplate, my feet easily get trapped under the front of the chair.

Like the other night.

Mom was running Claren out and I was on my way to the bathroom. My right foot got in the way of my chair and of course, the chair didn't care. It surged onto it, and only then did I manage to stop my chair.

The problem was my foot was stuck, pinned under the footplate, and I found myself leaning forward to take some of the pressure off.

There I was, foot underneath my chair, bent over at the waist so I was unable to back my chair off my foot -- Oh yeah, and in FREAKING PAIN!

But after the initial hurt, I realized what I needed to do. I could not sit up nor could I reach the wheelchair joystick. I needed that third arm or I needed Mom. "Help," I cried. She came and I was able to ask her to back the chair up. The foot's OK. And I am using my footplate a little more.