Awesome Weekend!

I had a fantastic weekend! The appointment with the Chicago orthopod went well on Friday and it was super to see her again. She was thrilled with the progress we are making with walking and was equally excited that the pain is minimal (if nothing) for the most part.

The hardware spot that is bugging me turns out to be a metal plate and five screws. The bottom line is that it all needs to be removed to eliminate pain, blistering and to not have the area rub on anything. It is supposed to be a minor procedure - no cast and 3-4 weeks of healing. We didn't schedule it yet, as I need to check with the plastic surgeon in Chicago that I've worked with in the past. We definitely don't want there to be a wound issue again, so he may "close" the area after she (orthopod) removes the hardware. I need to travel for work in November and then Thanksgiving is around the corner, so I'm thinking of a December date to have this done. I wanted to do it sooner than later, but that may not happen. It takes a bit to coordinate calendars of two surgeons and myself.

Speaking this morning about the foot miracle was a neat time of sharing and hopefully providing encouragement to others. We packed a lot into an hour and shared how God has worked over the past three years. I am talking to a group of 100 kids at church next Sunday, so pray that the message is clear to them.

I've stopped using the steroids and it has been two days with no hives, so perhaps we have "turned the corner" on this. It was wonderful to feel "well" over the weekend and I'm really hoping that it lasts.

je

Charity Walk Event ...

Today has been a big day .... I walked in a charity walk/run sponsored by my physical therapist's office at 7:30am. I walked 4 miles in an hour, and although the foot was tired at the end there was no pain .... yeah, yeah! It was quite the accomplishment for my therapist's office to see all their hard work on the foot has paid off. It was definitely a "milestone" in the foot journey, as this week will be three months of wearing a shoe.

I'm headed to Illinois on Thursday evening of this week, for a Friday morning follow-up appointment with the Chicago orthopod. It has been two months since I'v seen her and we've made significant progress, so it should be a good visit. We are going to discuss removing the hardware - not sure when that will happen, but hope to get it scheduled. It should be a minor procedure. I am hoping to taper off or stop physical therapy, too. I have appointments on Monday & Wednesday of this week and we'll take range-of-motion measurements on Wednesday. I'm speaking to an adult class at my grandparent's church next Sunday, pray that I'll share from the heart & God will be honored.

The saga with the allergic reaction continues .... still giving medicine time to fully work. It is tolerable at the moment. Thankfully, all the blood work came back okay. I have two speaking events, Chicago trip and a work trip to Tampa in the next four weeks, so I am hoping that there are no big "flare ups" and that I'll be able to quickly taper off the steroid medication.

Hope you are enjoying beautiful fall weather today!
je

Chicago next week ....

It has been a rather quiet week, as I'm still dealing with hives and am hoping that the medication starts to work by the end of the week. It is a slow, slow process! I have looked up more "home remedies" on the Internet than you can imagine.

I am doing a 3.5 mile walk on Sunday morning, which is sponsored by my physical therapist's office. I told my therpist last October that I'd do it when things improved health wise .... never dreaming that things would improve or that anyone would remember that I verbally comitted to this. It will be a proud moment for his office staff and myself .... both of us have worked really hard to get to this point with walking and movement. We are taking range-of-motion measurements on Friday (this week), so we'll hopefully see more progress.

I am looking forward to going to Chicago next Friday. It has been August since we were there last and there has been a lot of improvement since then. My orthopod also wants me to visit a special shoe place in Chicago - looks like a good place on the Internet. The hardware spot on the foot continues to be bothersome and painful, so I am thinking of possibly having the hardware removed around Christmas. We will discuss it more next week.

I have speaking events (related to the foot miracle) on October 28th (adult group) and November 4th (kiddos), so you can pray as I prepare for both. It is my desire that the magnitude of what has happened will shine brightly.

Keep praying that the hives disappear sooner rather than later .... and may they never reappear. I have been battling this for five weeks and am ready to feel well again.

je

Hives .... yikes!

I think we are finally getting to the bottom of this allergic reaction/skin deal that has continued for the past five weeks. Today I saw an allergist (who happens to go to our church) and he said that the swollen skin area around my mouth is a form of hives! Thankfully, someone cancelled an appt. and I was able to be seen much sooner than normal. The cause of it is really unknown, but basically it is swelling that comes on suddenly and causes pain on the deepest layer of skin. Emotional stress and intense exercise can make it worse …. both of which I’ve had occurring since the end of August. Supposedly it will get better with time and in the short-term the goal is just to control the uncomfortable/painful nature of it. He prescribed three medications that will hopefully cause the hives and skin to settle down.

We did blood work today too, although he was fairly confident that it would come back normal. If it was a food allergy, he said that I’ve had figured out by now what the food was that caused the swelling & it would be something fairly obvious. My lipstick is not the culprit because it is an internal problem. The good news is that it is something that should subside with time …. keep praying that it gets better sooner than later. I really want to feel better for our Chicago visit in two weeks. Last weekend was good because I took the steroid medication, but this is not something that I can keep taking long-term.

I wore a “loafer” style – closed toe – shoes to work today for the first time. I can’t even remember the last time that I wore a closed shoe …. easily two years. My physical therapist’s office is sponsoring a three mile walk/run next Sunday, and I signed up to be part of their team! I am walking and not running, but it will be a big “score” for them (& me) to be part of their group, after all we’ve been through.

Hope you have a great weekend!
je

Thanks for praying ....

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. Our family wedding over the weekend was fantastic! By Saturday the steroid medicine began working, I was feeling better and thankfully was able to sing at the wedding as planned. We had a fun time with family and friends from Ft. Wayne. We never did really figure out what I've had an allergic reaction, too. Today was the last day of the medication to stop the reaction and tonight I'm feeling like the swelling & pain is returning on the bottom of my lip. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We look four "range of motion" measurements of the foot on Monday at physical therapy. One of the four is now in the "normal range," two are pretty close to being normal and one is as far as normal as you can get (will likely always be this way, due to hardware). The pooling of blood has moved to under the big toe now, so it is all black/blue and looks pretty rough. Toe nail polish covers it fairly well, but it doesn't look good without it. The blood could be forming just from increased use and walking.

The Chicago orthopod e-mailed me on Monday and referred me to a shoe place in Chicago, which will likely offer me more shoe choices (wider). I will visit the shop in a little over two weeks. She said that I am walking and exercising more than her! We are looking forward to a follow-up appt. on October 26th. I had students in JA BizTown today, so my foot is pretty tired. I am thinking that I may have the hardware removed right before or after Christmas.

Pray that whatever caused the allergic reaction last week doesn't return ....

je

Prayer Needed!

All continues to progress well with the foot, but I've had a very rough week otherwise. Last weekend I had an allergic reaction to some medicine and my face has been very painful, swollen, and my lips have been super sensitive to anything all week. It has made eating and drinking hard and I've missed three days of work!! I had a steroid shot earlier in the week and am taking steroids orally and nothing is "kicking in" as hoped.

We have a big family wedding on Saturday in Indy and I am supposed to sing a solo. I have felt awful all week and am continuing to not do well .... I have waited for six months to go to the wedding .... have new shoes and whole deal and now this allergic reaction challenge. I really, really want to feel well for this weekend. Pray for me on Friday evening (rehearsal) and Saturday afternoon. I need to feel much better than I do presently and have seriously contemplated not going. I will see lots and lots of people and many will not have seen my foot, so it was the desire of my heart to be a strong witness to many.

I am supposed to leave for Indy early tomorrow morning, so pray for healing and that all will calm down inside my body. If it is not one thing, it is another .... gotta scoot to bed and am hoping for improvement tomorrow. Thanks for praying!

je