website duck. 32-years-old. otherkin.


i had a knee injury when i was 12 and my parents refused to get it looked at for a month. ever since then my right knee has been a problem for me. most of all when i walk downhill it starts to feel like my leg is bending the wrong way, it's incredibly painful, especially at long distances. it's unfortunately a massive limiting factor in birding, which is my life's greatest passion. and it's only getting worse as i get older.

but today i decided to buy a walking stick from the visitor center of a park in the atlanta area where i had come to see the migrating birds. i don't know why it had never occurred to me to try this until now. i walked EIGHT MILES with only a negligible amount of knee discomfort. my good knee was actually more sore than my bad one! it seems so obvious in retrospect

i want to cry, i feel like i've been given license to do the thing i love most without such limiting restrictions.


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in reply to @Webster's post:

I had a rather nasty fall at 21 (I got thrown off a defective treadmill at 7mph, and landed on one leg with no bend in my knee). I never got it checked out (I was dumb and young and thought I was indestructible) and my left knee has never been the same. I loved my walking stick for long hikes, hikes with rocks that need to be climbed, or for hikes with an appreciable downhill grade. I was very upset when my original stick was stolen from me (who steals a mobility aid?) and I had forgotten how awful hiking is without a walking stick or trekking poles (I've since had it replaced). I'm glad you found that they also work wonders for you

Please make sure you consult a medical professional like a physical therapist to make sure you're using the walking stick correctly so you don't injure yourself. I caused some pretty bad pain to myself using a cane incorrectly for a long time

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