I did it the crazy way! Let's celebrate.

stickywicket

This morning I received a little video of my 5 yr old grandson going down a water slide on his tummy. He got out brimming with ecstatic achievement “ I did it crazy I did it the crazy way ”

My first thought was that arthritis robs us of this kind of excitement but my next thought was that, actually, it presents lots of opportunities of doing many things 'the crazy way'. We walk the crazy way. We handle everyday tasks the crazy way. We're just more inclined to focus on what we can't do or on the resulting payback than on what magnificent achievements we make despite the odds.

Let's change that :P

I'll start you off. Whenever I see the podiatrist (up a flight of stairs) or the orthotist (down a flight of stairs) I try to do them, without recourse to the lift. One foot at a time, clinging to the banister with both hands, concentrating very hard at the difficult corners and top steps (where I run out of banister :shock: ). I do get a sense of achievement when I reach the top safely and I probably get lots of lovely endorphins helping the rest of the day to go better I do it the crazy way.

What arthritic achievements should you be celebrating?

LignumVitae

Pouring hot liquids - I do that the crazy (and dangerous) way most times. When Mr LV says 'why didn't you say something, I would have done it' I think, what and deprive myself of the excitement of nearly scalding myself and once again not doing?!

ichabod6

Picking my nose with my left hand when the fingers of
my right are locked.

stickywicket

LV - I hate 'I would have'. It's shorthand for 'I would have done it if I'd been in the kitchen doing nothing else at that moment in time.' What it most certainly does NOT mean is 'I would have come straight into the kitchen to do it if only you'd called me.'

Ah the thrill of the near catastrophe! Some have to spend a small fortune on bungee jumping to achieve it. We merely have to drain the veg. (I tend to use the steamer these days )

ichabod – I had no idea there was an etiquette of nose-picking I am compelled to use two hands these days – one to provide the erect finger and the other to shove it high enough up. I'm working on giving it up. Could you suggest another reprehensible habit that I might replace it with? I'm sure you're the man for the job

villier

Does putting a tie round your neck and holding an end in each hand and also holding your glass of wine/beer in one then pulling It up to your mouth with the other class as doing it 'the crazy way' xx

barbara12

Making beds..sheets on one side walk round the other with one crutch.then back to the other side ..and like you stairs rather than lifts much to my OHs annoyance..but they are all achievements...baking while sat on my stool covered in flour ...

ichabod6

Hello villier,

In days gone by when my right arm was knackered by ra I used to tie a tie to the wrist of that arm put it round my neck and use my left hand and
arm as a pulley to raise my pint to my lips. There was the occasional spillage and the lads in the club thought it crazy but it was necessary for me.
Happily those times do not appear too often in my life nowadays.

ichabod6

Anything to oblige sw.

Being a naturally right handed bloke, I found it difficult to wipe
my bum with my left hand. Nowadays, thanks to crohns disease,
said bum is on my belly and the situation is not as acute as it was.On an artistic note I have started to paint watercolours with my left hand and
some of the results have pleased me.

mig

Love it. :shock: :P . Mig

stickywicket

villier wrote:

Does putting a tie round your neck and holding an end in each hand and also holding your glass of wine/beer in one then pulling It up to your mouth with the other class as doing it 'the crazy way' xx

For most people - yes. For me, that's perfectly normal We must get together in a pub, Marie. Think of the looks we'd get

barbara12 wrote:

like you stairs rather than lifts much to my OHs annoyance..

Barbara - I nearly added to my post that MR SW always wants to take the lift and doesn't understand why I prefer to struggle :roll:

ichabod - it's essential not to let arthritis rob us of the greater pleasures of life eg beer. I laud your ingenuity - and sang froid. As for the 'crohns problem' - a friend of ours once commented on another mutual friend that the latter was the only person he'd ever met who could make cancer of the rectum seem like fun. It's a gift. Don't lose it - the sense of humour, not the 'bum bag'. (Though, come to think of it.....)

Watercolours, eh? We have a few artists on here. Does arthritis lend itself to art - without the 'hritis'?

Numptydumpty

When I had my wrist fusion, I found I could hang out washing by putting the pegs in my mouth to open them then hold the washing in my one hand and put the peg on with my mouth.
My jaw isn't exactly in great condition, but it's much better than my hands, so I still sometimes use this method, much to the amusement of my daughter.
Numpty

dreamdaisy

What a creative bunch we are (and can be). I cannot think of anything I do in a crazy way but maybe that's because I'm used to doing things in that way. I will probably give the pint idea a go when things seize - I have one of my late Pa's ties and I know he would appreciate it being used in such a way. DD

stickywicket

:shock: Crikey Numpty. Now that is crazy. You must have better teeth than me though I'm not sure for how long. May we have the pics please

I confess, I'm a saddo who spends ages choosing new pegs to ensure I can manage them :roll: – just.

Numptydumpty

stickywicket wrote:

:shock: Crikey Numpty. Now that is crazy. You must have better teeth than me though I'm not sure for how long. May we have the pics please .

:shock: :shock:
How on earth do you think I'd photograph myself doing this! :? Now that would be crazy

applerose

I was just about to say that DD. What a creative bunch. I don't think it's crazy as I've done it all my life but family, friends and neighbours always ask why I don't take the bus to and from our High Street. We live on top of a hill. It used to take me 10 minutes. It now takes me 15 minutes but I feel it's helping to keep me going. Even the young healthy ones use the bus and think I'm mad. Occasionally, someone will stop the car to give me a lift 'because you look as if you're struggling.' I am but I'm not about to give up.

stickywicket

Numptydumpty wrote:

How on earth do you think I'd photograph myself doing this! :? Now that would be crazy

Search me. You're superwoman, not me Maybe you could rig up a peg-activated camera? Or tie it to your nose? Oh never mind, I'll just have to come round and see for myself

Applerose - good for you. Of course it will be helpful but those blessed with perfect health and unlimited walking ability are unlikely to see the value of it. Keep doing it

I recall, before my first TKRs, coming downstairs backwards because it was easier. A friend grumbled "The trouble with you is I never know whether you're coming or going."

dreamdaisy

I learned on here about descending stairs backwards - that was a revelation. And then, of course, we have that useful sticky about hints and tips, I re-read that every now and again to remind me about some of the better ways to solve a problem. I've done the plastic-bag-on-a-chair thing for years now but both our late Ma's refused because they weren't 'disabled': they were thanks to the depredations of extreme age but luckily, due to 'youth', I was able to think with flexibility and accept the increased practicality of more easily arising from the table. DD

stickywicket

LignumVitae wrote:

Pouring hot liquids - I do that the crazy (and dangerous) way most times. When Mr LV says 'why didn't you say something, I would have done it' I think, what and deprive myself of the excitement of nearly scalding myself and once again not doing?!

I thought of you today, LV, as I was draining my pan of rice with the sieve balanced precariously on the edge of the sink and the part of the pan handle nearest to the pan (Yup, the hot bit) balanced equally precariously on my left forearm so that my right hand – the one with the fused-but-for-some-reason-currently-*****-painful wrist – twisting the pan and its boiling contents over and into the sieve. This involved twisting my whole upper body over too. An interesting exercise combining balance, range-of-movement and weight bearing which, oddly, my physios never taught me

theresak

I have a stairlift, but apart from first thing in the morning/last thing at night I ' climb' the stairs keeping as low as possible, using hands and feet, much like our poor old dog did. I've never been brave enough to use this method in public, of course. I did it at home last week, only to find one of my grandsons,age 9, standing at the top with his arms folded, saying " hmm, I can see why you need a stairlift Grab."

theresak

Sorry, should have read Gran, not Grab in above post!

LignumVitae

That's because your physios were never inventive or imaginative enough to think of it as an exercise. There is a rule of fate that says it is always the sorest or most troublesome joint that ends up doing all the work in that situation and it's only whilst it is screaming at you that you realise what a pickle you have once more found yourself. If the hot liquid pouring isn't crazy enough for me these days I can always add a wiggly toddler on a hip with flailing arms into the mix. It adds to the excitement for me! How are there not more scald injuries associated with arthritis?

stickywicket

Good for you, Theresa. You'll get far more exercise that way and set a good example for your grandchildren too. (Don't always take the easy way out.) In the days when we had stairs I used to come down on my bottom

LV, My Dad was once holding one of mine in one hand and a small glass of orange juice in the other. One of the flailing arms flailed with intent towards the juice. Displaying typical male thought patterns, Dad attempted to save the juice with his other hand. I caught my baby :roll:

LignumVitae

I can imagine that scenario entirely.