Chicago Weekend Ahead .....

Happy Friday .... this is blog post #335 - wow!

Just a quick note to let you know that I’ll update the blog on Tuesday after my appt. in Chicago on Monday (thinking it will be late on Monday night when we get home).

The wound/incision stuff looked really good at the beginning of the week and it has gone downhill at the end of the week. Who knows what it will look like on Monday …. honestly I’d like Dr. P to get a good picture of how rough it looks most of the time.

Good news on the pt front …. We have made big progress in the past month with the “pronation” movement (gas pedal motion). I’ve gone from 48 degrees to 52 degrees to now 62!! Sometimes it takes me 6-8 months to get ten degrees of new movement, so this is awesome ….. guess driving with the correct foot has helped!

I sold my car – yippee! A family from Fenton purchased it for their daughter to use at college.

Pray for safe travel, fun time with mom and a good visit with Dr. P on Monday (9:45am appt.). I think she is coming off a week of vacation and it is her first day back in the office and a Monday no less, so hopefully we can spend a little bit of time w/her. (Not great planning on my part, but that is the way this time.)

Happy weekend to you!
je

Summer Weekend ....

This picture would look better on a beach with white sand, blue waves and a pina-colada .... use your imagination. It has been a busy and fun weekend! This is probably the first weekend in a long time that I spent very little time dealing with foot issues, problems or just thinking about the situation. It was wonderful, so perhaps I'm getting closer to having it feel more "normal."

I am making a little progress with trying a "dressy" shoe. I have a fun new black sandal that I'll have to take a picture of soon and post. I am practicing around the house and may wear it in Chicago next weekend.

Mom spent the night at my house on Friday night and we had "girls night" - dinner together and mom/daughter stuff. I've been helping a family (new to St. Charles) get settled and they have three boys (elementary age), so I did school supply shopping for them on Saturday, went to the gym, washed my car and did errands.

My car did not sell this week, so keep that on your prayer list! It is a very long story but the buyer had a fraudulent check, so I am starting over. The good news is that I'm not any money, but the bad news is that I have to find a new buyer .... it will happen eventually.

Pt is on Tuesday of this week. Mom & I are headed to central IL on Saturday morning and will spend the day with family. There is a new Eickhorst kiddo in the past two weeks (another boy!). We'll then go to Chicago on Sunday morning and spend the day there. My appt. w/Dr. P is on Monday morning (Aug. 3) ... just a final check to make sure all is okay & to confirm that I've done enough pt.

Thanks for your prayers ... all is still flat, and some toe movement still remains.

Wishing you a joyous summer week!
je

Post-Op Week #17 - still good!

This week is post-op week #17 .... this is a really good sign that we've made it this far with no complications. I think the silver sulfa cream that I dug out of my tub of Rx creams MAY be working on the wound issue. It is looking somewhat better and at least it is not any worse.

I had pt on Tuesday and have been to the gym three times this week in the evenings. There has been no progress in ROM in the past three weeks, so I am guessing we are going to stop the pt after my appt. in Chicago on August 3rd. You get to place where additional progress is minimal or none & I am fairly sure we may be there.

I've about decided that the swelling over the transplant area may just be puffy and continually swollen forever ... it basically means that sometimes you can wear a shoe in the morning and maybe not in the afternoon, but in the long run it is probably a small price to pay.

I am FINALLY to the point that I don't think about driving with my left foot anymore, which is a good thing. I am still slow when walking with someone - e.g. like at the mall .... why rush shopping time, right? Remember, I'm still scouting out Mr. Right, so it is more time to check out possibilities.

Today at our work retreat multiple people commented that this was the first retreat in five years that I've been able to wear matching shoes .... they were right! For two years, I remember walking in on crutches because someone else had to carry in pillows for me. Progress, progress .... we've come a long way!

Happy weekend to you!
je

Moving forward ....

Not a lot new happening, but I didn't want anyone to panic with no new update! Still "doctoring" the wound issue and taking it day by day. Some days it looks halfway decent and other days is the opposite. I dug out some old prescription cream that I had from my long saga with the foot wound before, so I am trying it now. We'll see if I notice any improvement in a few days.

Today I was able to use the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes on the treadmill at the gym, which is way more than I could do a month ago.

Pt is on Tuesday this week and I have really huge groups of inner city kids (all day) at JA on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Thursday is our JA staff retreat, so that will be a day of sitting .... probably good after the two previous days of standing.

I have been trying to sell my old car with little luck and now I have a potential "buyer," so pray that goes through smoothly early this week. I used Craig's list for the first time, but it is kinda scary with such a large dollar amount for the first transaction.

Keep praying for toes to remain flat, decrease in swelling (or less puffy toes days), and that the wound issue would clear up.

Thanks for checking in!
je

Several rough days .....

This week has been tough on the "foot scene." The area on my foot with the skin issues over the incision has gotten worse and now there are three spots instead of one. One area is an entire incision (top of the foot) that is two years old and now it is all irritated, red, open, etc. Two spots are on top & one on the side of the foot. The bottom line is that I am just sick of dealing with it! I didn't think there was an infection, but maybe there is & I don't know it - who knows.

It is clear that nothing over-the-counter is going to work in getting it to clear up. Unfortunately, there is a big foot orthopedic physician conference this week and all my doctors are there for the week. It is likely that nothing is going to improve on this yet this week. I have an appt. w/my Chicago surgeon in two weeks, so that may be my best bet for help .... although I was hoping to walk in there with no issues.

I still feel like I am spending more time than I'd like being aware of how my foot feels, checking for swelling, changing shoes mid-day, etc. It may always be that way, but I would love to get to the point where it doesn't consume as much time/thoughts.

I've been on my feet at work all day for the past three days and then have had things involving standing in the evening too, so I was in pain this afternoon and resorted to narcotic meds. I passed on going to the gym tonight & am headed to bed early.

Papa John (yes, the founder) is coming to JA this Friday from 3:00-3:30 to tell his story of starting his pizza business. The event is free & is open to the public, if you happen to be interested in attending and hearing him speak. It is open to kids and adults. Free pizza, too!

Long day .... thanks for checking in!
je

Heels Ahead .... maybe!

Overall I had a fairly good week with the foot and it was nice to have a break from ten-year-olds at work. Pt was on Tuesday and it was fine. My STL surgeon did write another script for continuing pt 1x/week for the next 6-8 weeks. My next session is next Thursday and I’m going to bring a shoe with a little heel and we are going to practice walking in it. A heeled shoe is really the wrong phrase as it is only about 1” at the most, but I practiced around my house and did awful – not sure if it is a bit early to be trying or a “no go” like forever.

There was one evening earlier this week that my toes felt like they were starting to contract in a fixed position, but they were ok the following morning. (I was sure a problem was about to occur, but thankfully nothing happened.)

There are three spots on the foot that just continue to be irritated, open, etc. It has been this way for the past 14 weeks, so I am close to visiting the STL surgeon and seeing if he has any suggestions. I was trying to avoid the $50 co-pay & him possibly not having advice, but today it looked worse. The three areas are extremely itchy, which makes me wonder about a suture reaction. I itch it and then it opens, more scabs, bleeds, etc. – it is a cycle. I’ve tried oral meds, anti-itch cream, etc. & no luck. I am tired of battling it. I know you are thinking all would be well if I didn’t itch it, but that is impossible (believe me, I’ve tried).

My appt. w/my hip dr. went well today. I found out that I can wait until next summer to do anything with the hip (assuming no issues arise) – yippee! He wanted me to bring him up-to-date on the foot situation, so that took the first few minutes. He took x-rays and you can see where the liner of my hip is slowly wearing down & when this gets further along … it is time for the revision surgery. It is a slow process, but you need to have it replaced BEFORE pain starts or it is a much larger & involved surgery. Given my surgery history, he thinks it would be better to replace it on the “early side” of wear and tear. It is only a 3-4 day hospital stay and then 3-4 weeks of recovery, as opposed to a 4 month ordeal the w/the hip replacement surgery. My hip doctor is fabulous, so this will be a piece of cake when the time comes compared to all this foot stuff.

No big weekend plans. I’m doing centerpieces for a church swim party with several hundred people tomorrow night … we are using real fish in the centerpiece, so they are fun! I’m still going to the gym about every other day & working out for about 60 minutes.

Keep praying that the foot continues to feel natural, toes remain touching the ground, stamina & strength increases & for swelling in the forefoot to diminish.

Happy weekend to you … thanks for checking in!
je

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to you! I had Monday and Tuesday off work last week (vacation time that I needed to use) and then Friday off for the holiday, so it was a very short work week. It was fantastic to have two days off after a hectic camp week!

Foot is still remaining flat, toes move some, wound is looking a little better today. I've been at the gym 4 times this week and had pt on Tuesday. My physical therapist thought it would be wise to continue therapy once a week for the next six weeks .... just to make sure that nothing changes with ROM and keep an eye on things. My therapist was going to talk to my STL dr. and see what he thought. We just finished post-op week #14, so each week that we get further out with no complications is great! Several people commented this week that I am limping, but that is the hip issue and the difference in leg length (which will be fixed when we operate at some point). The appt. with my hip surgeon is at 2pm on Friday (7/10).

Mom & I went to Lake of the Ozarks yesterday to shop at the outlet area and had lunch at a fun tea room. I didn't buy much, but it was fun to be able to get away and walk from store to store.

Stay cool & enjoy the long holiday weekend!
je