# So, now I use a walker. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184 "2018-09-29T22:52:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/1 "2018-09-29T22:52:06Z")
My knees are shite. A few weeks ago I was getting around well enough with a single cane. Then it was two, then last week I reclaimed Wife’s walker from church. Since then I’ve fallen several times, mostly in the parking lot at work, or it’s taken half an hour to get to my car. I saw my GP and she wanted to toss me in the hospital. “Why?” “To run tests because you can’t walk.” “Correction: I can’t hardly walk but I can get around some. Anyway, I don’t have insurance. I thought I had Medicaid because they keep mailing me cards, but when I tried using it it turns out that while my name is on the front it’s my daughter’s name in the covered party box.” I also don’t want a hospital stay because I’ve grown to hate hospitals. So, I’m on my own. The Osteo Biflex seems to have quieted my left (worse) knee but my right is still pretty noisy. The failure of my legs seems to have corresponded to my edema getting worse so I took some Lasix and peed off about a gallon (literally) between 1PM and 5PM. Doc asked if I feel dizzy or wobbly. Mostly wobbly, but it’s really that I’m not entirely sure where I am in the universe. Touching my nosetip, which I used to do accurately, is now off by 1/2". And as you might guess, I could be more sane. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/2 "2018-09-30T00:35:32Z")
You gotta get some insurance. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/3 "2018-09-30T02:01:48Z")
Duh. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/4 "2018-09-30T02:08:21Z")
ETA: I may be crazy, but I’m not dumb. One website is claiming I qualify for Medicare. Not 'til June, chucko. Checking at work if my extended absence makes me unqualified for our insurance, which I hope. Obamacare BCBS cost the same with better coverage. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/5 "2018-09-30T02:56:55Z")
Being “on your own” medically is… not good at all. It seems to me that there’s a tiny crack (about 10 miles wide) between “completely helpless” and “rich enough to just pay for whatever”, into which you and MANY others fall. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/6 "2018-09-30T03:03:09Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > ETA: I may be crazy, but I’m not dumb. One website is claiming I qualify for Medicare. Not 'til June, chucko. Checking at work if my extended absence makes me unqualified for our insurance, which I hope. Obamacare BCBS cost the same with better coverage. That’s the ticket.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/7 "2018-09-30T03:47:51Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Being “on your own” medically is… not good at all. It seems to me that there’s a tiny crack (about 10 miles wide) between “completely helpless” and “rich enough to just pay for whatever”, into which you and MANY others fall. Which is why I’m working on it. I’m really glad I lost that hundred pounds! ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/8 "2018-09-30T03:54:00Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > ETA: I may be crazy, but I’m not dumb. One website is claiming I qualify for Medicare. Not 'til June, chucko. Checking at work if my extended absence makes me unqualified for our insurance, which I hope. Obamacare BCBS cost the same with better coverage. I am very confused. If you work, don’t you get insurance from your employer? Why do you want to be unqualified for work’s insurance and why are you uninsured? 😕 Falling over is serious, you might end up in hospital without any choice. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/9 "2018-09-30T06:49:03Z")
> [@blob](#): > > I am very confused. If you work, don’t you get insurance from your employer? Why do you want to be unqualified for work’s insurance and why are you uninsured? 😕 > > Falling over is serious, you might end up in hospital without any choice. The US system gravely penalizes people who are trying hard but not having an easy time. Rich is good; destitute is OK; but struggling to make ends meet appears to be a punishable offence in America, the way it’s treated. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/10 "2018-09-30T18:31:40Z")
> [@blob](#): > > I am very confused. If you work, don’t you get insurance from your employer? You ain’t from around these parts, are ye? At my company you need to be there a year to qualify for subsidized health insurance. I was out of the company for seven months because I lost my drivers licence. I’m looking into whether I’m grandfathered in. > [@](#): > > Why do you want to be unqualified for work’s insurance and why are you uninsured? 😕 As I explained, Obamacare offers a better policy for about the same money. I thought I had Medicaid for reasons, but I don’t. > [@](#): > > Falling over is serious, you might end up in hospital without any choice. Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. My falls so far are more like my legs giving out beneath me, which beats the times my 12’ ladder tried to kill me at full extension. Many people are terrified of speaking in public and others fear a generic death. I face both happily because because I’ve done them.\* I have also fallen, but I fear it because it leaves me helpless. > [@DavidwithanR](#): > > The US system gravely penalizes people who are trying hard but not having an easy time. Rich is good; destitute is OK; but struggling to make ends meet appears to be a punishable offence in America, the way it’s treated. This. And I’m always surprised by how companies are not embarrassed to have employees on public aid because they aren’t paid well. Even Henry Ford felt it was important to pay people well enough to buy a Model T. - - “You weren’t dying. Your blood pressure just got real low.” “I see, mine goodwife, but at what point does it stop being low blood pressure and starts being dying?” ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/11 "2018-09-30T18:43:15Z")
Sorry about your predicament, is this just a temporary thing or is it looking like a walker is going to be a daily part of your life from now on? By the way how did you manage to lose 100 pounds? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-i-use-a-walker/822184/12 "2018-09-30T19:20:30Z")
1. I’m getting better with two canes, so the walker is temporary. 2. Wife died so I was depressed and stopped eating.