Saved By the Cane

By Vic

Here is a short story where using a mobility cane helped. Some time back when I lived in Calgary, I went to a movie with a group of friends. This was a common occurrence. After the movie, everyone was getting ready to leave the theatre. It was rather crowded since it was a popular movie and near the beginning of its run. I decided to consider taking a shortcut to get out into one of the main aisles. To this day I still seem to have a reputation of being somewhat reckless. This time I decided to err on the side of caution. After all, I had my trusted cane with me.

Before I vaulted over the half wall, sometimes referred to as a pony wall, I reached over with my cane to see exactly where the floor of the aisle was to help gauge my landing. It is important to appear graceful. I was surprised to find my cane didn’t touch the floor. I bent over and reached down as far as I could. My cane still never found the floor of the aisle.

Leaving with the rest of the theatregoers I realized the venue was tiered rather steeply and where we were sitting was directly over the stairs that continued to go down beneath us toward the lobby and eventually the exit. If I had not used my cane to check to see if I would be safe first, my leap over the wall would have sent me straight down a few meters onto the stairs where I might have continued to tumble to the bottom.

Although it was a shortcut, I am not sure if I would have been able to stand up and walk out under my own steam. Thanks again to my cane!

Image: Group of people sitting in a movie theatre smiling up at the screen.