A horse is a horse of course, but Ladybug knocked her rider off course

My friend Danielle, a long-avowed animal lover, has been taking horseback riding lessons for the past year or so. In August, she finally realized her dream of owning her very own horse, a rehabbed mustang named Ladybug (she didn't pick the name).

Sadly, Danielle's first time riding her very own horse two weeks ago was not to be. She fell off (I'm oversimplifying here, but neither rider nor horse was at fault).

She broke her fibia and tibula (or is it fibula and tibia?) and dislocated her ankle. Fortunately, she was saved from further injury by her helmet and her soft landing (yes, you know what she landed in).

Last week, after several days of solitary confinement in her parents' living room, our circle of four sprung her from the family home. (She can't get into her own second floor apartment and also needed help with everything from showering to sliding on a flip-flop so it was mom to the rescue. Isn't it always?).

Don't even ask me the logistics of getting her and her crutches to Margaritas. I was struck by how helpless she is. Which reminded me of the whole brouhaha going on around Medicare prosthetic policies.

Over quacamole, I shared some of the more egregious proposed changes with my friends who were as appalled as anyone in the amputee community.

While I am sure she's doing much better this week, Danielle was very limited last week and very shaky her first time out of the house. But, it's a temporary state of being and she will get better, and more mobile each week. After all, she didn't lose a limb.

The idea that a prosthetic device, especially the most appropriate device, could be deemed not medically necessary should be a concern for all of us.