Friday, October 13, 2017

One of the biggest desires of every Muslim is going to Makkah to perform Hajj at least once their lifetime. It, however, involves a ton of walking, running, hill climbing, and intense physical activity. In other words, you need to be both financially and physically fit to carry out the pilgrimage. Unfortunately, not a lot of Muslims can check both the boxes and some still miss out for several other reasons.

Saleh Mohammad, a middle-aged man from Rajauri, was all excited as he finally had saved enough money to go to perform Hajj with his wife. He had even booked the flight, and it was just a matter of a few weeks before he would fly to the holy place. He had never been happier in his life.

Just days before his flight, he was walking down the street to the nearest supermarket when he was hit by a bike.

The doctors told him he had a minor fracture in his ankle and will not be able to walk for at least five weeks. He wasn’t worried about the pain or immobility, but about his biggest dream in life – performing Hajj.

He now had two choices, either cancel his plans and wait until next year or do Hajj on a wheelchair. Both of these options weren’t very exciting for obvious reasons.

Good news came from his niece who suggested getting a knee scooter aka knee walker. He had never heard of such a scooter before but was excited to hear that it was a device readily available both online and in stores. He was over the moon that he neither had to cancel his plans nor be dependent on someone else to perform his religious duty.

The knee scooter is popular in the US as a medical device for people who have a fracture of their tibia, fibula, ankle, sprains, ulcers, or amputation of the foot or are recovering from foot surgery. It has a leg pad, so your affected leg doesn’t get any unwanted stress, and has a foldable steering column that makes maneuvering easy. This is a great medical invention which can be a godsend for anyone in a situation like Saleh.

In addition to being able to get around on your own at a decent pace, a knee scooter has several other benefits for people performing Hajj or doing any other extended outdoor activity, mainly because of the vast array of fantastic knee scooter accessories available in the market. These include safety and utility lights, walker bags, wire baskets, cup holders, and many others that can let you quickly move around with all your essential gear, food, and water easily accessible at all times.

If you ever use a knee walker, remember safety comes first. If you’re operating a knee scooter for the first time, make sure to read the user manual. Take some time to appropriately adjust the height of the knee pad and the handlebar so that you’re in an upright posture.

Usually, the handlebar should be around your waist height, the back should be straight, arms and hands in a relaxed position, and your injured leg should be sitting at a 90-degree angle.

Avoid going too fast, and or you might tip over when applying brakes or making a turn. Be especially careful when going downhill; in addition to applying the brakes, use your good leg reduce the speed.

Source: http://www.ummid.com/news/2017/October/13.10.2017/performing-hajj-with-a-broken-leg-what-to-do.html