Doctor told me to get fitted for wheelchair before surgery (I can still walk)
Hi all,
New here. I am a (previously) healthy guy in my late 20s. I play hockey, I do boxing, generally very active. Started having back/leg pain last year and long story short I have a very rare cancer in my right pelvis. I have surgery planned end of this month (May).
From the getgo, the orthopedic surgeon has told me that I will likely need a wheelchair long term due to all the nerves and muscles they are planning to take out. He suggested I get fitted for a wheelchair before surgery. He said young people often do better this way, because then after surgery you only have to focus on rehab. it's less cognitive load and I will learn how a wheelchair works and the fundamentals before surgery.
They told this to me before my radiation treatment, but obviously I have been putting it off. I think a large part is denial. I didn't/don't want to believe that I won't be able to walk, especially because right now I only have some weakness and pain and can still walk fine. I just.. don't want to accept? Last week I talked to the onco-psychologist and a previous patient. They both thought it was a good idea to at least see/try what a wheelchair feels like. the previous patient told me she was very resistant at first too, but then did it and it gave her a sense of control and made it somehow feel more like a tool like a laptop or phone that you personalize.
Now I'm less than 20 days from surgery and panicking. I don't know what the right thing to do is anymore. On one hand I want to get a move on with my life and sounds like doing fitting and getting the chair beforehand will make rehab smoother, but on the other hand, I just... don't want it, dont want to think about it, dont want to look at it. ChatGPT thinks I should do it, because it will make recovery feel like "implementing a plan" rather than "finding out what I lost." I guess in some sense it's true because even in the past few months I went from "no way I'm doing that" to considering it.
I guess, my question is, from your personal experience, if you know in 3 weeks you will need a wheelchair, would you have wanted to get one when you are still able-bodied/have enough energy? How tedious is it after surgery to fit one? How long is the delay?
Thanks for listening to my nervous ramble. I hope everyone is having a better day.