Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

About 4 weeks ago, I had foot/ankle surgery. This surgery involves no weight bearing for 8-16 weeks. Needless to say I was really concerned how I would continue to work and maintain some kind of active lifestyle using crutches or a traditional walker. I was pathetic and scary on a crutches and possibly would have broken another appendage. A traditional walker makes you hop on what is left of your good foot and so it also not practical. I asked my doctor, prior to surgery about the knee walker and he had limited knowledge of it , but said for me to try local medical appliance places. I ended up purchasing the Drive walker from Amazon after finding prices locally of $700-+$1000!. I have had dozens of people come up to me asking me where I got it, and how it looked so much better than crutches. Even the doctors office had never seen a steerable one. I tried the one that doesn't steer at a local store, and it was horrible. I can say without this device, I would be homebound. It has allowed my to return to work after less than a week from surgery ( no stairs, flat floors). I can still do most of my housework, laundry, making meals. I can go shopping, out to eat and even still go to the Y to roll on the indoor track and do upper body weight lifting. It is awesome for helping me get into the shower. I lock the brakes, balance on my bad leg and lift my good leg with the help of a shower handle(also purchased from Amazon), over the shower threshold, and sit down on a shower stool (also purchased from Amazon). The knee walker is incredibly stable, it has never tilted or tipped with me achieving this task. I also purchased a LED flashlight that attaches to the handle bars for late night trips in my house and also the Sunlite mesh bottom removable bicycle basket ( from amazon). This basket is a lifesaver, it carries about everything for me ( purse, water bottle, small amounts of groceries, laundry, paperwork, mail, etc). It detaches quickly for going in tight places and is indispensable. Carrying things one handed with the kneewalker in not advisable. It is hard to steer this way and could tip over, plus if you are like me, you will find you drop stuff constantly. After 4 weeks of use I would like to offer the following tips/safety information: 1) The knee walker is close to perfect for rolling effortlessly on a smooth flat surface. On anything else, you better be attentive, alert and super careful. Uneven pavement, gravel, rocks, cracks, thresholds(such as entering buildings), even raised painted places in parking lots will violently throw the front wheels. Hold on tight to both sides of the handlebars and keep your good foot on the ground 100% of the time in all situations. Even on smooth pavement, be careful to not get over confident. I ran the back wheel of mine into a pallet in a grocery store that I thought I had cleared and it almost threw me off. Small pebbles can throw the front wheels. Most entrances to buildings have non-slip mats or carpets that can throw you. Handicap entrances to sidewalks tend to have hard knobby surfaces, I guess to prevent slippage, these can be tough to navigate on a knee walker. You will get use to these obstacles as long as you use common sense and do not get overconfident. Give yourself plenty of time to go to and from buildings outside and probably forget it if you have a gravel driveway. 2) Be sure to lock the knee walker when mounting or dismounting. It will fly, and will fly out from under you in a heartbeat. When locked, it has always appeared to be very stable. Be sure to lock it too if you are bending down to pick something up from the floor. It will roll out from under you. 3) Don't wear clothes that dangles down, it can get caught in the wheels, like riding a bike. 4) Invest in a pair of good, no finger bicyling gloves. Preferably ones with gel inserts. You will be surprised how sore your palms will get after days of usage supporting your upper body. 5) I have not found the knee walker to do poorly in wet situations, but still use common sense. 6) Check all the hardwear on the kneewalker periodically and make sure it is still tight. I have had to tighten some of the hardwear a couple of times after use. 7) If you only have one that you use at home and out in the community, be prepared to clean the wheels. I have family members clean it before I use it in the house after returning home, They wipe the wheels with a wet cloth. You would be surprised how dirty they get! The cloth is black and I definitely did not want to get that on my hardwood floors or carpet. 8) Be super careful on any downhill, even handicap small ramps going up to sidewalks. The front wheels of the walker tend to stick where the ramps meet the pavement at the bottom and I have learned to pick the wheels up at the bottom. Kinda like getting stuck facing downward. Use both brakes evenly going downhill. The brakes are great, but be careful pulling them hard, you will wreck! They stop on a dime. 9) The knee walker is kind of heavy, 20+ pounds. To get it in my car, I use a lightweight 2 step stool, usually used in a kitchen. I found this to only weigh a few pounds and it is about the same height as the knee walker. I put a towel on the top step, put my bad foot knee on the towel and then find it easy to pick the knee walker up to place it in the car. The kneewalker was too heavy for me to stand on one foot and lift in the car. The stepstool folds flat and takes up little room in the car. 10) It is a terrific foot rest. When I am not moving, I have my foot propped up on it to keep it elevated. Good luck with your recovery! I would suggest purchasing this prior to your surgery to get some practice. It is very easy to use and with some real care in rough surface conditions, it seems to be just as safe as crutches. Use common sense and keep it away from your teenagers or spouses who want to use it to do tricks!