Hope .....

Greetings! We are home from chilly Chicago. Overall, the appointment on Monday went well. The surgeon spent time with us, was organized, and answered all of our questions. It was good to see her since the February surgery. She feels that there is still hope for the foot, and the prosthetic option is not the best choice until we try correcting a positioning issue with the toes. (The four small toes are curved now, and should be straight.) If the toes are straight, then presumably the foot should lay flat/come down & walking should be improved. If this thinking and medical advice is correct, then we will have saved the foot.

For the wound healing, she prescribed an ointment to stop the draining. I need to go to a Wound Center for collagen strips to be applied for regrowth of the skin. The smaller toes need to be “released” to straighten them , as soon as possible – next week probably. A therapeutic epidural (spinal injection) will help with pain control, so that physical therapy can begin when the toes are fixed. We need to meet with an anesthesiologist for this, hopefully through the doctor here. PT will be started to help with foot movement and walking. We have a lot of details to coordinate rather soon.

Although the toe surgery is supposed to be minor, I am not excited about the idea of operating a tenth time. It is becoming increasingly harder and more exhausting to make all of this function and happen with my work schedule. It is an answer to prayer that we are not talking about removing the foot, but there is also a significant amount of caution because of what we have been through in the past. Obviously we have to try, but emotionally it all continues to be a struggle. The inability to walk and ongoing pain are clearly taking a tole on all aspects of life.

Many thanks for your prayers and support .....

Jenny