Injury

iWalk Crutch Review — you need it

Daniel Leave a comment

I recently took a large fall rock climbing and broke my foot in two places. Doctor’s orders: no weight for six weeks. I ended up trying four mobility devices, all of which had some utility, but my favorite by far was the iWalk 3.0, a.k.a. the “peg-leg.”

I was recommended and loaned this device by a friend of my sister who had rehabbed a similar injury, so I’m going to pass along the favor by writing a short and to-the-point review for other people who may have a broken foot, broken ankle, ACL injury, etc. Short version is: this thing lets you walk around at a fairly normal pace, and carry things while you do so. It is far more maneuverable than a knee scooter, and handles stairs with ease (although you may have to go down backwards!).

I think in 20 years, everyone will be using these.

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Surviving a 100-foot fall

Daniel 9 Comments

Since this is the Internet, you get the crude title, and the summary up top. 

The short version: yes, I did fall ±100 feet trad climbing in Eldorado Canyon (My Garmin Fenix GPS watch measured a drop of 33 meters – 108 feet). I was runout on easy ground, lost balance, popped a piece, fell way past the next one, and was caught on a Gri-Gri. I broke my left foot in two places (fifth metatarsal, non-displaced calcaneus fracture) and had two cuts to the face which required stitches (5 in the left eyebrow, 11 in the forehead/scalp). No surgery for the foot. The incident easily could have killed me, but instead left me with a relatively minor 10-week recovery. 

The long version, after the jump.
(Warning: there will be a couple bloody pictures)

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