Over the past two weeks, I’ve written about the issue with my left hip. I had numerous bleeding episodes into that joint throughout my teens and 20s and am now dealing with significant arthritis there. I experience daily pain and mobility issues as a result.
As I mentioned, I consulted with an orthopedic surgeon about my hip. The surgeon advised, among other things, that I begin using a cane. He said, “Most people aren’t too keen on this, but I would suggest you consider using a cane when you are having pain and mobility issues with this hip. How do you feel about that?” At that moment, I was willing to do anything that would help me.
jpg why I was using them. I started having visions of using a cane like my 79-year-old dad uses—a very institutional-looking gray cane. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that for my dad. But for me? I’m only 42 years old! I thought about the looks I might get from people out in public. I’m a fairly strong person, but much insecurity flooded into my mind. I felt like it would be a constant reminder that there was something less than 100% about me. I was sad and down in the dumps.
I had my one morose day full of self-pity. I think that’s a normal reaction. But the next day I woke up thinking, “Ryan, remember your mantra—detours, not derailments! This is a detour. It doesn’t have to derail you.” So, OK, if I need a cane and it will help me, then I want a dapper, snazzy cane. Rather than trying to hide it or put it in the shadows, I was going to put it on center stage!
Own That Cane
I began my search for my snazzy new cane and ended up finding one on eBay. I received it a few days later, and it suited me perfectly! I used it around the house for several days. Then, I needed to go to Walmart to grocery shop. So, I took my cane and used it for the first time in a very crowded store. I was self-conscious at first, but then I embraced it and decided to own it! While we were shopping, someone complimented my beautiful cane, but didn’t ask why I was using it. My insecurities and fears were abolished. It’s now part of my wardrobe, and I take it everywhere with me in case I need it.
After I purchased my new cane, I was talking on the phone with someone who has been my friend for nearly 30 years. She reminded me that her grandfather had polio as a child and had one of his legs fused. He walked with a limp and used a cane all the time. She mentioned that when he died, she’d inherited his collection of canes. She said one cane in particular suited me perfectly and she wanted me to have it. I was so very touched that she would consider giving me one of her grandfather’s canes. I thanked her profusely. Then she said, “By the way, Ryan, it has a hidden flask in the top!” We both laughed heartily for a few minutes. My friend is coming up to visit us over the summer, and I’ll receive her grandfather’s cane then.
In the end, rather than getting down on myself about having to use a cane, I chose to turn lemons into lemonade and get a dapper, snazzy cane I loved. It was time for “Puttin’ On the Ritz.” Thinking of it like that helps tremendously, and I’ve embraced it 100%. If I have to use a cane from now on, it’s going to make me look good!
As the song goes:
Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper
Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper
Super-duper
Come, lets mix where Rockefellers
Walk with sticks or umbrellas
In their mitts
Puttin’ on the Ritz
(Lyrics by Irving Berlin)