Well how was your week?

Mine? (Thanks for asking. You’re always great that way) …

Truthfully, my week was less than a pleasure.

It started with the Ravens winning the Super Bowl and went downhill from there.

As soon as that game ended, I went to bed in an effort to get some sleep before having to wake up at 5 A.M. to travel to Nashville for ankle surgery.

Of course — if you read about my  “Black Cloud” in this column some months back — you would know that would NOT be the case.

I got barely a wink of sleep. But, that’s ok (I thought, trying to stay positive) because I would be under anesthesia soon enough and could catch up after my surgery.

We went out to the car to leave for Nashville and a thick frost covered the entire car. Of course, when you need a ice scraper, none can EVER be fond, right? So I tried to create a hole to see on the windshield with the sleeve of my coat.

Of course, this did not help the vision out the side windows, so we powered the windows down to see until the heater started doing its thing.

Funny thing, when I went to power up the passenger window … nothing. Ugh! I stopped and tried to pry the window up and attempted various other “cures” for the problem — without success.

So we had to do an exchange of vehicles and by this time we were running late. Not only that but I looked down and noticed blood all over my hand from a sliced finger — perhaps it was the window or the ice … doesn’t matter. I just was hoping my surgery would go smoother than the lead-up had been.

Eventually, however, I got there and had my ankle reconstruction surgery. The same surgeon had done my left ankle. After which I was not allowed to bear weight on it for six weeks. Using crutches was a cinch when I was younger, but this time I found them troublesome, if not dangerous, so I had purchased a “knee scooter” to help me get around.

It turned out to be one of the best choices and purchases I ever made (yeah, kind of sad, right?).

It got me around without the wobbliness and fear of falling that crutches offer. And it was a cool piece of machinery, too! It had steering capability (let’s see crutches do that) along with adjustable height levels for the handle bars and seat.

And don’t think it isn’t luxurious. They thought of comfort also — what with the rubber tires and cushioned seat to put your knee on. It even has a handy dandy basket in the front to put your cell phone, wallet and some snacks in as you travel about.

It’s quite simple to use. Put your bad leg/ankle on the seat cushion and push with your good leg. On a good downhill slope, you can get speeds up to a blazing 5 MPH — but don’t worry about crashing — the four-wheel brakes have ya covered! Love me my Mr. Scooter!

Walt’s recommendation: Knee Scooters, baby! Throw those crutches away.

And so when I was told I had to have my right ankle operated in like fashion, imagine how pleased I was to know that Mr. Scooter would be available again — are you imagining? I bet you can’t.

Anyway … Mr. Scooter is not only a reliable friend, but he attracts attention wherever he, uh, scoots. People could care less about what my surgery involved — “just tell me about the scooter.”

Of course, I am all too happy to oblige, enticing them with the story of how I found the scooter at an orthopedic store in Nashville for a great price (they were clearing out last year’s models for the new scooters coming in …. truth be told, I liked the older model myself anyway. Ssshh!)

Recently, we let a friend borrow Mr. Scooter after her ankle surgery and, of course, she fell in love. But alas, Mr. Scooter had to come home because of my impending surgery. Still, I am open to the idea of farming out Mr. Scooter for someone in need.

The way I look at it, I can’t keep the flexibility and quiet ride of Mr. Scooter all to myself. So, if you are wanting to use him in the future, give me a call and we’ll chat.

After all, I have ran out of ankles to operate on.