Happy Sunday! I heard back from Chicago & the STL doctor, but neither had an explanation or suggestion for the medial foot pain. The St. Louis doctor said to continue to be really aggressive about working the toes and trying to get flexibility, which is what we need to be able to wear a shoe. There is a window of time now and it (movement) will either return or not …. will have to see what happens in the next several weeks on this. He agreed that the reason for doing the April surgery was to try to get more toe movement so if it doesn't come back, it is a problem. I continue to highly suspect that the pain at the back of the foot is due to the front of the foot not functioning. Hives still come & go, but are a nuisance. I’ve been trying to wean off medication for sleep, but it is not happening. Between stress and still not being real active, I think the medicine is still needed. I have desired to stop it for the longest time, but now must not be the time. It is a fairly low dosage but the longer I take it, the more I think my natural sleep pattern won’t return.
I did go out to dinner and to see High School Musical at the Muny last night, but those were my outings for the week. We are getting ready to leave for San Antonio tomorrow afternoon. We arrive in Texas around 8:30pm and then get back to St. Louis at 9:30pm on Tuesday. I am not taking my laptop, so if you don’t see any blog update until Wednesday, don’t panic. I meet with the St. Louis surgeon at 8:30am on Wednesday, so I’ll probably do a blog entry with what we learn at both appointments.
Keep praying about the following:
- Travel safety to & from Texas on Monday and Tuesday
- Good appointment with Dr. I on Tuesday – 8:30am
- Foot pain relief & improved walking; swelling will decrease
- Movement in toes will occur.
- Sleep
je
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
More Pain ....
Today is the 200th blog post .... wow! Not a lot new to report this week, other than I am having an increased amount of pain when walking. The pain is on the medial (inside) near the mid-hind foot area. We are at 6 1/2 week post-op mark for the transfer surgery and 9 1/2 weeks for the toe surgery. For the minimal amount of activity that I am doing, there should be no pain. As of now, know one seems to know why there is pain or have an explanation for it. My theory and thinking is that since the front half of the foot is really non-functioning and doesn't bend that the back of the foot compensates for this & therefore the pain occurs. I e-mailed the Chicago surgeon on Monday asking for her opinion on the increased pain situation, but have not heard back from her yet.
We've had to cut back on how much we can do with the foot in therapy due to the swelling issue, and I'm feeling like this has really not been good because my foot has gone longer than it should without any movement. When I step, the toes do not bend or move like I had hoped. I am glad we are seeing the TX surgeon on Monday, but he will deal more with my transfer questions and not so much my pain/toe questions. Yesterday was my birthday, but it was hard to celebrate when not feeling well. Hives started this week near my arm incision.
It has been eight months since I have been in a tennis shoe or any type of slip on shoe. This week I've really struggled with feeling like it is not getting better like we thought it would. If we had made progress with the toe surgery, I should have seen some improvement by now. The amount of time and money we have devoted to this is overwhelming. Wishing we were going to Chicago sooner than July 18th, but that is the first Friday I can go with the July 4th holiday. Thanks for continuing to pray.
je
We've had to cut back on how much we can do with the foot in therapy due to the swelling issue, and I'm feeling like this has really not been good because my foot has gone longer than it should without any movement. When I step, the toes do not bend or move like I had hoped. I am glad we are seeing the TX surgeon on Monday, but he will deal more with my transfer questions and not so much my pain/toe questions. Yesterday was my birthday, but it was hard to celebrate when not feeling well. Hives started this week near my arm incision.
It has been eight months since I have been in a tennis shoe or any type of slip on shoe. This week I've really struggled with feeling like it is not getting better like we thought it would. If we had made progress with the toe surgery, I should have seen some improvement by now. The amount of time and money we have devoted to this is overwhelming. Wishing we were going to Chicago sooner than July 18th, but that is the first Friday I can go with the July 4th holiday. Thanks for continuing to pray.
je
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Six Weeks Post-Op
Happy Sunday! Above is a foot pic from earlier today … it is coming along, slowly but surely. Tomorrow will be the six week mark since the forearm transfer surgery. I am not doing a lot this weekend … trying to get reacquainted with my house and getting things situated after returning. I can have the foot down for a little bit or run one errand and then have to return to having it propped up for awhile. Needless to say, it seems like it takes forever to accomplish anything. There is still pain there, but it isn’t over the transfer area – hoping it is still from not being used. It doesn’t help that I can’t wear a regular shoe yet, so this is probably part of the issue.
There is a spot on the ankle incision where when I move the foot, the skin all bunches up and pulls together at one spot. My physical therapist says it is because there is a scar tissue adhesion under that area. I'm going to ask about it in Texas ... the adhesion may be able to be broken up with a lot of massage over that area.
I went to STL Bread Co. on Saturday morning and had coffee, kept the foot propped up on a chair and typed a bunch for work on my laptop … it was a fun morning, considering I had not been there in two months. Therapy will be on M/W/F afternoons this week. I want to try swimming, as the water is really good exercise for the foot, but can’t until I hear what the TX doctor says at the upcoming appointment. Our second session of camp starts tomorrow at JA, so there will be a new group of kiddos.
Hugs –
je
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Another day .... another year
Today was a fairly uneventful day, which is good considering how we started the week. I didn’t notice much difference in the swelling today (no less & no more). I had to be at a big board meeting at work this morning early, so I was proud that I made it wearing a suite & all dressed up. I sat in the back and kept the foot propped up somewhat on a chair. Had pt late afternoon on the arm and toes and came home tonight and was lazy … still fairly tired by the end of the work week. I am getting copies of x-ray films from last week to take to Texas.
My artificial hip was painful today, but I am hoping that it was from keeping the other leg elevated so high at my work desk – it is not an ideal setup, but it works. I am right at the 12 year mark for the artificial joint, which is when I was told I'd need to have it replaced. Let's hope that I can squeeze a bit more time out of it.
I looked ahead at the calendar today & realized that I’ll see all three orthopedic doctors in a 3 week period: (perhaps after this I’ll have a break for awhile)
July 1 – Dr. I – San Antonio
July 2 – Dr. K – St. Louis
July 18 – Dr. P – Chicago
Next week is my birthday and it is the greatest gift ever to not be at the same place that we were last year at this time. A year ago was when we were seriously considering amputation of the foot as our final option. It is often easy to lose hope, but you have to remember where we’ve been and what a huge role faith has played along the way. Start praying that I’ll be engaged a year from now (no prospects as of now, so pray hard) and wearing wedding shoes … wouldn’t that be a fun and happy ending to our “foot story?” I promise to buy a dress where you can see the matching shoes and wiggling toes.
je
My artificial hip was painful today, but I am hoping that it was from keeping the other leg elevated so high at my work desk – it is not an ideal setup, but it works. I am right at the 12 year mark for the artificial joint, which is when I was told I'd need to have it replaced. Let's hope that I can squeeze a bit more time out of it.
I looked ahead at the calendar today & realized that I’ll see all three orthopedic doctors in a 3 week period: (perhaps after this I’ll have a break for awhile)
July 1 – Dr. I – San Antonio
July 2 – Dr. K – St. Louis
July 18 – Dr. P – Chicago
Next week is my birthday and it is the greatest gift ever to not be at the same place that we were last year at this time. A year ago was when we were seriously considering amputation of the foot as our final option. It is often easy to lose hope, but you have to remember where we’ve been and what a huge role faith has played along the way. Start praying that I’ll be engaged a year from now (no prospects as of now, so pray hard) and wearing wedding shoes … wouldn’t that be a fun and happy ending to our “foot story?” I promise to buy a dress where you can see the matching shoes and wiggling toes.
je
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Slightly better today ....
Today was a little better, so keep praying that the swelling will dramatically improve by the weekend. The key is to get the swelling to go down and stay down. I was able to keep the foot elevated the majority of the day at work. It looked like a slumber party at my desk with the pile of pillows. The ace bandage seems to at least contain the swelling somewhat. I cancelled all of my work appointments that were out of the office for the remainder of this week … all of that will have to wait for a better week. I arranged for two more part-time staff to work next week on our camp team.
Finalized flight and hotel reservations today to travel to San Antonio on June 30th … dr. appt. on July 1st and fly home on the evening of July 1st. Blessing for today was that I was able to get an 8:30am appointment time with the surgeon, so we will have several hours to do something fun before heading back to the airport (assuming I am well & can walk). Mom is going with me to Texas, as we decided that it was too much & not safe for me to go alone. I realized late last night that we had a plane ticket credit from cancelling our return trip home last time in TX, so I really only had to buy one airline ticket this time.
My St. Louis doctor sent a follow-up e-mail note & pictures to the TX surgeon today and he copied me on the note. He said that the flap is still alive, swelling problem, and that there is slight “skin breakdown” occurring on the suture line. VERY thankful that the flap is alive! The other means there is a questionable area where you can’t tell if it is healed/closed or not – pray for the best on this. Taking it one day at a time ... swelling is the biggest concern at the moment.
Changing the nail polish on my toes …. having strawberry shortcake & calling it a day. Praising Him for a slight bit of improvement …. gotta start somewhere.
je
Finalized flight and hotel reservations today to travel to San Antonio on June 30th … dr. appt. on July 1st and fly home on the evening of July 1st. Blessing for today was that I was able to get an 8:30am appointment time with the surgeon, so we will have several hours to do something fun before heading back to the airport (assuming I am well & can walk). Mom is going with me to Texas, as we decided that it was too much & not safe for me to go alone. I realized late last night that we had a plane ticket credit from cancelling our return trip home last time in TX, so I really only had to buy one airline ticket this time.
My St. Louis doctor sent a follow-up e-mail note & pictures to the TX surgeon today and he copied me on the note. He said that the flap is still alive, swelling problem, and that there is slight “skin breakdown” occurring on the suture line. VERY thankful that the flap is alive! The other means there is a questionable area where you can’t tell if it is healed/closed or not – pray for the best on this. Taking it one day at a time ... swelling is the biggest concern at the moment.
Changing the nail polish on my toes …. having strawberry shortcake & calling it a day. Praising Him for a slight bit of improvement …. gotta start somewhere.
je
Monday, June 16, 2008
Swelling setback ....
Today was a rough day. It was one of those days that the more medical opinions I got, the more I wondered “Why haven’t I heard this before?” I was ready to “throw in the towel” at the end of the day today. Over the weekend I had significant swelling over the transfer area and ankle. As I walked the pain increased, too. I iced elevated and did the usually “swelling” stuff and then Sunday night sent an e-mail picture to the Texas surgeon. I attributed it all to the fact that I had not walked on the foot for 8 weeks. I didn’t walk excessively over the weekend or do any exercise.
He (TX dr.) e-mailed back this morning saying to stop icing, as this decreases blood circulation and flow to the foot. Great – news to me …. I had been icing every 2 hrs. over the weekend. He also said to wrap it in an ace bandage, keep it elevated at all times and return to using the crutches. He wants me to fly to Texas in two weeks for him to see it. If the swelling doesn’t get under control, there is a chance that the flap could still die because of the swelling and hanging down. What!?! This wasn’t how I wanted to start a Monday morning. I just moved things back to my house over the weekend & have not been home since early April.
I promptly went to see the STL surgeon at 1:30 to get his opinion. He agreed with the Texas surgeon, but also added to wear the boot when walking and stop physical therapy (except for the arm & toe movement). I had to keep my 3:30pm pt appt., because we were doing an evaluation on the arm today. While I was in therapy, I missed a phone call from the Texas surgeon that I had been waiting for all day. He basically told me the same thing as he had stated in the morning e-mail & said that he’d see me in two weeks. He also said that the swelling could easily last 2-3 weeks.
Having swelling when the cast comes off is not uncommon, but in my case it always takes a long time to go away. I had planned & arranged to go to Chicago and meet with that surgeon on June 30th, but now it looks like we have to return to Texas. I just told the Chicago doctor last night that we were looking forward to seeing her and visiting with family in IL the weekend before. It now means that we have to get a flight, hotel, rental car, etc. & do all this coordination to go back to Texas on June 30th. It isn’t a money issue, although it is upsetting that this is going to cost a sizeable amount.
To make matters more challenging, I have a new camp starting next week & I’m not prepared yet for it. There is a ton to do yet and now my foot is supposed to remain elevated at all times. My boss is out of the country until next Tuesday, so she doesn’t know any of this yet.
Needless to say, all of this is fairly frustrating as we were doing so well …. I thought we were totally past the point of the transfer possibly dying. Follow-up care is so hard when you involve multiple doctors and then you are twenty hours away from the main doctor. Even when you think everyone is on the “same page” it was clear today that this is not always the case. Just last week I heard “do whatever you want,” but it was a very conservative and cautious tune today.
Prayer requests for this week …
- SWELLING GOES AWAY!
- The transfer area continues to live and doesn’t die.
- Scheduling & coordination details for Texas trip on June 30th
- Patience, acceptance, peace and better attitude
- Work – get needed items accomplished this week
Hoping tomorrow is better ….
je
He (TX dr.) e-mailed back this morning saying to stop icing, as this decreases blood circulation and flow to the foot. Great – news to me …. I had been icing every 2 hrs. over the weekend. He also said to wrap it in an ace bandage, keep it elevated at all times and return to using the crutches. He wants me to fly to Texas in two weeks for him to see it. If the swelling doesn’t get under control, there is a chance that the flap could still die because of the swelling and hanging down. What!?! This wasn’t how I wanted to start a Monday morning. I just moved things back to my house over the weekend & have not been home since early April.
I promptly went to see the STL surgeon at 1:30 to get his opinion. He agreed with the Texas surgeon, but also added to wear the boot when walking and stop physical therapy (except for the arm & toe movement). I had to keep my 3:30pm pt appt., because we were doing an evaluation on the arm today. While I was in therapy, I missed a phone call from the Texas surgeon that I had been waiting for all day. He basically told me the same thing as he had stated in the morning e-mail & said that he’d see me in two weeks. He also said that the swelling could easily last 2-3 weeks.
Having swelling when the cast comes off is not uncommon, but in my case it always takes a long time to go away. I had planned & arranged to go to Chicago and meet with that surgeon on June 30th, but now it looks like we have to return to Texas. I just told the Chicago doctor last night that we were looking forward to seeing her and visiting with family in IL the weekend before. It now means that we have to get a flight, hotel, rental car, etc. & do all this coordination to go back to Texas on June 30th. It isn’t a money issue, although it is upsetting that this is going to cost a sizeable amount.
To make matters more challenging, I have a new camp starting next week & I’m not prepared yet for it. There is a ton to do yet and now my foot is supposed to remain elevated at all times. My boss is out of the country until next Tuesday, so she doesn’t know any of this yet.
Needless to say, all of this is fairly frustrating as we were doing so well …. I thought we were totally past the point of the transfer possibly dying. Follow-up care is so hard when you involve multiple doctors and then you are twenty hours away from the main doctor. Even when you think everyone is on the “same page” it was clear today that this is not always the case. Just last week I heard “do whatever you want,” but it was a very conservative and cautious tune today.
Prayer requests for this week …
- SWELLING GOES AWAY!
- The transfer area continues to live and doesn’t die.
- Scheduling & coordination details for Texas trip on June 30th
- Patience, acceptance, peace and better attitude
- Work – get needed items accomplished this week
Hoping tomorrow is better ….
je
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Started physical therapy ....
I have been walking on the foot as much as I can, but there is lots of soreness and stiffness. It is not anything abnormal, but it is very clear that we have a significant amount of rehab work ahead. I will be lucky to be finished by the end of the summer. All the muscles, tendons, skin have not worked for the past eight weeks so everything is kinda in "shock mode," now that they are required to function. The bottom of the foot is like baby skin & is super tender. I resorted to prescription pain medicine Friday and today ... hopefully just needed for the first few days here. I noticed that even just sitting and crossing my leg hurts when the calf of the operative foot touches the other leg ... it will all improve with time. I would guess that even in another week it will be a lot better.
Pt was okay on Friday, but the evaluation took a long time as there was a lot to cover and explain on what had happened from November through June. We didn't really get to exercising or working on the arm - both will happen on Monday. I was very tired from camp, before I even arrived for the pt session. We did measure the foot and it is 2" bigger than the left, so swelling is pretty significant. Shoe wear is going to be a challenge for the next few weeks.
Moved some things from mom & dad's house to my house today. Glad our first week of summer camp at work is behind us. No kiddos this week, so there will be a little break ... I am glad. I was able to walk in and do my part in a camp skit on Wednesday, which I was happy about.
Happy weekend!
Jenny
Pt was okay on Friday, but the evaluation took a long time as there was a lot to cover and explain on what had happened from November through June. We didn't really get to exercising or working on the arm - both will happen on Monday. I was very tired from camp, before I even arrived for the pt session. We did measure the foot and it is 2" bigger than the left, so swelling is pretty significant. Shoe wear is going to be a challenge for the next few weeks.
Moved some things from mom & dad's house to my house today. Glad our first week of summer camp at work is behind us. No kiddos this week, so there will be a little break ... I am glad. I was able to walk in and do my part in a camp skit on Wednesday, which I was happy about.
Happy weekend!
Jenny
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
BIG DAY!
CAST OFF ... yeah! Yeah! Our follow-up appointment went great! All still looks good overall and the x-ray was good as for bone structure. There are two little areas (at the corner) of the transplant area that are not healed yet, so we are hoping that they close in the next week. There is a scab at two corners, but it is hard to tell if they are sealed or not. I am able to put weight on it now and can wear a Croc style shoe. Crutches are in the basement (forever).
The St. Louis surgeon said to push and work it really hard for the next month - walk, swim, run, dance, .... do whatever I can to make it work and function. "No Pain, No Gain" was his motto today. He said that there is nothing I can do to hurt it, so use the next month to try to get movement back. We are starting physical therapy on Friday afternoon for six hours a week. We will work on toe movement, walking and a little therapy to improve strength in the wrist/arm area.
I walked out of the doctor's office and was able to walk into JA ... awesome feeling and a day that we've been waiting for the longest time. The kids at camp all wanted to see it when I arrived late this morning. Sent e-mail notes and pictures to Texas and Chicago tonight. Looking forward to a long shower, sleeping without a cast and felt good to clear my own dishes after dinner tonight.
Praising God for progress today!
je
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
4 weeks Post-Op
Tomorrow is our big "Cast Off" day ... yeah! Our appointment is at 8:40am and then I will head to summer camp. I am in a skit tomorrow for camp where I play an old lady and have to walk in with a cane ... only have to take a few steps, so surely I can do that. I have a bag with lotion and washcloths packed to take to work tomorrow. I will send an e-mail Wednesday evening to the TX and Chicago surgeons and will update them. The arm incision is looking good. There was some bruising that popped up over the weekend, but it is going away now.
Four weeks ago yesterday was our surgery day in San Antonio. It was a long day and night, but we made it. It feels like a lot has happened and we have much to be thankful for in the past four weeks. Still very thankful that we had a top-notch surgeon with great bed side manner ... we couldn't have asked for more.
Trying to manage expectations tonight - remembering that there will be stiffness, swelling, probably little movement, etc. Praying that if there is pain at the beginning that it will be minimal. We have waited a long time for this day and are believing that our latest surgery, cast, recovery period will be the last. Praying that all still looks closed, healed, sealed, shut, & will never come open again!
Will update the blog tomorrow evening ...
Love,
Jenny
Four weeks ago yesterday was our surgery day in San Antonio. It was a long day and night, but we made it. It feels like a lot has happened and we have much to be thankful for in the past four weeks. Still very thankful that we had a top-notch surgeon with great bed side manner ... we couldn't have asked for more.
Trying to manage expectations tonight - remembering that there will be stiffness, swelling, probably little movement, etc. Praying that if there is pain at the beginning that it will be minimal. We have waited a long time for this day and are believing that our latest surgery, cast, recovery period will be the last. Praying that all still looks closed, healed, sealed, shut, & will never come open again!
Will update the blog tomorrow evening ...
Love,
Jenny
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Summer camp tomorrow ...
Thursday afternoon and Friday were good days at work, but both were really busy. I had already returned as many e-mails as I could from home, so I didn’t have to spend all the time at the computer. It became very evident that there is still a ways to go with improving arm strength. Things like the refrigerator door or a door handle were hard to open. It will come with time – no worries. I made play-dough this afternoon for summer camp and really had to work at mixing it. It was good though to squeeze it with my hands and proved to be quite the workout. I sat outside some Saturday and read, but didn’t last real long with the heat. The cast gets hot and then the foot/leg swells and I quickly determined it is best to come inside into the air conditioning.
I have been amazed at how much better the cast has been this time without the Steri-strips that apparently I was allergic to. I must have had 20-30 casts before and was constantly itching. The past four weeks has been the first time ever that I didn’t have them … thanks to the San Antonio nurses for knowing the culprit. Just goes to show that if you think something is wrong, it probably is! I’ve also used this spray called Cast Blast, which is talc and aerosol alcohol (cooling). The spray can has a long, thin nozzle that goes down into the cast – expensive, but worth it.
We are down to our last surprise envelope with a dining out gift card that I made before surgery started. It has been a fun thing and a little break for mom with some meals. We have done one each week for the past seven weeks.
Resting today and gearing up for lively summer camp kiddos that start tomorrow …. only 2 days left with our FINAL cast – yippee! Looking forward to starting physical therapy on Friday afternoon.
Stay cool,
Jenny
I have been amazed at how much better the cast has been this time without the Steri-strips that apparently I was allergic to. I must have had 20-30 casts before and was constantly itching. The past four weeks has been the first time ever that I didn’t have them … thanks to the San Antonio nurses for knowing the culprit. Just goes to show that if you think something is wrong, it probably is! I’ve also used this spray called Cast Blast, which is talc and aerosol alcohol (cooling). The spray can has a long, thin nozzle that goes down into the cast – expensive, but worth it.
We are down to our last surprise envelope with a dining out gift card that I made before surgery started. It has been a fun thing and a little break for mom with some meals. We have done one each week for the past seven weeks.
Resting today and gearing up for lively summer camp kiddos that start tomorrow …. only 2 days left with our FINAL cast – yippee! Looking forward to starting physical therapy on Friday afternoon.
Stay cool,
Jenny
Thursday, June 5, 2008
JA Work Surprise ...
Today was an awesome day! Late afternoon yesterday my boss sent me an e-mail and asked if I’d like her to come pick me up and take me to JA to be part of a 1:00 summer camp meeting today. She suspected that I was bored and she was totally right! It was like the night before the first day of school last night, as I was so excited I could hardly sleep. We surprised everyone at JA and no one knew that I was coming! It was wonderful to see everyone and share that things are healing well. It will take several days to play “catch up” at my desk and get reacquainted with things. A month is a long break … I couldn’t even remember the password for my computer. My staff did a fantastic job while I was away, and completed a phenomenal amount of prep work for summer camp. I almost feel bad just waltzing (or really riding on the scooter) in and teaching – they’ve done all the long hours of getting it all ready.
The shoes that I ordered arrived today and they are darling. I am trying to prepare myself that they may not fit right away due to swelling, but I am hoping that they will work sooner than later. They are good motivation for working hard at pt and hopefully I’ll be able to wear them by the end of June.
Only 5 more days and then the cast comes off! I’ve never had anyone “sign” or write on the cast, so maybe we’ll do a number “countdown” on the side of the cast over the weekend. I’m usually all about wanting it to look clean, so that may drive me crazy on second thought.
To those of you that sent cards to the hospital in Texas and are still having them returned, please know that you are not the only one. Not sure why but the San Antonio mail was super slow and there were more cards that were returned than made it through before we left. So sorry! It has been fun to have them continue to come at home. I taped 35 cards up on the closet door in my bedroom this morning, so I can see all of them at one time – lots of pink!
God continues to be good, while providing strength and grace. Therapy will be six hours a week starting next Friday … the hard work may actually be ahead yet, but I am confident I’ll make it. If there is anything that I have learned it is that you are often stronger than your wildest dream. Today is the 190th blog entry ... who would have ever thought I'd have this long of a story.
je
The shoes that I ordered arrived today and they are darling. I am trying to prepare myself that they may not fit right away due to swelling, but I am hoping that they will work sooner than later. They are good motivation for working hard at pt and hopefully I’ll be able to wear them by the end of June.
Only 5 more days and then the cast comes off! I’ve never had anyone “sign” or write on the cast, so maybe we’ll do a number “countdown” on the side of the cast over the weekend. I’m usually all about wanting it to look clean, so that may drive me crazy on second thought.
To those of you that sent cards to the hospital in Texas and are still having them returned, please know that you are not the only one. Not sure why but the San Antonio mail was super slow and there were more cards that were returned than made it through before we left. So sorry! It has been fun to have them continue to come at home. I taped 35 cards up on the closet door in my bedroom this morning, so I can see all of them at one time – lots of pink!
God continues to be good, while providing strength and grace. Therapy will be six hours a week starting next Friday … the hard work may actually be ahead yet, but I am confident I’ll make it. If there is anything that I have learned it is that you are often stronger than your wildest dream. Today is the 190th blog entry ... who would have ever thought I'd have this long of a story.
je
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Shoe wear ahead ....
Happy Wednesday! Not a lot of change has happened in the past two days – more waiting! I am looking forward to returning to JA on Friday. It will be good to see everyone, after being gone for the past four weeks. Next week will be really busy with summer camp – 80 kids from 9:00-3:00 each day.
My big accomplishment for the day is that I figured out how to carry a drink in a cup, while using crutches! Hard to explain in writing, but I did it!
The egg shaped area in the picture above is where we transplanted the skin from the arm. The old yucky incision is totally gone - amazing! The blue "line mark" shows where the artery was connected at the ankle. The stitches are all removed now. (Click on the picture to make it larger)
I confirmed with my STL surgeon this morning as to what I should bring to his office next Wednesday (8:40am appt.) for shoe wear. He said any loose fitting shoe will be fine … suggested a Croc style. He also said that beginning aggressive therapy on the toes next Friday would be okay. Still a long haul ahead with therapy, but we’ll work hard at it and will see how much motion/mobility we can gain. This may be the first time that we can make bigger progress with therapy, given now that there should be plenty of flexibility that IS possible (has not always been the case in the past). My therapist is really good & I haven’t seen him since November so four surgeries later, we have to catch up!
I sent a thank-you card and two pictures today to the medical team at the TX hospital. On the day that we left many of the “usual staff” were off, so the majority of them did not get to see what the foot looked like. I felt bad because they had checked the foot every hour for a week and then when the bandages were removed, none of them were there – bummer. In thinking about it, I had such great medical care. I miss the cranberry juice cocktail and vanilla pudding that were my afternoon treats.
Today I ordered a fun pair of black summer sandals with rhinestone buckles this morning on the Internet. The straps are adjustable so with any luck, they will work. It is probably a long shot, but you don’t know unless you try. If they are okay, I’ll order them in another color.
This morning I was thinking about how it is such human nature to always want something that you don’t have & how hard it is to be content. In the hospital, I just wanted to use the crutches … now I want to to put weight on the foot, wear a shoe, be at home …. next week I will want to drive …. three weeks from now, I will be wishing that therapy was over. It is never ending. Part of it is simply going through a long health journey, but it is hard to just relax, chill out, and not get ahead of yourself. The closer you get to possible “finality,” the more you want it to happen now. Patience, I know … easier said than done .... have to be happy and thankful for what you have.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Good news ....
Good news at our doctor appointment today ….
- Had the stitches removed in the arm and foot. There were 70-80 stitches in the foot, so it took quite a while. The stitches in the arm were a bummer to remove, as there is not a lot of “fat” on the inner arm and the incision is long … really tender & I had to tough it out for a few minutes.
- The foot is healing well & it all looks to be staying closed. It wasn’t terribly swollen, which was good. Definitely looked like it had been through a lot, but we expected that. I piled on the baby lotion as soon as we cut off the cast.
- As for the toe movement that I was concerned about, he said not to panic at the moment … more time needed. The possibility for more flexibility should now exist, but he thinks that the toe tendons are so weak that a lot of therapy is going to be needed. He is hopeful that eventually I will be able to move them on my own … still a tiny flicker is possible now. Because we don’t want the toes to forget their job, we are going to start physical therapy soon (probably as soon as the cast comes off). I was glad about this because waiting another four weeks would not be good. Not sure if wearing a shoe is going to happen as soon as I’d like – may need to readjust my thinking in that department.
- The medical assistant commented that the cast that I had removed was super tight; she couldn’t believe that I lasted three weeks in it ….the one now is much better.
- The entire lower leg/foot has a significant amount of atrophy … it is smaller than I have ever seen it. I don’t know if it was ever that small in the 4th grade, but it is now. It looks like I have lost weight in the lower leg and then a lot of lost muscle. What woman doesn’t want a small calf?
My STL surgeon talked to the TX surgeon on the phone when I getting the stitches removed, so the TX surgeon has the latest update. I picked hot pink for the cast color today, although it is more like neon pink (pretty bright). Our next appointment is next Wednesday & the cast then comes off for good. We may start pt next Friday and will do it 3x/week – thankfully it is right next door to my office.
Very thankful and praising God for the good report today. I am going to go back to work on Friday and get some things organized before summer camp starts next Monday.
Thanks for praying .... keep it up, it is working.
Love,
Jenny
- Had the stitches removed in the arm and foot. There were 70-80 stitches in the foot, so it took quite a while. The stitches in the arm were a bummer to remove, as there is not a lot of “fat” on the inner arm and the incision is long … really tender & I had to tough it out for a few minutes.
- The foot is healing well & it all looks to be staying closed. It wasn’t terribly swollen, which was good. Definitely looked like it had been through a lot, but we expected that. I piled on the baby lotion as soon as we cut off the cast.
- As for the toe movement that I was concerned about, he said not to panic at the moment … more time needed. The possibility for more flexibility should now exist, but he thinks that the toe tendons are so weak that a lot of therapy is going to be needed. He is hopeful that eventually I will be able to move them on my own … still a tiny flicker is possible now. Because we don’t want the toes to forget their job, we are going to start physical therapy soon (probably as soon as the cast comes off). I was glad about this because waiting another four weeks would not be good. Not sure if wearing a shoe is going to happen as soon as I’d like – may need to readjust my thinking in that department.
- The medical assistant commented that the cast that I had removed was super tight; she couldn’t believe that I lasted three weeks in it ….the one now is much better.
- The entire lower leg/foot has a significant amount of atrophy … it is smaller than I have ever seen it. I don’t know if it was ever that small in the 4th grade, but it is now. It looks like I have lost weight in the lower leg and then a lot of lost muscle. What woman doesn’t want a small calf?
My STL surgeon talked to the TX surgeon on the phone when I getting the stitches removed, so the TX surgeon has the latest update. I picked hot pink for the cast color today, although it is more like neon pink (pretty bright). Our next appointment is next Wednesday & the cast then comes off for good. We may start pt next Friday and will do it 3x/week – thankfully it is right next door to my office.
Very thankful and praising God for the good report today. I am going to go back to work on Friday and get some things organized before summer camp starts next Monday.
Thanks for praying .... keep it up, it is working.
Love,
Jenny
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