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The First Time
Written by Peter on Friday, October 3, 2008
Sean asked Peter about the first time he wore legbraces. Peter’s answers follows:
Oh, Wow. That was in 1985.
Let me take you back to the ordering stage first. A friend and I decided to order together. Don’t ask why, maybe we felt better about it if we were two. We measured each other, as it’s not easy tracing correctly your own leg(s). But who had the job of picking up the order? Yes, me!
So I went to the shop and opened my mouth. A little squeaking noise came out of it. “I’ve come to pick up the (squeaks) and the (squeaks) for Messrs. (squeaks)”. Eventually the staff understood me, and one of them went out the back to fetch the gear.
The shop had a long low counter (ideal for wheelchair users). To stop my hands from shaking I placed them firmly on this low counter. I waited there for approximately 5 months while they looked for our order. Then all the stuff appeared. The shop had a leaky roof. I felt the rain running down my back. I took my hands off the counter, leaving two large puddles where I’d been leaning.
“Oh, err, um, got a box by any chance?” I squeaked. A wheelchair box was produced but it still wasn’t big enough for all the braces and crutches and boots. I said, “Squeak you” and fell out the door. It was then that I discovered that I’d parked in a place on the other side of the planet. I walked as quickly as I could muttering “shit” and feeling like a criminal.
Finally I reached the car and drove off home. My home was only about 100 km away on a road that I knew very well indeed. I arrived home 5 hours later having taken a wrong turn at every junction.
Once indoors, I looked at the gear – for hours. Then I tried on the braces. You can imagine the feeling. The first impression was the feeling of the cold steel, followed by the smell of the leather, then, of course, the joy of walking.
There is nothing like the first time.
Tags: Brace, First Time, Leather, Leg, Legbraces
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1 On 3 October, 2008, Chloe said:
This made me smile and laugh, Peter. You really captured the nervousness and excitement too.
Mine arrived by mail in a big box, just last year. There was a small amount of assembly required. I looked at every part in detail, making sure I knew how everything worked, a couple of hours probably. My partner wanted to help a lot.
It took me about 50 minutes to put them on that first time. It seemed very complicated. I wanted to make sure I did everything right. I savoured every single strap as I pulled it tight.
Then I took those first unsteady steps across the living room, hoping not to fall over, already excited about practising the gravity swing throughs.
Yes, you remember the first time.