[Lily Kerns]

The last two days have been a learning Experience! I just had surgery on my left elbow. Can't bend it for at least two weeks, etc. can't drive, so I'm shopping with my niece. I have learned that:

1. With a bad back, leaning on shopping cart handles for support With only one arm Does not work well!
2. Powered shopping carts that require you to hold down a little lever and steer with the same hand do not work well either. They do not stop and start smoothly, are too quick to turn and turns do not coordinate with speed. In fact the directions say to stop completely before changing direction. No wonder these devices can be such a pain for first time users in crowds.

Since I have only a thumb and little finger on my right hand, I can't open bottles efficiently, can't tear open bags unless I can use my teeth as well, etc. For the first time in my life I am feeling "disabled"! Give me a couple weeks of practice and I'll have figured out how to do anything I need to do.

In a way I'm glad all this has happened because it has given me a whole new understanding of what it means to be "really" disabled. I'm not at home so don't have my seg...and my kids have given dire warnings not to use it right now! (I might fall off it!). Something I fully intend to ignore when I get back home.... I can't load it into my car via ramps with one hand so that's not an option at the moment either.

Thank God for my Segway! And I can't wait to get back to using it!