 Good morning, my beautiful internet friends. Welcome back to my channel and welcome to the parking garage in Denver that is the bane of my existence. It usually takes me four to five minutes to find a spot here but I found one in like two minutes so you know it's gonna be a good day. I am up here to get a brand new socket for my prosthetic leg. We're not gonna be modifying the old one that I had. We're gonna be creating a new direct socket which is my favorite way to have them done. I've had two done this way now and it's worked out generally pretty well for me but there are two reasons that we are doing this. The first and foremost and the reason I'm actually here is because my leg has been having a lot of issues, a lot of pain, I haven't been able to walk consistently and when I do it doesn't feel good and even when I'm not walking it doesn't feel good and there's pain. So we're hoping to solve that issue but the second reason is a fun reason because I'm gonna be having a whole new socket that means the other socket, the old one is gonna be available for more modifications and so we are going to try to turn that into something special that I can use for an event that's coming up in my life soon. So with that teaser, let's head in. Works today. So one of the cool things about coming up here today is that my prosthetist just went to this direct socket conference in Norway so you know it's legit and so if you learn new things that we're gonna try them out and hopefully get an even cooler, better fit this time. So in case you're confused this is where my socket actually ends. So like this part is my socket, it goes up until about right here, it's what actually holds my leg and then this is the part that's always stayed the same like the ankle, the foot area. So we're replacing this part today. So that area right there where I've circled is really where we're having a lot of issues so we're gonna try to build up like a pad around it for the direct socket. Pried it off of me and now they're gonna do their magic back in the lab to actually make it into a functioning socket. God, it does not feel good when they pull it off like that but they did a great job. While we're waiting I'll tell you a little bit about why I would love to have two sockets. So if the new one that we're making actually works we're going to cut down the other one and make it into a leg where I can actually bike. So how it's built right now, the back here cuts into my leg if I try to bend it more than like that. So if we have another socket that I can attach to my leg I can actually bike, which would be really cool. I got it guys. Let's give it a shot. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner. This actually feels really good walking. Like it holds to me a lot better than the other one did. I'm really excited. The pain isn't totally gone but it also hurt when we did the direct socket. So I think it probably just aggravated it. Sorry if you're getting dizzy from me walking back and forth. This is what we do to actually try out prosthetic legs but it feels really good. I did something wild and crazy this time. Check it out. I got sparkles in my leg this time. You know, add a little something, something. I have a functioning leg and a leg for biking which I am really excited about. I have a bike coming tomorrow that was gifted to me. I'm gonna be able to work out there, get stronger that way. I'm really excited for it. I feel like it'd be a great way to rehab and maybe this guy will work out and solve some of the problems I've been having. Onward to victory. All right, so just made it back to Colorado Springs and I had an idea. Instead of just ending that video there I wanna actually give this new direct socket a trial run. It's a frickin' beautiful day outside. I could use some sun. So I'm gonna go for a short walk on a not too difficult trail and see how this goes. So far it's feeling pretty good. Fingers crossed that continues. I've done a lot of finger crossing in this video but we're just gonna go with it. Uneven train for my little leg here can be really challenging. This isn't too terribly uneven but it's enough to be challenging and it still feels really good. Okay, this hill's gonna be a little bit of a challenge. So I just walked down that hill that you see behind me and I noticed the capabilities of my leg, like the actual angle that I have. I haven't had many chances to really push it just yet but walking down a hill like that I really feel the motion kick in, like the torsion ball that I have. I feel that really actually being put to use and I feel how much flexibility my foot has. When I'm walking on it in daily life I don't really think about it like bending that much or moving but it really does. It's really actually very effective for being outside and doing stuff which is the whole reason I got this particular ankle the pro flex XC torsion. And it's cool to actually feel it working. I made a point lately of really trying to get outside more. We live in a state where being outside in pretty places is highly accessible and I spent the majority of the last, oh you know, 18 months of my life inside or sitting down. I read this book called Lost Connections by Johan Hari. I could not recommend it strongly enough to you but I talked about a disconnection with nature being one of the causes of depression and mental health issues and I thought about that and I was like I haven't spent a lot of time outside for so very long and I know that it's a part of me. I know it's something I need and so the last couple of weeks I've been getting outside even if it's just being in the backyard with my dogs for a few minutes or going on short little walks or going on a hike like I did with Brian last weekend and it's really good for me. It really helps me feel more connected to myself and I'm able to breathe easier for a second. It's a gift to be able to be outside and I'm gonna keep making it a priority to get outside my front door. Okay, so I'm just about back to my car. I've been walking for about 20 minutes and I can say it actually feels better. It's a little bit sore. I think it's, that only makes sense considering that so much work was done on it today and a lot of pressure was put on it but even with all of that, it feels better and oh God, it's so good to be able to do things like this, can't tell you how happy these stupid simple things make me. It's amazing. Just made it safely back to the car and I think that's where I'm gonna end the video for today. I'm gonna go home, eat some dinner with my husband and celebrate the fact that today was a good day. I don't know how the socket is actually gonna do. I don't know if it's gonna solve any problems. I know that it does feel a little bit more comfortable to walk right now and I'm out of breath and I'm thankful for that today. So thanks for coming on this adventure with me. I really appreciate it guys. Thank you to my patrons over on Patreon who helped me in so many ways. I am really, really appreciative of all you do for me and thank you for spending a few minutes out of your day here with me today, watching this video. You could be anywhere in the world doing anything and you chose to spend it with me so thank you. I love you guys, I'm thinking about you and I will see you in the next video. Bye guys. 🎵 The tide flows around here 🎵 🎵 Through the whispers of fire I'm singing 🎵 🎵 I'm all you love 🎵