Walking in the Dark, Part 2

Rebecca Dutton
Home After a Stroke

September 16, 2015

I went to a great concert with a friend.  The old auditorium was beautiful.  However, we had to walk four blocks to the car in the dark.  The street lighting was so poor in certain sections that I could barely see the sidewalk.  The darkness was intensified by the low light of a new moon.  Decreased light is a fall hazard for me because my stroke damaged the bridge to the cerebellum (pons) that controls balance.  I learned I stay vertical by using my vision when I toured a huge Christmas light display with my brother three years ago.  This experience gave me the foresight to prevent a fall by asking my friend if I could put my sound hand on her shoulder as we walked.  When I maintain physical contact with an object that is vertical I know I am vertical.

The four block walk to the car was a wake-up call.  I have let my walking endurance decline so my hemiplegic (paralyzed) leg tired quickly.  I started scuffing my toe because I did not lift my leg high enough.  My walking improved when I handed my cane to my friend.  My hemiplegic hand can usually hold onto my cane while I drag the rubber tip on the ground - but not tonight.

Bottom Line:
      Once again I learned that mobility in the community = motor control + problem solving.

See the original article:

Walking in the Dark, Part 2

in

Home After a Stroke