The T-Man and I are still walking twice a day although we only travel about 4 or 5 houses up the block and then turn around. He cannot touch concrete or anything rough with the middle two toenails on that bad foot as they are completely worn down and become a bloody mess. Once out of the backyard he has to have either socks or a boot on to protect the toes.
He is managing to lift the foot with his Ruff Wear Skyliner boot (see this post) for a good portion of the walk so that is promising. This is exactly where we were in November of last year with the other leg. I sometimes feel like I am just repeating the days over and over again like the Groundhog day movie..
The boot thing is a huge deal in my little corner of the world since it means I don't have to deal with socks and duct tape. Socks and duct tape require stopping every few feet to reposition since they roll around and sag no matter how much duct tape you use or how tight you make them. I had created some sock boots but they suffer from the same rolling problem.
He is doing well (since this weekend) with the boot. He takes slow methodical steps and his back end does not seem to be drifting as bad to the right like it had been. He still thinks he can go further than I will let him which is also a good sign.
June 22nd
On the way back when he gets sloppy we do some thera-band work to keep him going and to train his foot and leg to lift.
This morning I was walking him home with the thera-band and I was looking down at his foot so that I could get the proper placement and he subtly drifted a bit and walked me right into a parked car.
I had to chuckle a bit because there have been times over the years that I have walked him into some items such as a tree, a car, and the occasional fence.
I had to wonder if he was silently thinking "YES-Payback"
I am encouraged by these little baby steps of progress and so we will keep "walking" forward and try to avoid the obstacles in our path..
