J & I have got into rather a bad habit of having to have ice cream after going to the Chinese noodle shop.
Today whilst I tucked into my newly discovered delight of a $2 banana split, which as it is with fruit you can count as one of your 5 a day - I noticed something that made me look twice.
There was a man walking towards us, the khmer restaurant that we go to is a hot spot for glue sniffing street kids & beggars to harass tourists, but the ice cream is great so its worth it! The man walking towards me had an above knee amputation with an artificial leg, which in these parts is not so unusual what with all the mines still being cleared here, but what was notable was his use of a single crutch.
In between mouthfuls of melting ice cream I mentioned to J that it was unusal to see anyone, let alone a Cambodian, using a single stick or crutch correctly but this man actually was - he was holding the single crutch for support in his left arm. Normally people, despite being told by health workers, will hold the stick the same side as the leg with the problem, when in actual fact they should hold it the opposite side for better stability when walking.
I was really impressed by this. My physio friend would also be I thought to myself.
As he walked past our table he then came into view for J to observe his gait.
"Esther" - J dead panned - "He doesn't have a right arm to hold a stick with."
And that is pretty much how it goes here, if you see something that is right it will often be quite literally more by accident than design.
Today whilst I tucked into my newly discovered delight of a $2 banana split, which as it is with fruit you can count as one of your 5 a day - I noticed something that made me look twice.
There was a man walking towards us, the khmer restaurant that we go to is a hot spot for glue sniffing street kids & beggars to harass tourists, but the ice cream is great so its worth it! The man walking towards me had an above knee amputation with an artificial leg, which in these parts is not so unusual what with all the mines still being cleared here, but what was notable was his use of a single crutch.
In between mouthfuls of melting ice cream I mentioned to J that it was unusal to see anyone, let alone a Cambodian, using a single stick or crutch correctly but this man actually was - he was holding the single crutch for support in his left arm. Normally people, despite being told by health workers, will hold the stick the same side as the leg with the problem, when in actual fact they should hold it the opposite side for better stability when walking.
I was really impressed by this. My physio friend would also be I thought to myself.
As he walked past our table he then came into view for J to observe his gait.
"Esther" - J dead panned - "He doesn't have a right arm to hold a stick with."
And that is pretty much how it goes here, if you see something that is right it will often be quite literally more by accident than design.
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