Have you ever been on crutches or in a wheelchair temporarily?

I have been in a cast for broken foot bones two separate times, and on crutches for six weeks each time.
I’ve learned that it really matters to follow the instructions they give you on how to use the crutches or you can damage your shoulders.
Sitting around when your forced to isn’t as relaxing as you think it might be.
The number of times you have to pee in a day increases e pone tidally with the difficulty of getting to the bathroom.

And I don’t take for granted the ability to just walk around.

I’ve had 3 knee surgeries. 2 on the left and 1 on the right. Each time I needed to use crutches for about a week or two.
During my stints, I learned how to size and use crutches correctly. And I’ve taught at least a dozen people how to do it.
If I see someone struggling on the street or in the mall I will walk right up and offer assistance. I’ve even adjusted crutches to fit.

I dislocated my knee in 1997. I had a month in a cast. Then 6 months of physiotherapy where I was on crutches. After my cast was removed I couldn’t bend my knee or support any weight on it.

I learned not to play wrestling anymore. It actually helped me to grow up, and I was able to finish high school.

Yeah, crutches, but dang those things hurt me to try to use them, and didn’t seem like much use. I was probably doing it wrong, somehow. I ended up barely using them, preferring to just lie around, crawl, hop, and/or be dragged around on a blanket by my then girlfriend, for a few days, rather than try to use crutches. After a few days, I could hobble around, not bothering with trying to make crutches useful. I think the whole experience had me unable to really walk for maybe a couple of weeks.

Definitely that and other immobilizing injuries have had me grateful for my health and ability to get around normally, and with a greater realization of how fragile we are, and how intact we need to be to get around well. A badly sprained joint, a back that goes out, even a cut on the knee, can make a person barely able to stand or get around, a challenge to get dressed or stand up or lie down or sleep, etc.

Two years ago when I broke my ankle in California I was unable to put weight on it for weeks. I was given crutches but never felt confident with using them so I used a combination of walkers and a wheelchair for weeks. When I finally came home, I had a walker upstairs and one downstairs and hoisted myself up the stairs backwards on my bum. I also contrived a way to get from on my bum to the walker once at the top of the stairs and the one step down to the den with a step stool. For going out, I had a few friends who would take me and the wheelchair. It was a hard, hard few months!

3 months with a broken ankle. A whole lot of hopping on one foot. It’s next to impossible to carry anything when you’re on crutches. It was a good lesson that I haven’t forgot.

Walker for 3–4 weeks, then cane for about a month.

I learned the following:

- I don’t ever want to do it again

- I found I could walk faster/better without the cane that I could with it. It wasn’t helpful.

- Handicap parking privileges are really easy to get used to.

Knee surgery from a work injury. I was on crutches, then a cane, for months.
What did I learn from it? I got more respect for the hobbled elderly. I once thought of them as weak. I now see them as veterans of life.

Oh yeah, major ankle sprain (sloppy parkour) maybe fifteen years ago.
The doctor said I might have been better off breaking a bone in the area because that would heal faster and would be more likely to heal back close to full strength. I was on crutches for about a month then a cane for a couple months more. Fortunately it healed pretty well.

Similar to @filmfann I got more respect for hobbled folks. And since then I’ve had a few more injuries (knee and foot) that put a cane in my hand again for weeks. Reminds me to be more patient ‘cause I just don’t know the story behind the slow-poke.