Hi Birding Aussers
I¹ve fractured my fifth metatarsal and am going to be on crutches for a while. Has anyone out there tried birding on crutches?
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15 comments to birding on crutches |
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birding on crutchesHi Birding Aussers I¹ve fractured my fifth metatarsal and am going to be on crutches for a while. Has anyone out there tried birding on crutches? 15 comments to birding on crutches |
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Gosh if you wanted to take risks I can help out! Denise
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Actually I’ve got past the stage of being dedicated and just like wandering about the mangroves etc. That being said, I’m “dedicated” when I’m guiding! Denise
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Tony, please don’t make your, ahem, invention sound too much like a dare – I am incapable of resisting them and it was a dare that wrecked my knee in the first place! Hanging a third crutch around my neck whilst birding from a skateboard with opaque goggles and a straightjacket may be possible – but I don’t really want to be the cadaver in the morgue that proves it’s not!! (But part of me really does want to know … )
Geoff
David, I have no doubt Denise is a very dedicated birdwatcher and deserves your kudos, but I am possibly the laziest birder in the country! I’ll put in the yards when away from my patch, such as a recent trip to the Sunshine Coast, but am more likely to be found watching footy or cricket on a weekend! But your basic point that birders are a hardy mob is applicable to all of us.
Geoff
Dear Tony I know! Actually a third crutch would make a handy weapon. After scaring buffalo out of my camp by yelling “boo” at them, and catching pigs in a cast net, flooring such an animal with a crutch would add to my collection of tales! Denise
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Now, that would be asking for trouble!
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Denise,
There is such a thing as a knee crutch. I had to use one a couple years ago, when I snapped an Achilles. Had to import it from the USA.
Cheers,
Carl Cliffprd
Geoff Thanks very much for the hint and the good wishes.
I’ve armpit crutches at the moment and am becoming quite adept at using them. But it seems pretty obvious that I’ll need something else, and was considering a knee crutch – ever heard of them?
Recently Wildlife Tourism Australia published an article on disabled tourism by Bo Beolens. Would you mind if I added your most helpful comments? I can leave your name off if you wish. And this goes for others who’ve replied. There are many disabled birders out there who would benefit.
Denise
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I wasn’t being too serious.
Tony
Thanks David. I think you’re great! May I add your encouraging message to the article I mention below?
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If you got a third crutch you could fix your bins to the second rung and hook the top of the crutch over your neck and still look through the bins.
Tony the inventor.
Im impressed by you guys and your will to “bird” no matter what the circumstances!! It amazing in life – theres always a way to achieve things if we really put our minds to the cause. Well done! cheers David Taylor
David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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Geoff Thanks very much for the hint and the good wishes.
I’ve armpit crutches at the moment and am becoming quite adept at using them. But it seems pretty obvious that I’ll need something else, and was considering a knee crutch – ever heard of them?
Recently Wildlife Tourism Australia published an article on disabled tourism by Bo Beolens. Would you mind if I added your most helpful comments? I can leave your name off if you wish. And this goes for others who’ve replied. There are many disabled birders out there who would benefit.
Denise
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Hi Belinda Nice to hear from you. I hope your knee is healed.
I’ve found my office chair great for getting around home, but I’ve got work in Kakadu that involves “rough spots”! I’m thinking of getting a knee crutch if it hasn’t healed by early May. Regards Denise
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Most certainly have Denise. I’ve had several operations on my knee over the last 4 years, and whilst I’m not the world’s most dedicated birder and tend to watch more cricket than birdwatching, I’ve done a bit of birding on crutches. Luckily I could use the ones that go to the forearm, rather than up to the armpit – that would be difficult. I found if I wanted to use my bins, I pushed my arms further down the crutches, so they were up to my upper arms and didn’t fall off, then learned how to use the bins with two steel poles sticking out at 45 degrees. It was inconvenient and probably looked ridiculous, but hey you get used to it. People tend to stay from you as well, especially if collateral damage from your crutches cause them to require crutches, or other injury aids. If you need the crutches simply to stand (I only need mine to walk) it would be more difficult, you may need a small pair of bins you can use with one hand. Would be interested to hear any others take on this, it’s a darned frustrating thing to put up with!
Hope the metatarsal heals quickly,
Geoff
It really depends where you’re birding. When I badly injured my knee and was on crutches for about 4 months I ended up hiring a wheelchair – that way I could get around spots where there were paths easily without exhausting myself, and I still had my hands free.
I didn’t even attempt spots with rough terrain.
Belinda Forbes Stirling W.A.