US EditionAsking Eric: Cane-user tired of encouraging comments about walking
The writer has used mobility aids for decades and seeks acceptance without assumptions of recovery or timelines for stopping their use.
- Recently, a reader wrote to R. Eric Thomas that they use a cane, walker or wheelchair depending on the day and sought advice about public reactions.
- Because the writer now often meets people recovering from surgery, strangers cheer or commiserate and ask when the writer will give up assistive devices.
- Strangers often respond with exclamations like 'Look!', and ask 'what happened?', while the writer usually mumbles they are not going to get better to avoid elaborating.
- Frustration from constant cheerleading leads the writer to consider skipping activities, as they ask to be accepted and wonder whether to smile and move on without being rude.
- The columnist advised preempting comments by asking people not to remark on assistive devices and recommended treating relationships separately with tailored strategies for recurring contacts.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Asking Eric: Yes, I need to use a cane. No, I don’t want to hear anyone tell me otherwise
Dear Eric: I have a variety of orthopedic issues, some chronic and some temporary. I use a cane, a walker or a wheelchair when I’m out of the house, depending on how I feel that day, or what sort of activity I’m planning to take part in.Now that I’ve reached a certain age, I interact a lot with people who are getting new hips and knees. They assume that’s what’s going on with me, and apparently, part of the recovery process is to be cheered on o…
Asking Eric: Juggling life with a cane, walker, and wheelchair
Dear Eric: I have a variety of orthopedic issues, some chronic and some temporary. I use a cane, a walker, or a wheelchair when I’m out of the house, depending on how I feel that day, or what sort of activity I’m planning to take part in.
Buffalo News
Cane-user tired of encouraging comments about walking
Dear Eric: I have a variety of orthopedic issues, some chronic and some temporary.
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