I drove my truck two days ago for the first time in four months. I do still have a good right leg and good right hand, so as long as I was able to get up into the cab I could drive. The floor to the cab is quite high, at least two feet off the ground, so I held the handle that you can see in the picture with my right hand and stepped up quickly with my right foot while keeping my left leg stiff, while I pulled myself up onto the seat with my right hand and arm. Once I was in place, the rest was easy.
Getting down was less strenuous, since I had some help from gravity, but I still had to hold the overhead handle as I steadied my feet, allowing me to get a hold on the cane so I could walk away.
My purpose for driving was to bring yard debris that Laura loaded into the truck to the local recycle center. So when I got there I had to get out of the truck, walk around to the back using the cane, stand there and let down the tailgate, pull the stuff out and into the bin, close the tailgate, then walk back around and get back into the driver’s seat. All of which I was able to do, thankfully, without falling.
The next day, yesterday, I made potato salad and hamburgers. This may not seem like a big deal, but it was to me. I enjoy cooking, and grilling burgers outside was a normal thing for me to do. Potato salad goes well with grilled burgers, and my potato salad is second to none, if I do say so myself. Laura assisted by boiling the potatoes and eggs, and peeling the eggs, but I did the rest. I cut up the onion, diced the eggs, added them to the potatoes, mixed in an appropriate amount of mustard, zucchini relish, seasonings and mayonnaise. For the burgers I formed two pounds of ground beef into six patties, added the seasoning, walked out to the grill on the back patio while Laura brought the tray of patties out to me I opened the valve on the propane tank, and with my left hand was able to turn the burner knob to the light position as I lit the burner with a Bic lighter (the igniter broke long ago) with my right hand. Using a patio chair I sat in front of the grill and cooked the burgers. Small thing to most people, but a big thing for me.