Just a quick note to let you know that all is still fantastic with my foot! There is no pain and I am able to do a lot more, now that we took care of the toe issue. The skin problems continue to subside, and I'd guess that in another week or so you won't be able to see anything on either leg. The "spots" are totally gone on the left leg and have faded a lot already on the right leg . . . . I think it was a combination of the Staph infection, and lanolin/Lycra/spandex allergy. I've seen a huge improvement with the the organic socks and tights. I really should go back to my dermo dr. and show her . . . she won't believe the improvement. She thought the scarring would never go away, but it is fading.
At the end of this week, it will be seven months since the last surgery. Every month that I go without issues is a stronger indication that there might not be future "issues." The micro surgeon that did my transplant surgery in San Antonio has since moved to Pennsylvania. I read an article last week that he recently performed one of the first hand transplants. That patient wanted to be able to wear a wedding ring and he made it happen - long & technical surgery. I was so fortunate to have had him as a physician.
Christmas was relaxing and enjoyable . . . it was great to just enjoy the meaning of the holiday and not have to focus on health issues. I did miss the handicapped parking pass a teensy bit, but not enough to truly need one!
Need to get dinner going . . . . thanks for checking in!
je
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
All is well with the big toe . . . .
Post #445 . . .
I am doing well since the toenail procedure last week. I cannot believe how much better it feels and should have had it removed 5-6 months ago! You’d think I’d know my now to go to the dr., if it was continually hurting. It is still healing somewhat, but it will be totally healed by the end of the weekend.
On Tuesday, I had students all day and then went to a holiday concert in the evening at Powell Hall. I wore a dress boots and was able to walk to the car, at the end of the evening, without any pain …. Yippee!!
Tomorrow is our big “JA Jingle Day” at work …. it is a holiday “kid day” – parents paid up to have one more free day to shop, bake, wrap, etc. I think we’ve had as much fun planning it as the kids will have. This morning I baked 195 sugar cookies for kids to decorate tomorrow – what we do for kids!
Next week I’m off work the entire week and am so looking forward to relaxing at home. We are going to central IL on Sunday morning to celebrate Christmas with the Eickhorst crew.
Need to get my elf hat ready for tomorrow ….. thanks for checking in!
Hugs -
Jenny
I am doing well since the toenail procedure last week. I cannot believe how much better it feels and should have had it removed 5-6 months ago! You’d think I’d know my now to go to the dr., if it was continually hurting. It is still healing somewhat, but it will be totally healed by the end of the weekend.
On Tuesday, I had students all day and then went to a holiday concert in the evening at Powell Hall. I wore a dress boots and was able to walk to the car, at the end of the evening, without any pain …. Yippee!!
Tomorrow is our big “JA Jingle Day” at work …. it is a holiday “kid day” – parents paid up to have one more free day to shop, bake, wrap, etc. I think we’ve had as much fun planning it as the kids will have. This morning I baked 195 sugar cookies for kids to decorate tomorrow – what we do for kids!
Next week I’m off work the entire week and am so looking forward to relaxing at home. We are going to central IL on Sunday morning to celebrate Christmas with the Eickhorst crew.
Need to get my elf hat ready for tomorrow ….. thanks for checking in!
Hugs -
Jenny
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Toenail . . .
I met with my STL orthopedic surgeon this afternoon at 2:30pm. He walked into the room and asked where I’d been for the past six months . . . it is a good thing that I’ve managed to go 6 mo. without an appt.
He agreed that my fused toe should not be hurting and that it was an ingrown toenail. He did not think it was infected, but neither of us wanted to take any changes with that happening, if we took the “wait and see” approach. He said that he could remove it, so I opted to do it today. I told him upfront that there was no way I was going to a podiatrist.
It took awhile for the numbing medicine to work, but at least it is done. It isn’t something you want to do more often than necessary…. good thing I have a high pain tolerance. If the toenail issue returns, then we’ll do something surgical, that is more involved, to solve the problem.
He joked and said that it is considered an office “surgery,” but in my case he said let’s not count it as a surgery . . . . my surgery list doesn’t need to be any longer. We laughed about it and agreed that we’d just call it a surgical procedure.
I’m in quite a bit of pain now, but that is because the anesthetic is wearing off. Hopefully the pain meds kick in soon. I am planning on going to work tomorrow, but may use the scooter for a day. Everything else continues to be okay …. super busy with students and preparing for a holiday kiddo day (JA Jingle Day) next Thursday.
Hope you are staying warm!
Jenny
He agreed that my fused toe should not be hurting and that it was an ingrown toenail. He did not think it was infected, but neither of us wanted to take any changes with that happening, if we took the “wait and see” approach. He said that he could remove it, so I opted to do it today. I told him upfront that there was no way I was going to a podiatrist.
It took awhile for the numbing medicine to work, but at least it is done. It isn’t something you want to do more often than necessary…. good thing I have a high pain tolerance. If the toenail issue returns, then we’ll do something surgical, that is more involved, to solve the problem.
He joked and said that it is considered an office “surgery,” but in my case he said let’s not count it as a surgery . . . . my surgery list doesn’t need to be any longer. We laughed about it and agreed that we’d just call it a surgical procedure.
I’m in quite a bit of pain now, but that is because the anesthetic is wearing off. Hopefully the pain meds kick in soon. I am planning on going to work tomorrow, but may use the scooter for a day. Everything else continues to be okay …. super busy with students and preparing for a holiday kiddo day (JA Jingle Day) next Thursday.
Hope you are staying warm!
Jenny
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Finished pt . . . all is good!
Greetings! Sorry for the lack of updates lately . . . lots of holiday stuff happening.
Last Friday was my final physical therapy session. It went well and I made big progress since we started in September. My “graduation gift” was a t-shirt from the pt office. Lots of time and money, but in the end it was worth it. I promised to keep in touch w/my therapist & will take them some holiday treats in another week. The toes are still flat and I am walking well. I wish the Dallas dr. could see that all is well.
Funny story today with a student at JA . . . . he was the “security officer” in JA BizTown, and he gave me a “ticket” for walking fast. His job was to enforce the rules & make sure slow walking was occurring. I laughed and thought that was a great accomplishment in my case. I think he was disappointed that I wasn’t upset with receiving a “ticket.”
On Tuesday of this week, I wore a boot (dressy w/no heel) at work (did not have students) and lasted all day in the boot. I was so happy and lasted wearing it much longer than I anticipated.
Tonight I was at the nail salon and ended up having a pedicure because of a bad callus that I couldn’t get to on my left foot. I am not supposed to bend that far w/my lack of hip motion. Anyway, while I was there I told the technician that the corner of my toe on my right foot was continually sore . . . she took one look at it and said, you have an ingrown toenail! Ugh! So, now I’m thinking that the toe pain I’ve had for several months & thought is was because of the toe fusion is likely an ingrown toenail. Wouldn’t that be something if we could get that to disappear? I’ll call my STL ortho dr. tomorrow & will make an appt. . . . not sure if he normally does that type of thing, but he likely will for me. After all, I’m not stepping into a podiatrist’s office. Hindsight is 20/20, but I guess I should have thought about an ingrown toenail . . . . with so much happening with that foot, you never really what is causing pain! I read that even trauma to the foot can cause it, so who knows when it started. I hope the technician is right, as that is something that can be fixed.
Need to get back to wrapping gifts . . . thanks for checking in!
je
Last Friday was my final physical therapy session. It went well and I made big progress since we started in September. My “graduation gift” was a t-shirt from the pt office. Lots of time and money, but in the end it was worth it. I promised to keep in touch w/my therapist & will take them some holiday treats in another week. The toes are still flat and I am walking well. I wish the Dallas dr. could see that all is well.
Funny story today with a student at JA . . . . he was the “security officer” in JA BizTown, and he gave me a “ticket” for walking fast. His job was to enforce the rules & make sure slow walking was occurring. I laughed and thought that was a great accomplishment in my case. I think he was disappointed that I wasn’t upset with receiving a “ticket.”
On Tuesday of this week, I wore a boot (dressy w/no heel) at work (did not have students) and lasted all day in the boot. I was so happy and lasted wearing it much longer than I anticipated.
Tonight I was at the nail salon and ended up having a pedicure because of a bad callus that I couldn’t get to on my left foot. I am not supposed to bend that far w/my lack of hip motion. Anyway, while I was there I told the technician that the corner of my toe on my right foot was continually sore . . . she took one look at it and said, you have an ingrown toenail! Ugh! So, now I’m thinking that the toe pain I’ve had for several months & thought is was because of the toe fusion is likely an ingrown toenail. Wouldn’t that be something if we could get that to disappear? I’ll call my STL ortho dr. tomorrow & will make an appt. . . . not sure if he normally does that type of thing, but he likely will for me. After all, I’m not stepping into a podiatrist’s office. Hindsight is 20/20, but I guess I should have thought about an ingrown toenail . . . . with so much happening with that foot, you never really what is causing pain! I read that even trauma to the foot can cause it, so who knows when it started. I hope the technician is right, as that is something that can be fixed.
Need to get back to wrapping gifts . . . thanks for checking in!
je
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thankfully . . . all is well!
I am doing well and am about to finish up my last pt session on Friday. We’ve made a lot of progress, so it was worth the money & time. I was on my foot a lot on Friday/Sat., & woke this morning feeling it, but I think it was in need of more rest.
I checked with Chicago this week, as to whether or not there was any possibility of taking apart the toe fusion, but she didn’t recommend it. If you do it, you are left with no joint and no fusion, so the big toe just kinda hangs there. I thought this was the case. I should have asked if there was anything that could be done to loosen it – even a little movement would help. I am pretty sure it is an “all or nothing” deal. In my case, I need to be elated with no movement. The fused big toe (what I have now) is defiantly livable . . . as I’ve become more active though, the desire to have it move has increased. It is human nature, to want it to be just a little bit better! J
All is okay in the skin department . . . . I found socks, tights & trouser socks with natural material (silk or cotton). Nordstrom’s has their own brand of organic socks, which seem to be great. Each item comes from a different place, but it does seem to be helping. I returned two pairs of socks to a store in South Carolina and this older lady called me this week to apologize that they didn’t work out. She had a strong southern accent and was genuinely sorry that they were too thick for me . . . she was so sweet and sincere. I told her no biggie, in anyone else the socks would have been fantastic!
We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. It was our family and another needy family that didn’t have anywhere to go or money for a meal. I continue to be grateful for foot progress & non-itchy skin . . . I still think about the doctor that recommended amputation & thought I’d be in a wheelchair eventually. If he could see my exercise routine now – 12 min. bike, 12 min. elliptical, 12 min. treadmill. There is so much to be thankful for . . . . God is good.
Thanks for checking in & hope you have a joyous week!
Love,
jenny
I checked with Chicago this week, as to whether or not there was any possibility of taking apart the toe fusion, but she didn’t recommend it. If you do it, you are left with no joint and no fusion, so the big toe just kinda hangs there. I thought this was the case. I should have asked if there was anything that could be done to loosen it – even a little movement would help. I am pretty sure it is an “all or nothing” deal. In my case, I need to be elated with no movement. The fused big toe (what I have now) is defiantly livable . . . as I’ve become more active though, the desire to have it move has increased. It is human nature, to want it to be just a little bit better! J
All is okay in the skin department . . . . I found socks, tights & trouser socks with natural material (silk or cotton). Nordstrom’s has their own brand of organic socks, which seem to be great. Each item comes from a different place, but it does seem to be helping. I returned two pairs of socks to a store in South Carolina and this older lady called me this week to apologize that they didn’t work out. She had a strong southern accent and was genuinely sorry that they were too thick for me . . . she was so sweet and sincere. I told her no biggie, in anyone else the socks would have been fantastic!
We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. It was our family and another needy family that didn’t have anywhere to go or money for a meal. I continue to be grateful for foot progress & non-itchy skin . . . I still think about the doctor that recommended amputation & thought I’d be in a wheelchair eventually. If he could see my exercise routine now – 12 min. bike, 12 min. elliptical, 12 min. treadmill. There is so much to be thankful for . . . . God is good.
Thanks for checking in & hope you have a joyous week!
Love,
jenny
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Quick update . . .
All is about the same . . . just trying to figure out what works for socks, tights, and dress socks. I do think either all cotton or all silk seem to be helping. I’m tired of having to send things back, but that is just the way it will be until I can get something that works. Not quite there yet, but getting closer.
I had pt on Wednesday. I had a long conversation with my therapist about my big toe & how pain in it is what causes me to stop exercising or not walk as fast. It is because the big toe is fused, so it has no movement. Now that I am trying to be more active, it is very noticeable to me . . . I want it to work (bend/move) & it cannot. Fusing the big toe is the one thing I wish I’d done differently. I don’t think there should be pain there though, unless I’m just really pushing the limit on activity. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you don’t need big toe movement . . . it is more valuable than you’d ever imagine. The four little toes are lost without a leader! Despite all of this, I continue to be grateful for the progress we’ve made.
je
I had pt on Wednesday. I had a long conversation with my therapist about my big toe & how pain in it is what causes me to stop exercising or not walk as fast. It is because the big toe is fused, so it has no movement. Now that I am trying to be more active, it is very noticeable to me . . . I want it to work (bend/move) & it cannot. Fusing the big toe is the one thing I wish I’d done differently. I don’t think there should be pain there though, unless I’m just really pushing the limit on activity. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you don’t need big toe movement . . . it is more valuable than you’d ever imagine. The four little toes are lost without a leader! Despite all of this, I continue to be grateful for the progress we’ve made.
je
Monday, November 15, 2010
Organic Socks & Tights
I’ve been knee deep the last week learning about organic socks and tights. Organic hosiery means it is made of all (or like 98%) natural materials (cotton, wool, silk, as opposed to nylon, lycra, spandex or polyester.) It is incredibly hard to find. I won’t tell you the time that I have spent reading labels. There are a few places that sell it online in the US, but most are abroad.
I ordered several pairs of socks two weeks ago & they came last week. All were too thick . . . hard to tell the weight from online pictures. I did get one pair of all cotton tights (don’t ask the cost) & they felt fabulous! I did notice a big difference, so I ordered two more in different colors yesterday. It is really just “trial and error,” which is a hassle . . . . I did find some 100% cotton dress socks by Gold Toe yesterday in the men’s dept. at Von Maur. I got them home & realized they were ridiculously big, but I did hunt down the women’s version online today.
I am going to try going the “all cotton” route for a few weeks & will see if it makes any difference w/the skin situation. All is still good with the foot positioning . . . yesterday I did the treadmill, bike and elliptical for 45 min. at the gym.
Need to get onto some work that I brought home . . . thanks for checking in and for continuing to pray that all remains stable.
je
I ordered several pairs of socks two weeks ago & they came last week. All were too thick . . . hard to tell the weight from online pictures. I did get one pair of all cotton tights (don’t ask the cost) & they felt fabulous! I did notice a big difference, so I ordered two more in different colors yesterday. It is really just “trial and error,” which is a hassle . . . . I did find some 100% cotton dress socks by Gold Toe yesterday in the men’s dept. at Von Maur. I got them home & realized they were ridiculously big, but I did hunt down the women’s version online today.
I am going to try going the “all cotton” route for a few weeks & will see if it makes any difference w/the skin situation. All is still good with the foot positioning . . . yesterday I did the treadmill, bike and elliptical for 45 min. at the gym.
Need to get onto some work that I brought home . . . thanks for checking in and for continuing to pray that all remains stable.
je
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Dermatologist update . . .
I am doing okay and just trying to do everyday, “normal” life activities/work. My physical therapist was out-of-town all week this week, so I didn’t do pt. We are going to do one session per week for the next three weeks and then be done. There is probably always more that I could do, but I wanted to wrap up before the holiday season starts.
On Tuesday, I had an appt. w/my dermatologist. My operative leg & foot actually looked somewhat better. She feels like what is left now is scarring. She gave me an Rx for a new emulsion cream that is supposed to be good & will hopefully help it to heal some more. As for the left leg, I had this awful “flare up” about 2 hrs. before the appt. so when she saw it, it was as red as a tomato & had been itchy all afternoon.
I was wearing a new trouser sock and so I attributed it to something in that sock. She agreed & said to stick to all natural fibers (cotton/silk) for socks, tights & trouser socks for the next 6-12 months . . . . she thinks the man made fibers (lycra, spandex, nylon, etc. ) are continuing to irritate an already touchy situation. I read several articles online about man made fibers & how irritating they are to skin in general. Anything natural is ok.
I wear either opaque tights with skirts or trouser socks w/dress pants to work nearly every day, so I’ve been on a major hunt for organic hosiery. A lot of it is made abroad, and if you find it in the US, the selection is really limited. I ordered two things that will come next week, so we will if those work. The dilemma that I keep running into is that many socks w/organic fibers in them are thick socks & then I’m going to struggle to wear a thick sock w/a shoe. I need anything organic & thin in order to still wear a shoe. I’ve been to every big dept. store in STL & only found one pair at Nordstrom’s. My legs have been a lot better the later part of this week, so she may be right . . . . someone could be making a mint by inventing a line of organic tights & dress socks – they are tough to find. I didn't even know what "organic" socks were earlier this week!
Not a lot happening this weekend. We have out-of-town guests at JA next week from Tue-Friday, so I will be out multiple evenings & will have kid visits all week.
Hope you are enjoying this fall weekend!
Jenny
On Tuesday, I had an appt. w/my dermatologist. My operative leg & foot actually looked somewhat better. She feels like what is left now is scarring. She gave me an Rx for a new emulsion cream that is supposed to be good & will hopefully help it to heal some more. As for the left leg, I had this awful “flare up” about 2 hrs. before the appt. so when she saw it, it was as red as a tomato & had been itchy all afternoon.
I was wearing a new trouser sock and so I attributed it to something in that sock. She agreed & said to stick to all natural fibers (cotton/silk) for socks, tights & trouser socks for the next 6-12 months . . . . she thinks the man made fibers (lycra, spandex, nylon, etc. ) are continuing to irritate an already touchy situation. I read several articles online about man made fibers & how irritating they are to skin in general. Anything natural is ok.
I wear either opaque tights with skirts or trouser socks w/dress pants to work nearly every day, so I’ve been on a major hunt for organic hosiery. A lot of it is made abroad, and if you find it in the US, the selection is really limited. I ordered two things that will come next week, so we will if those work. The dilemma that I keep running into is that many socks w/organic fibers in them are thick socks & then I’m going to struggle to wear a thick sock w/a shoe. I need anything organic & thin in order to still wear a shoe. I’ve been to every big dept. store in STL & only found one pair at Nordstrom’s. My legs have been a lot better the later part of this week, so she may be right . . . . someone could be making a mint by inventing a line of organic tights & dress socks – they are tough to find. I didn't even know what "organic" socks were earlier this week!
Not a lot happening this weekend. We have out-of-town guests at JA next week from Tue-Friday, so I will be out multiple evenings & will have kid visits all week.
Hope you are enjoying this fall weekend!
Jenny
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Fall Shoes . . . .
I am doing okay . . . actually my p/therapist said today that he thought my foot is doing the best he has seen in the past 3 years! Maybe I am doing better than I think. At least everything is staying flat (toes), and I am able to get into most shoes . . . above are my new fashionable, fall shoes. I need to still work on walking faster …. I really notice it when I am walking with someone else.
I did talk with my regular dermatologist today on the phone and asked her how we can get the redness to fade more on the skin spots, even if they don’t totally go away. She said that I need to continue with more antibiotic, so we are back to that. I have a follow-up w/her sometime in the next two weeks – date is on my calendar at work. There is a tiny, minuscule, itty-bitty chance that the steroid cream that I am using may be helping … don’t get excited yet, but the spots might be fading a little.
My mom sent me the funniest Internet link today to a group of five anesthesiologists in Minnesota and they sing together. They did a song together called, “Waking Up Is Hard To Do” – it is a stitch (pardon the pun)! I always struggle with waking up after surgery, so this was rather appropriate in my case. It is hilarious!
I did talk with my regular dermatologist today on the phone and asked her how we can get the redness to fade more on the skin spots, even if they don’t totally go away. She said that I need to continue with more antibiotic, so we are back to that. I have a follow-up w/her sometime in the next two weeks – date is on my calendar at work. There is a tiny, minuscule, itty-bitty chance that the steroid cream that I am using may be helping … don’t get excited yet, but the spots might be fading a little.
My mom sent me the funniest Internet link today to a group of five anesthesiologists in Minnesota and they sing together. They did a song together called, “Waking Up Is Hard To Do” – it is a stitch (pardon the pun)! I always struggle with waking up after surgery, so this was rather appropriate in my case. It is hilarious!
Hope the anesthesiologists singing is your laugh for the week!
je
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Good week . . .
This week has been a good week, which means no new, earth shattering medical news! The only appt. I had was pt on Tuesday, which was fantastic. No major decisions had to be made this week. I’ve tried hard to not dwell on the skin situation this week and have enjoyed taking a mental break from it. My Chicago surgeon used to always tell say, “Give yourself a break!” It doesn’t come natural for me, but sometimes you have to make yourself step back and relax. Emotionally it has been great to have a week with less stress.
There is one skin cream (that I had in my stash) that I thought worked for me years ago, so I dug it out this week and have been using it on my right leg at night. I’ve also read recent articles about the healing properties in honey … honey is messy though, so I’ve not tried it during the work week!
My walking, stamina, and foot flexibility are definitely much better than it was 6-8 weeks ago. Today I did a lot of walking/movement at work and know that I could not have done that at the beginning of September. It is good to feel like we’ve made progress in some area. I think it has also helped to have had the same pt therapist for the past four years . . . he knows my foot inside and out. We both still get excited about the mini-milestones of progress. The four toes are still laying flat …. baby toe is up a little, but I can live w/it. Still sleeping well & am actually back to yawning, which didn’t happen for a long time.
I’ll have to take a picture of my new shoes this weekend and post it …. they are fun, fall shoes! No kids at JA tomorrow (Fri.), so it will be nice to end the week with more office time.
Thanks for checking in and for continuing to pray!
There is one skin cream (that I had in my stash) that I thought worked for me years ago, so I dug it out this week and have been using it on my right leg at night. I’ve also read recent articles about the healing properties in honey … honey is messy though, so I’ve not tried it during the work week!
My walking, stamina, and foot flexibility are definitely much better than it was 6-8 weeks ago. Today I did a lot of walking/movement at work and know that I could not have done that at the beginning of September. It is good to feel like we’ve made progress in some area. I think it has also helped to have had the same pt therapist for the past four years . . . he knows my foot inside and out. We both still get excited about the mini-milestones of progress. The four toes are still laying flat …. baby toe is up a little, but I can live w/it. Still sleeping well & am actually back to yawning, which didn’t happen for a long time.
I’ll have to take a picture of my new shoes this weekend and post it …. they are fun, fall shoes! No kids at JA tomorrow (Fri.), so it will be nice to end the week with more office time.
Thanks for checking in and for continuing to pray!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Blood work was okay . . .
I did get the results of the extensive blood work back and everything was negative ..... good news that there are no major diseases or conditions, but bad news in that it still doesn't help us solve why the skin stuff is happening. I am exhausted with going to appointments, co-pays, pharmacy lines, etc., so I'm going to step back for the next two weeks and will then see where we are at. I need a break from it all & trying to juggle everything around work. Nothing related to the skin is getting any worse, but not better either - pretty much stagnant.
I am going to continue w/pt, but am hoping to taper off ..... it is helping & the pain issue does seem to be almost totally gone. On Wednesday, I walked four miles at work. I may propose once a week for pt over the next 2-3 weeks.
This afternoon I did return to my family dr. for stronger medication for bronchitis . . . hopefully the new antibiotic kicks in this weekend. I've been a strong two weeks of feeling lousy. I am going to attempt to have a low key weekend with not a lot happening . . . heading to bed early, as I am in need of some extra rest.
It will all work out. If I think about how far we've come, all of the present issues seem pretty small in significance. Thanks for your continued prayers, encouragement and caring heart.
Wishing you a happy fall weekend!
Jenny
I am going to continue w/pt, but am hoping to taper off ..... it is helping & the pain issue does seem to be almost totally gone. On Wednesday, I walked four miles at work. I may propose once a week for pt over the next 2-3 weeks.
This afternoon I did return to my family dr. for stronger medication for bronchitis . . . hopefully the new antibiotic kicks in this weekend. I've been a strong two weeks of feeling lousy. I am going to attempt to have a low key weekend with not a lot happening . . . heading to bed early, as I am in need of some extra rest.
It will all work out. If I think about how far we've come, all of the present issues seem pretty small in significance. Thanks for your continued prayers, encouragement and caring heart.
Wishing you a happy fall weekend!
Jenny
Monday, October 11, 2010
Not a lot new . . .
Sorry for the lack of updates … there just hasn’t been much new to report. I’ve been fighting a cold/cough for the past week, which has been rough. It came on the day before my first day with students, so the timing was not the greatest. This morning I was in the middle of talking to 125 kiddos and had to stop and let someone else finish … coughing spell.
I walked 2 miles yesterday afternoon at a park, so that was big for my little foot! Had pt today and it went okay. I could not stand on one leg today to save my life, but I think it is because I had walked over 5,000 steps before I got to pt today! I am finally back to normal with sleeping.
I may have a follow-up dermo. appt. on Thursday of this week – depends if the blood work is back by then. No real change with the skin … my foot looks like it has been through a war w/all the itching, scabs & blood.
Will update more toward the end of the week, as I know more …. Thanks for checking in and for your continued prayers!
je
I walked 2 miles yesterday afternoon at a park, so that was big for my little foot! Had pt today and it went okay. I could not stand on one leg today to save my life, but I think it is because I had walked over 5,000 steps before I got to pt today! I am finally back to normal with sleeping.
I may have a follow-up dermo. appt. on Thursday of this week – depends if the blood work is back by then. No real change with the skin … my foot looks like it has been through a war w/all the itching, scabs & blood.
Will update more toward the end of the week, as I know more …. Thanks for checking in and for your continued prayers!
je
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Appt. Follow-Up
Pt went well on Wednesday …. was able to get a few more degrees of ROM. I was there for almost two hours, but I had a good workout.
The dr. appt. this morning did not go as I had hoped. I don’t have much tolerance or patience for arrogance, second guessing, and the “everything you have done has been wrong” attitude at this point in a long medical journey. There was a lot of all of that today & I left more frustrated and upset. I had 10 vials of blood drawn and it will be three weeks before we know anything more or have reports back. We will see what the reports show, but I am not convinced this is the right doctor. It is going to take a lot for me to want to work w/him.
Brought lots of work home tonight, because I was out of the office for so long today ….. tomorrow is a new day with no appointments. Thank goodness!
Je
The dr. appt. this morning did not go as I had hoped. I don’t have much tolerance or patience for arrogance, second guessing, and the “everything you have done has been wrong” attitude at this point in a long medical journey. There was a lot of all of that today & I left more frustrated and upset. I had 10 vials of blood drawn and it will be three weeks before we know anything more or have reports back. We will see what the reports show, but I am not convinced this is the right doctor. It is going to take a lot for me to want to work w/him.
Brought lots of work home tonight, because I was out of the office for so long today ….. tomorrow is a new day with no appointments. Thank goodness!
Je
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Getting a 2nd opinion re: Skin
We made a little progress today in getting another opinion regarding the skin situation. I e-mailed my Chicago orthopod over the weekend & asked her if she ever had a patient with sutures that did not dissolve & ultimately caused issues. She wrote back on Monday and said that she had not had a patient w/my situation (no surprise there), but she suggested that I find a dermatologist that deals with something called, immune modulating drugs. I don’t know enough about immune modulating drugs yet, but I need to at least look at the option. We have not tried this yet.
I checked w/my dermo. dr. this am & she does not do anything w/this type of drug, so I asked for a referral to the best dr. in STL that does deal w/this treatment option. After much back & forth, I got the name of a doctor in STL. I quickly called his office and managed to get an appt. for this Thursday at 10:30am – someone had just canceled before I called. Definitely God working, as getting an appt. w/a specialist in less than two days never happens.
This new doctor specializes in “complex skin manifestations” …. I’d say I qualify! He has credentials that go on and on & has led over 60 clinical trials for different skin conditions. I also made an appt. w/the wife of my hip surgeon (for 10/10), as she is a dermatologist, too & I’ve been to her before. I may not need to see her, but I made that appt., before I heard back on the referral information.
I’ve gone the past four nights without taking the Rx sleep medication, so maybe we are turning the corner on this. We are taking new ROM measurements tomorrow afternoon at pt. The foot pain seems to be slowly improving with the pt, so I think it is helping.
Will keep you posted, but at least the appt. might lead to a new treatment idea or hope for improvement …. put me on your prayer list for 10:30am on Thursday!
Grateful for the ease in scheduling today! Off to fill out medical paperwork ….
Love,
je
I checked w/my dermo. dr. this am & she does not do anything w/this type of drug, so I asked for a referral to the best dr. in STL that does deal w/this treatment option. After much back & forth, I got the name of a doctor in STL. I quickly called his office and managed to get an appt. for this Thursday at 10:30am – someone had just canceled before I called. Definitely God working, as getting an appt. w/a specialist in less than two days never happens.
This new doctor specializes in “complex skin manifestations” …. I’d say I qualify! He has credentials that go on and on & has led over 60 clinical trials for different skin conditions. I also made an appt. w/the wife of my hip surgeon (for 10/10), as she is a dermatologist, too & I’ve been to her before. I may not need to see her, but I made that appt., before I heard back on the referral information.
I’ve gone the past four nights without taking the Rx sleep medication, so maybe we are turning the corner on this. We are taking new ROM measurements tomorrow afternoon at pt. The foot pain seems to be slowly improving with the pt, so I think it is helping.
Will keep you posted, but at least the appt. might lead to a new treatment idea or hope for improvement …. put me on your prayer list for 10:30am on Thursday!
Grateful for the ease in scheduling today! Off to fill out medical paperwork ….
Love,
je
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Pt and Skin update ....
Today was my 3rd pt appt., since we did the initial evaluation on September 10th. I feel like we are working harder than we’ve ever worked before on regaining strength, getting more movement in the foot, and improving hip strength. My appt. today was from 4:15-6:15pm …. my therapist definitely spent more time than usual. He does a lot of manual movement, which is more advanced than most physical therapy offices. I was exhausted when I left the session today! Tonight the foot is sore, but that is no surprise.
We are making a little progress w/pt …. One ROM measurement was -3 degrees when we began and today it was +4 degrees. At least we are taking baby steps in the right direction. My next session is on Friday of this week. I feel very blessed that the pt office is literally right next door to my office, so I can leave at 4:13 for a 4:15 appointment ….. this has been a big help convenience wise.
As for the skin – nothing is happening on that front. The referral from my current dermo. dr. is someone that I have already seen & he was not helpful, so that is not going anywhere. I checked on scheduling with several others and the wait was mid-November/early December for an appt. Because I’d be a “new patient,” I cannot slip into a cancellation spot as easily. If I find a dr. that I want to see that is in the same practice as someone else I’ve already seen, it is hard to switch over to the new person – medical politics.
The left leg looks a tad better, but nothing has totally cleared up or disappeared. The right (operative side) leg and foot are still the same as they were 10-12 weeks ago. I’ve had the “you just have to live w/it” attitude this week which is not right, but some weeks I reach the point of growing weary & get tired of fighting for answers. It has to be something that I’m still exposed to …. & I feel like it is more than Staph or lanoline. Haven’t given up on getting another opinion, but I don’t have anything else scheduled yet . . . . locating someone that is “top notch” is hard. I may have some time on Friday afternoon to make some more calls …. half the battle is knowing who would be best to see. In getting another opinion, you always run the risk that he/she will say the same thing that I’ve heard before . . . which is frustrating beyond belief. I contemplated writing my Chicago dr. & asking her if she has had anyone with a suture allergy before & what did they do.
I’ve been crazy busy at work last week and this week (will go on until mid-Oct) …. have been working 10-12 hr. days & have had lunch at my desk. Tonight I went back to the office after pt. I’ve had multiple “mini-crisis” situations at work every day for the past week, which has made it hard to get actual work done. I am already over my student goal for the year (10,000 kids) & it is only September … am running out of days to schedule students. It is a bittersweet problem!
I need to scoot to bed …. long day. Keep up the prayers! Thankful for the +4 new degrees of motion today … this is big for me with only 3 pt sessions.
je
We are making a little progress w/pt …. One ROM measurement was -3 degrees when we began and today it was +4 degrees. At least we are taking baby steps in the right direction. My next session is on Friday of this week. I feel very blessed that the pt office is literally right next door to my office, so I can leave at 4:13 for a 4:15 appointment ….. this has been a big help convenience wise.
As for the skin – nothing is happening on that front. The referral from my current dermo. dr. is someone that I have already seen & he was not helpful, so that is not going anywhere. I checked on scheduling with several others and the wait was mid-November/early December for an appt. Because I’d be a “new patient,” I cannot slip into a cancellation spot as easily. If I find a dr. that I want to see that is in the same practice as someone else I’ve already seen, it is hard to switch over to the new person – medical politics.
The left leg looks a tad better, but nothing has totally cleared up or disappeared. The right (operative side) leg and foot are still the same as they were 10-12 weeks ago. I’ve had the “you just have to live w/it” attitude this week which is not right, but some weeks I reach the point of growing weary & get tired of fighting for answers. It has to be something that I’m still exposed to …. & I feel like it is more than Staph or lanoline. Haven’t given up on getting another opinion, but I don’t have anything else scheduled yet . . . . locating someone that is “top notch” is hard. I may have some time on Friday afternoon to make some more calls …. half the battle is knowing who would be best to see. In getting another opinion, you always run the risk that he/she will say the same thing that I’ve heard before . . . which is frustrating beyond belief. I contemplated writing my Chicago dr. & asking her if she has had anyone with a suture allergy before & what did they do.
I’ve been crazy busy at work last week and this week (will go on until mid-Oct) …. have been working 10-12 hr. days & have had lunch at my desk. Tonight I went back to the office after pt. I’ve had multiple “mini-crisis” situations at work every day for the past week, which has made it hard to get actual work done. I am already over my student goal for the year (10,000 kids) & it is only September … am running out of days to schedule students. It is a bittersweet problem!
I need to scoot to bed …. long day. Keep up the prayers! Thankful for the +4 new degrees of motion today … this is big for me with only 3 pt sessions.
je
Pt and Skin update ....
Today was my 3rd pt appt., since we did the initial evaluation on September 10th. I feel like we are working harder than we’ve ever worked before on regaining strength, getting more movement in the foot, and improving hip strength. My appt. today was from 4:15-6:15pm …. my therapist definitely spent more time than usual. He does a lot of manual movement, which is more advanced than most physical therapy offices. I was exhausted when I left the session today! Tonight the foot is sore, but that is no surprise.
We are making a little progress w/pt …. One ROM measurement was -3 degrees when we began and today it was +4 degrees. At least we are taking baby steps in the right direction. My next session is on Friday of this week. I feel very blessed that the pt office is literally right next door to my office, so I can leave at 4:13 for a 4:15 appointment ….. this has been a big help convenience wise.
As for the skin – nothing is happening on that front. The referral from my current dermo. dr. is someone that I have already seen & he was not helpful, so that is not going anywhere. I checked on scheduling with several others and the wait was mid-November/early December for an appt. Because I’d be a “new patient,” I cannot slip into a cancellation spot as easily. If I find a dr. that I want to see that is in the same practice as someone else I’ve already seen, it is hard to switch over to the new person – medical politics.
The left leg looks a tad better, but nothing has totally cleared up or disappeared. The right (operative side) leg and foot are still the same as they were 10-12 weeks ago. I’ve had the “you just have to live w/it” attitude this week which is not right, but some weeks I reach the point of growing weary & get tired of fighting for answers. It has to be something that I’m still exposed to …. & I feel like it is more than Staph or lanoline. Haven’t given up on getting another opinion, but I don’t have anything else scheduled yet . . . . locating someone that is “top notch” is hard. I may have some time on Friday afternoon to make some more calls …. half the battle is knowing who would be best to see. In getting another opinion, you always run the risk that he/she will say the same thing that I’ve heard before . . . which is frustrating beyond belief. I contemplated writing my Chicago dr. & asking her if she has had anyone with a suture allergy before & what did they do.
I’ve been crazy busy at work last week and this week (will go on until mid-Oct) …. have been working 10-12 hr. days & have had lunch at my desk. Tonight I went back to the office after pt. I’ve had multiple “mini-crisis” situations at work every day for the past week, which has made it hard to get actual work done. I am already over my student goal for the year (10,000 kids) & it is only September … am running out of days to schedule students. It is a bittersweet problem!
I need to scoot to bed …. long day. Keep up the prayers! Thankful for the +4 new degrees of motion today … this is big for me with only 3 pt sessions.
je
We are making a little progress w/pt …. One ROM measurement was -3 degrees when we began and today it was +4 degrees. At least we are taking baby steps in the right direction. My next session is on Friday of this week. I feel very blessed that the pt office is literally right next door to my office, so I can leave at 4:13 for a 4:15 appointment ….. this has been a big help convenience wise.
As for the skin – nothing is happening on that front. The referral from my current dermo. dr. is someone that I have already seen & he was not helpful, so that is not going anywhere. I checked on scheduling with several others and the wait was mid-November/early December for an appt. Because I’d be a “new patient,” I cannot slip into a cancellation spot as easily. If I find a dr. that I want to see that is in the same practice as someone else I’ve already seen, it is hard to switch over to the new person – medical politics.
The left leg looks a tad better, but nothing has totally cleared up or disappeared. The right (operative side) leg and foot are still the same as they were 10-12 weeks ago. I’ve had the “you just have to live w/it” attitude this week which is not right, but some weeks I reach the point of growing weary & get tired of fighting for answers. It has to be something that I’m still exposed to …. & I feel like it is more than Staph or lanoline. Haven’t given up on getting another opinion, but I don’t have anything else scheduled yet . . . . locating someone that is “top notch” is hard. I may have some time on Friday afternoon to make some more calls …. half the battle is knowing who would be best to see. In getting another opinion, you always run the risk that he/she will say the same thing that I’ve heard before . . . which is frustrating beyond belief. I contemplated writing my Chicago dr. & asking her if she has had anyone with a suture allergy before & what did they do.
I’ve been crazy busy at work last week and this week (will go on until mid-Oct) …. have been working 10-12 hr. days & have had lunch at my desk. Tonight I went back to the office after pt. I’ve had multiple “mini-crisis” situations at work every day for the past week, which has made it hard to get actual work done. I am already over my student goal for the year (10,000 kids) & it is only September … am running out of days to schedule students. It is a bittersweet problem!
I need to scoot to bed …. long day. Keep up the prayers! Thankful for the +4 new degrees of motion today … this is big for me with only 3 pt sessions.
je
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Dermatologist Appt. Follow-Up .....
The dermatologist appt. today was had mixed results ….
- cream on the right leg (bad foot) is totally not working.
- cream on the left leg is working minimally.
- continue on w/the antibiotic for another 4 weeks.
- begin using the cream that we’ve used on the left leg, now on the right leg (bad foot).
- schedule follow-up appt. for four weeks
- stop shaving
- dermatologist feels certain that it is all caused by an allergic reaction to un-dissolved sutures in the right foot.
The cream that we’ve been trying on the left leg has caused the skin to thin pretty bad, so we have to stop using it on the left leg. She was not happy about this & now you can see veins! I did not totally understand the big deal, but she was alarmed. She felt the left leg skin is now paper thin, which is not good. I think the right leg/foot already has thin skin & now we are using the cream that will likely cause it to become thinner.
She prescribed some other foam Rx medication to use on the left leg. She believes the antibiotic is helping the most. No internal sutures anywhere (even hip) would be best for the future, but that is not realistic.
As for why we see the skin issues on the opposite leg, if it is an allergic reaction … her response was that sometimes the body mirrors a problem, so if it started on the right leg (which did happen), it is not uncommon for it to spread the same way to the left leg. Hard to imagine, but this is what I’m told!
She felt strongly that I’ve now consumed enough antibiotic that the chance of the Staph infection still being present, does not exist. I am still fairly fearful that when we stop the antibiotic (in another 4 weeks), it will get worse ….. this is what happened a while back.
I need to think more on getting another opinion …. probably not a bad idea. It seemed easy today for her to recommend to generally keep doing what we are doing.
Need to get onto some office work that I brought home. Tomorrow afternoon is my 2nd pt appointment. Thanks for continuing to pray!
je
- cream on the right leg (bad foot) is totally not working.
- cream on the left leg is working minimally.
- continue on w/the antibiotic for another 4 weeks.
- begin using the cream that we’ve used on the left leg, now on the right leg (bad foot).
- schedule follow-up appt. for four weeks
- stop shaving
- dermatologist feels certain that it is all caused by an allergic reaction to un-dissolved sutures in the right foot.
The cream that we’ve been trying on the left leg has caused the skin to thin pretty bad, so we have to stop using it on the left leg. She was not happy about this & now you can see veins! I did not totally understand the big deal, but she was alarmed. She felt the left leg skin is now paper thin, which is not good. I think the right leg/foot already has thin skin & now we are using the cream that will likely cause it to become thinner.
She prescribed some other foam Rx medication to use on the left leg. She believes the antibiotic is helping the most. No internal sutures anywhere (even hip) would be best for the future, but that is not realistic.
As for why we see the skin issues on the opposite leg, if it is an allergic reaction … her response was that sometimes the body mirrors a problem, so if it started on the right leg (which did happen), it is not uncommon for it to spread the same way to the left leg. Hard to imagine, but this is what I’m told!
She felt strongly that I’ve now consumed enough antibiotic that the chance of the Staph infection still being present, does not exist. I am still fairly fearful that when we stop the antibiotic (in another 4 weeks), it will get worse ….. this is what happened a while back.
I need to think more on getting another opinion …. probably not a bad idea. It seemed easy today for her to recommend to generally keep doing what we are doing.
Need to get onto some office work that I brought home. Tomorrow afternoon is my 2nd pt appointment. Thanks for continuing to pray!
je
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Talked with Dallas doctor today ...
Earlier this week, I decided that the ongoing foot pain was enough and that it was getting harder to ignore or “live with it.” I struggled to walk one time around Sams with my boss on Tuesday, so that was the last straw. I sent a fax to Dallas and Dr. C’s PA called me back this morning.
We did the best we could on the phone, but it is never quite the same as meeting in person. She had spoken w/Dr. C, he asked a few questions, so she got my responses, went and talked with him and then came back and conferred with me. I am very thankful that they are willing to try to work through it via the phone.
The bottom line is that Dr. C thinks my Achilles tendon is weak and is “overloaded” when I stand/walk. He asked if I had previously had the Achilles tendon lengthened, but I had not. He doesn’t think this hinges on the forefoot tendon lengthening. His PA asked me if I could stand on my tip toes on that foot …. I tried it and could not. She said that is a classic sign that something is not right with the Achilles tendon. We are hoping that it is just a weakness/strength issue and not something more.
Before I jump on a plane & rush anything, we both agreed that pt is worth trying to see if we can get the Achilles tendon stronger. Amazingly, we have never done much in pt with the Achilles tendon before. We didn’t mention anything surgically, as I don’t even want to discuss that at this point. So, we are starting pt tomorrow (Friday) at 4:20pm. I wasn’t able to get any appointments for next week, but hopefully that will change after the initial meeting tomorrow. Dr. C didn’t think a cortisone shot was advisable. His PA said that I know where to find them in Dallas, if I need to see him.
After the May surgery, we didn’t do pt & in hindsight I am guessing that the Achilles tendon was weaker than anyone realized. This is one of the downfalls of doing medical care out-of-town & not being able to do post-op care with the same doctor.
Tuesday afternoon is my follow-up appt. w/the dermatologist. I anticipate her referring me to another doctor, but we’ll see what happens there. I am going to push to have the blood work repeated to see where we are w/the infection numbers.
Thanks for praying this week. I feel like we made some progress today, which is a good feeling.
Hugs,
je
We did the best we could on the phone, but it is never quite the same as meeting in person. She had spoken w/Dr. C, he asked a few questions, so she got my responses, went and talked with him and then came back and conferred with me. I am very thankful that they are willing to try to work through it via the phone.
The bottom line is that Dr. C thinks my Achilles tendon is weak and is “overloaded” when I stand/walk. He asked if I had previously had the Achilles tendon lengthened, but I had not. He doesn’t think this hinges on the forefoot tendon lengthening. His PA asked me if I could stand on my tip toes on that foot …. I tried it and could not. She said that is a classic sign that something is not right with the Achilles tendon. We are hoping that it is just a weakness/strength issue and not something more.
Before I jump on a plane & rush anything, we both agreed that pt is worth trying to see if we can get the Achilles tendon stronger. Amazingly, we have never done much in pt with the Achilles tendon before. We didn’t mention anything surgically, as I don’t even want to discuss that at this point. So, we are starting pt tomorrow (Friday) at 4:20pm. I wasn’t able to get any appointments for next week, but hopefully that will change after the initial meeting tomorrow. Dr. C didn’t think a cortisone shot was advisable. His PA said that I know where to find them in Dallas, if I need to see him.
After the May surgery, we didn’t do pt & in hindsight I am guessing that the Achilles tendon was weaker than anyone realized. This is one of the downfalls of doing medical care out-of-town & not being able to do post-op care with the same doctor.
Tuesday afternoon is my follow-up appt. w/the dermatologist. I anticipate her referring me to another doctor, but we’ll see what happens there. I am going to push to have the blood work repeated to see where we are w/the infection numbers.
Thanks for praying this week. I feel like we made some progress today, which is a good feeling.
Hugs,
je
Monday, September 6, 2010
All is about the same ....
I am doing okay .... it was nice to have a longer weekend. Not much progress or new news on the leg spots or foot pain issue. The sores/rash on one leg might be a bit better, but it is not substantial enough that I can tell you we've solved it. We are doing about three "treatment things" simultanelously, so it is hard to tell what is helping. I am making myself do the protein/vitamin shakes. The incision lines continue to itch - much more than normal. There are no areas that are totally clear, so we have a ways to go yet. This week coming up will be the last week on the antibiotic. After I went off the antibiotic on the first round, it got significantly worse.
I tried to do some mild exercise this weekend, but wasn't successful. I stopped trying .... I am fairly sure that the foot pain is going to be a bigger issue in about three weeks when I need to be on my feet the majority of the day. For now, I am getting by with trying to ignore the problem. If I didn't know what how great it felt at one time, most would probably say that what I have now is "as good as it will get." Hopefully it will be better some day ... keep the faith.
je
I tried to do some mild exercise this weekend, but wasn't successful. I stopped trying .... I am fairly sure that the foot pain is going to be a bigger issue in about three weeks when I need to be on my feet the majority of the day. For now, I am getting by with trying to ignore the problem. If I didn't know what how great it felt at one time, most would probably say that what I have now is "as good as it will get." Hopefully it will be better some day ... keep the faith.
je
Monday, August 30, 2010
Hanging in there ....
All is basically the same with the skin situation. The foot has been horribly itchy for the past 4-5 days .... it may be psychological since I discussed suture/metal allergic reaction with the dermo dr. at the last appt., but it is much itchier now than it has been for the past two months. This week I'd say in a heartbeat that it does feel like there is something inside that should come out & is noticeably bothersome. I thought I was going to have to pull the car over tonight on the way home from work, as the itch on the foot was so intense! Ugh!
Yesterday I did some research on top dermatologists in STL, but I think the doctor that I'm seeing now is one of the best. She is certainly in the top 4-5. My STL orthopod goes to her & she has a segment on Fox news about twice a month.
I need to go work with the foot some. Over the weekend and today it has been very stiff & I wondered if I should be returning to pt. My therapist is out-of-town at the moment, so I'm going to use this week to evaluate. I had hoped to return to the gym this week, but I don't think it is wise yet (trying to be germ cautious, until the skin clears up).
I have another four weeks at work before students begin to arrive for visit days. Pray for some encouragement this week .... the cream, meds, Saran wrap routine are getting old without seeing results.
je
Thursday, August 26, 2010
All the same ...
This is going to be the shortest blog post ever, as there is really nothing new to report! All is the same as it was a week ago. There have been no changes/improvements. The operative foot has been very itchy all week on the incision lines .... that leg is worse than left side. Tomorrow is the last day on the sleep meds, but I am going to call & request a refill .... Saran wrap and sleep are two words that don't belong together. I have at least another two weeks of Saran wrap before bed. My follow-up appt. w/the dermatologist is on the afternoon of 9/14.
Need to go start the nighttime cream routine .... thanks for continuing to pray!
je
Need to go start the nighttime cream routine .... thanks for continuing to pray!
je
Friday, August 20, 2010
Dermatologist Follow-Up ....
The dermatologist scoop is that we are starting over and trying new medications. She prescribed a new Rx antibiotic for the next 30 days that is stronger and two different topical creams. We are going to try one cream on each leg to see which one works best. Somewhat of a novel approach! The cream goes on before bed & then I have to wrap each leg in saran wrap & sleep with it that way. I am supposed to follow-up with her in three weeks.
She said that this is a dermatology issue (meaning Staph/skin problem) now and not so much of an allergy problem. If the skin doesn’t clear up significantly in three weeks, then she is going to refer me to another dermatologist to see if someone else has ideas on treatment. She felt bad that I am still dealing with this & said that I should have seen much more improvement by now. The dermo. dr. is not convinced that it is still not a hardware/suture issue internally. She understands that having the hardware removed is likely not an option, so we have to hope for some external treatment.
Keep praying that the new medication works!
je
She said that this is a dermatology issue (meaning Staph/skin problem) now and not so much of an allergy problem. If the skin doesn’t clear up significantly in three weeks, then she is going to refer me to another dermatologist to see if someone else has ideas on treatment. She felt bad that I am still dealing with this & said that I should have seen much more improvement by now. The dermo. dr. is not convinced that it is still not a hardware/suture issue internally. She understands that having the hardware removed is likely not an option, so we have to hope for some external treatment.
Keep praying that the new medication works!
je
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Dermatologist Appt. Tomorrow .....
I am home from Louisville and am looking forward to my own bed tonight! I moved up my dermatologist appt. from next Monday, to tomorrow (Friday - 10:30am). I am fairly sure that I need to get a stronger antibiotic and take it for a while yet. There are so many more staph spots now than even a week ago. I am hoping that the dermo. dr. doesn't send me right back to the allergist, but we'll see. I've been very good about totally avoiding the lanolin and reading labels, so what I have now still has to be Staph. The gals that I was with at the Louisville conference were apalled at how bad it looked ..... I agree, but it almost seems routine for me now.
Will update more after the dermatologist appt. .... pray for a solid treatment plan & good appt. tomorrow morning.
je
Will update more after the dermatologist appt. .... pray for a solid treatment plan & good appt. tomorrow morning.
je
Sunday, August 15, 2010
All about the same ....
There is not a lot new to report at the moment with either the leg rash or the foot. The foot pain doesn't seem to be quite so constant lately, which is good. I have an appt. with the dermatologist next Monday (8/23), just in case I need it .... likely so! Her nurse said I could call this week to see if there might be a cancellation for this Friday. I'm going to have a heart-to-heart chat with the dermo dr. I've been done with the antibiotic medication for two weeks and since I stopped that, I do notice a negative difference. We are at a plateau with the cream .... it is not effective. I should have counted all the spots to begin with, because I think there are still new areas that were not present at the start of all of this.
I leave for a work conference in Louisville, KY tomorrow morning and return later on Thursday night of this week. Thankfully I am riding with my boss, so I won't have to drive. Need to finish packing and get things organized to leave early Monday morning.
Keep praying that the skin situation will clear and that the foot pain will cease permanently.
Love & hugs,
jenny
I leave for a work conference in Louisville, KY tomorrow morning and return later on Thursday night of this week. Thankfully I am riding with my boss, so I won't have to drive. Need to finish packing and get things organized to leave early Monday morning.
Keep praying that the skin situation will clear and that the foot pain will cease permanently.
Love & hugs,
jenny
Monday, August 9, 2010
Allergist Follow-Up .....
The allergist appt. on Friday was pretty straightforward. She prescribed two new Rx creams to attempt to get the Staph to disappear and to promote skin healing. On the first one she said that I'd likely not be able to tolerate it because it stings very bad, so she wrote a script for a second cream if cream #1 does not work. She gave me a sample of cream #2 and it made the situation worse over the weekend .... promptly stopped that. Today I learned that cream #1 is over a hundred dollars, so for that amount of money I am going to call on Wednesday and will see if there is another option. Especially since she told me that few can hack it! My insurance does not cover cream #2, but it was too strong anyway. Cream #2 was supposed to be the "milder" of the two treatment options. Are you following all of this? What a mess! I go back to the allergist in six weeks.
Part of me just wants to continue on the cream routine that I was doing for another few weeks and see what happens .... it did seem to be working very slowly to some degree. Her feeling was that the heat is making it worse. Guess I need to stay in the AC more!
Foot pain was a little better on Sunday and today, but I sat most of the day at work today.
Thanks for your continued prayers and for checking in!
Jenny
Part of me just wants to continue on the cream routine that I was doing for another few weeks and see what happens .... it did seem to be working very slowly to some degree. Her feeling was that the heat is making it worse. Guess I need to stay in the AC more!
Foot pain was a little better on Sunday and today, but I sat most of the day at work today.
Thanks for your continued prayers and for checking in!
Jenny
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Skin issues continue ....
Tomorrow (Friday) at 2:30pm is my follow-up appointment with the allergist. There have been new spots on my legs develop this week, the itching has increased, the skin is peeling, and there is this overall redness color that looks like it has been sunburned (no sunburn has happened). Not sure what is happening, but tonight several spots have been bleeding & it is an overall mess.
I thought it was improving last weekend, but quite the opposite this week.
I didn't connect w/Dallas this week. We missed each other on the phone and then I've been in all day meetings for the past three days. I'm about past trying to make this happen at this point. He really needs to see it or an x-ray to be able to tell me anything of substance, and neither of those things are going to happen. I'm in the process of arguing with Wal-Mart about the Rx overcharges .... prior to this year, the mistake of overcharges is quite substantial. It is probably a lost cause, but I'm going to attempt trying to get some money back.
Will see what happens tomorrow at the allergist, but likely just more blood work to see where we are with the white blood cell count.
je
I thought it was improving last weekend, but quite the opposite this week.
I didn't connect w/Dallas this week. We missed each other on the phone and then I've been in all day meetings for the past three days. I'm about past trying to make this happen at this point. He really needs to see it or an x-ray to be able to tell me anything of substance, and neither of those things are going to happen. I'm in the process of arguing with Wal-Mart about the Rx overcharges .... prior to this year, the mistake of overcharges is quite substantial. It is probably a lost cause, but I'm going to attempt trying to get some money back.
Will see what happens tomorrow at the allergist, but likely just more blood work to see where we are with the white blood cell count.
je
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tiny bits of progress . . .
Post #420 . . .
The good news is that the sores on my legs are definitely looking better …. Guess the medication is working & now that I’ve avoided all lanolin products.
After three weeks of many sleepless nights, I finally resorted to making an appt. w/my family dr. on Friday. It turned out that he was not in, so I ended up seeing another female doctor, which was probably better. She strongly recommended that I take the smallest dosage of Ambian (sleep aid) for the next month, until things hopefully get back to normal. She thought I could take it for a month & would not have big issues with getting off of it …. I hope she is right. I found myself making work mistakes recently that I’d normally never make, so I had to do something.
It is hard to judge on the heel pain …. still there, but I’ve worn my best tennis shoes for the past three days, so it is not quite as noticeable. I have also been doing Advil every 4 hrs. on the dot. Didn’t hear back from Dallas yet … he was out on Friday, so perhaps I’ll learn more on Monday. I guess you’d say I’m dealing with it – still room for improvement.
Last night I spent the night at mom & dad’s house and something malfunctioned w/my garage door after I left my house. The garage door ended up being up all night with my house open. I returned home this morning, to find everything open! Thankfully all was okay inside the house, as my laptop was very close to the inside the door. Big praise that God protected my house & contents! Needless to say, I had the garage door repaired today.
Emotionally I’ve really been struggling lately with anger/frustration related to all the money and missed opportunities that have occurred as a result of this long medical journey. Pray for encouragement and perhaps the dream of becoming a wife/mom might still happen.
Thankful for the little bits of progress this week, your e-mails, prayers & cheery phone calls!
Love,
Jenny
The good news is that the sores on my legs are definitely looking better …. Guess the medication is working & now that I’ve avoided all lanolin products.
After three weeks of many sleepless nights, I finally resorted to making an appt. w/my family dr. on Friday. It turned out that he was not in, so I ended up seeing another female doctor, which was probably better. She strongly recommended that I take the smallest dosage of Ambian (sleep aid) for the next month, until things hopefully get back to normal. She thought I could take it for a month & would not have big issues with getting off of it …. I hope she is right. I found myself making work mistakes recently that I’d normally never make, so I had to do something.
It is hard to judge on the heel pain …. still there, but I’ve worn my best tennis shoes for the past three days, so it is not quite as noticeable. I have also been doing Advil every 4 hrs. on the dot. Didn’t hear back from Dallas yet … he was out on Friday, so perhaps I’ll learn more on Monday. I guess you’d say I’m dealing with it – still room for improvement.
Last night I spent the night at mom & dad’s house and something malfunctioned w/my garage door after I left my house. The garage door ended up being up all night with my house open. I returned home this morning, to find everything open! Thankfully all was okay inside the house, as my laptop was very close to the inside the door. Big praise that God protected my house & contents! Needless to say, I had the garage door repaired today.
Emotionally I’ve really been struggling lately with anger/frustration related to all the money and missed opportunities that have occurred as a result of this long medical journey. Pray for encouragement and perhaps the dream of becoming a wife/mom might still happen.
Thankful for the little bits of progress this week, your e-mails, prayers & cheery phone calls!
Love,
Jenny
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Appt. Follow-Up ... no real news
The appt. w/the STL orthopod today was exactly as I suspected …. He had no idea why the foot pain existed. We did x-rays, but they were no help. Everything is fused in the hind foot, except one tendon, so his only conclusion was that was the source of the pain – no idea on why it has started. He suggested that I take Advil and wear the surgical boot for 3-4 weeks and see if it goes away. I’m doing a steroid now and that is not cutting it, so I don’t have much confidence in Advil. The boot in 95 degree temps would not be fun …… I still believe it has something to do with the tendons being lengthened in the front in May, because I can feel a pulling/tightness feeling. I may send Dallas a fax tomorrow & see their thoughts on the situation … it is always tough from a distance.
A cortisone shot could be done in the hind foot tendon, but it is deep, painful, and at a tricky place, so it would have to be done under x-ray surveillance. I opted out of that for today, as I’ve never had success w/cortisone shots.
He also reiterated that I need to keep stretching manually the little toe down, because he fully expects the problem to return at some point – not real encouraging news. It is always so frustrating to leave feeling like we’ve made minimal/no progress. Financially it is a bummer, too. He didn’t even mention pt as an option.
I’m in a mess with Wal-Mart and past prescriptions that have been filled. I was entered into the computer system as Jennifer Eickhorst and Jenny Eickhorst. Under the Jennifer Eickhorst entry, there was NO insurance linked to this (I’ve always had insurance), so I’ve paid full price for who knows how many prescriptions over the past six years! Big UGH! I can only submit a claim for the past year, which is another downside. I found the error really by mistake, otherwise I’d never have known this …. don’t want to think about how much money I’ve overspent unnecessarily.
I have slept some the past two nights, but it has still been a struggle.
Need to get some dinner …. hoping for better days ahead.
je
A cortisone shot could be done in the hind foot tendon, but it is deep, painful, and at a tricky place, so it would have to be done under x-ray surveillance. I opted out of that for today, as I’ve never had success w/cortisone shots.
He also reiterated that I need to keep stretching manually the little toe down, because he fully expects the problem to return at some point – not real encouraging news. It is always so frustrating to leave feeling like we’ve made minimal/no progress. Financially it is a bummer, too. He didn’t even mention pt as an option.
I’m in a mess with Wal-Mart and past prescriptions that have been filled. I was entered into the computer system as Jennifer Eickhorst and Jenny Eickhorst. Under the Jennifer Eickhorst entry, there was NO insurance linked to this (I’ve always had insurance), so I’ve paid full price for who knows how many prescriptions over the past six years! Big UGH! I can only submit a claim for the past year, which is another downside. I found the error really by mistake, otherwise I’d never have known this …. don’t want to think about how much money I’ve overspent unnecessarily.
I have slept some the past two nights, but it has still been a struggle.
Need to get some dinner …. hoping for better days ahead.
je
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Hanging in there ....
I apologize for the lack of updates this week .... I've had insomnia every night, so it has been a long week. I did go to the Cards game on Tuesday and made it okay with the meds. It was a great game, but hotter than ever. The heel pain does continue. It got a little better on Wed/Thur., but then was present all day Fri. & today. I have an appt. w/my STL orthopod on Wednesday late morning ...... I'm not sure what he is going to be able to do (if anything), but this much pain day after day is not right. I wonder if it is hurting in the back of the foot, because the little toe is still up in the air ..... but even when all the toes were up, I did not have the heel pain. It is frustrating to say the least.
The spots on my legs might be looks a bit better - at least that it was mom says! There are no new spots starting, so that is good.
I am so, so, so ready for a night of solid sleep. I think I am subconsciously thinking about all that is happening at the moment and I am having difficulty relaxing. We've had a lot going on at work, too. I went to GNC today and got two natural sleep aids, so I'm trying that tonight.
Keep praying for the heel pain to diminish, Staph to totally go away & sweet zzzzzz's.
Love & hugs,
jenny
The spots on my legs might be looks a bit better - at least that it was mom says! There are no new spots starting, so that is good.
I am so, so, so ready for a night of solid sleep. I think I am subconsciously thinking about all that is happening at the moment and I am having difficulty relaxing. We've had a lot going on at work, too. I went to GNC today and got two natural sleep aids, so I'm trying that tonight.
Keep praying for the heel pain to diminish, Staph to totally go away & sweet zzzzzz's.
Love & hugs,
jenny
Monday, July 19, 2010
Heel pain issue ...
There has not been any real big change or improvement yet with the Staph infection or allergy issue. I think it looks a bit better when I first get up in the morning and then it gradually looks worse as the day goes on. I am doing the meds and bedtime cream/wash routine, as instructed. I go back to the allergist on 8/6 and have to keep reminding myself that this could take awhile to get turned around. I read online that it could be 6-8 months for a Staph infection to go away.
In the last week I’ve been having a pain issue on the inner heel area. It was really bad this morning & I had to make myself go to work. I’ve had this in the past when the positioning of the toes was wrong, but now that they are touching the ground I don’t have a clue why there is pain. I’ve been taking a narcotic to make it through the work day. I may have to go & have it checked out by my STL orthopod … pain is normally always a positioning problem (in my case), but I don’t see anything out of position! I’ll watch it a little longer, but this has started out of nowhere. Perhaps I need to return to pt, but I’ve had so many medical expenses lately that I was trying to avoid starting that again. I vaguely remember hearing at some consultation appt. (not Dallas dr.) that sometimes when you lengthen the toe tendons, it causes heel pain to start ….. hmmmm. I have not had constant pain like this for quite some time.
Tomorrow & Wed. we have 115 inner city kids at JA BizTown for an all day program from 10:00-3:00pm …. both will be challenging days, even with a normal foot! Tomorrow night I have Cards tickets, so it will be a long day. Someone gave me $91 seats, so I hate to miss the game. I hate to take meds to make it through, but it might be the only way tomorrow.
Heading to bed early tonight … the prayer request for this week is for the heel pain to go away & for my walking to improve.
Hugs –
jenny
In the last week I’ve been having a pain issue on the inner heel area. It was really bad this morning & I had to make myself go to work. I’ve had this in the past when the positioning of the toes was wrong, but now that they are touching the ground I don’t have a clue why there is pain. I’ve been taking a narcotic to make it through the work day. I may have to go & have it checked out by my STL orthopod … pain is normally always a positioning problem (in my case), but I don’t see anything out of position! I’ll watch it a little longer, but this has started out of nowhere. Perhaps I need to return to pt, but I’ve had so many medical expenses lately that I was trying to avoid starting that again. I vaguely remember hearing at some consultation appt. (not Dallas dr.) that sometimes when you lengthen the toe tendons, it causes heel pain to start ….. hmmmm. I have not had constant pain like this for quite some time.
Tomorrow & Wed. we have 115 inner city kids at JA BizTown for an all day program from 10:00-3:00pm …. both will be challenging days, even with a normal foot! Tomorrow night I have Cards tickets, so it will be a long day. Someone gave me $91 seats, so I hate to miss the game. I hate to take meds to make it through, but it might be the only way tomorrow.
Heading to bed early tonight … the prayer request for this week is for the heel pain to go away & for my walking to improve.
Hugs –
jenny
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Allergy Testing Results ...
I need to begin by saying a huge thank-you to all of you who prayed in the last 48 hours for a clear diagnosis from the allergist today. I am normally not a complainer, but I am thrilled that the patch testing is over … it was definitely one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve endured.
Today was a big day for answers to lots of unknown questions. I truly think this dr. is one of the most intelligent/thorough docs I’ve ever seen. She spent 40 minutes with me explaining the results of all the testing and her suggestions on treatment. The bottom line is that I have a Staph infection and am allergic to all tapes, adhesives, and something called wool alcohol (aka: lanolin).
The Staph infection has likely been present for quite some time & probably came from some hospital, surgery center, medical personnel, etc. …. think of the hundreds of “medical places” that I have visited. The blood work was totally obvious for Staph. The tape allergy was no surprise …. It is going to take a week she said to get over the tape reaction used for the patch testing. Honestly, I am surprised that I have not had Staph before given that we’ve done twenty surgeries. The dr. was glad that I do not have kiddos at work for awhile … less chance of more germs.
As for the lanolin allergy, this was the cause of the hives that I had 18 months ago. Lanolin has been in the steroid creams (I bet I’ve been on 10-15 of these in the past year), moisturizers, lipstick, eye make-up, shaving cream, makeup removes, any protective cream, hairspray, etc. I have a huge tub of prescription creams that we’ve tried unsuccessfully that we now know have been part of the problem.
This allergy very often involves swelling of the lips, which is what I had horribly at one time. Every day I’ve been using a lotion (Lubriderm) on my legs that had lanoline in it … this combined with my body having the Staph infection has not been a good thing!
The Staph infection is something that likely should have been caught before now on blood work, but I cannot change that fact. I am on major antibiotics, and am starting this leg wash/Rx cream routine tonight before bed. She suggested that I buy new 100% cotton sheets, so I did that tonight. I’m on the medication for the next 21 days and then we’ll re-evaluate … Staph is commonly hard to eliminate. The leg rash should go away with time, but it is a characteristic of staph. She said to be prepared for it to take longer than 21 days to cure.
This dr. has asked the lab to do another test to see which drug would treat the Staph the best, so I may learn more on that in the next few days. I have not heard back from Chicago on the hardware contents in my foot, but I did read my copy of the op notes last night and it referred to titanium several times and not nickel (which was our fear), so we are leaning toward thinking there is likely not a metal allergy …. Big PRAISE!
The allergist also told me that to just look at me you’d never know/guess that I’m walking around with a Staph infection, so she was not surprised that the ER in May, other dermatologists/allergists/family dr. had missed it (although it doesn’t say much for any of them). I am fortunate that the incision from the May surgery healed, given that an infection was quite likely present before May. I feel like a new person tonight just knowing that we finally have some answers & hopefully the treatment plan will work.
The allergist did not charge me for another co-pay today, since it was a follow-up from Monday …. this has never happened before, so I was thrilled to have saved fifty bucks.
I need to close for now and read the directions on what I’m supposed to be doing w/this bedtime wash/cream routine. I’ll have to write more soon on what happened today at the Wal-Mart pharmacy counter …. it was definitely a God blessing.
Thanks again for faithfully praying for answers, dr. wisdom, strength, and patience this week. There is still likely a long way to go with this, but I’m very grateful that all the other blood work was normal. Today was another example of God’s faithfulness and to never give up! Off to try out my new sheets & hopefully get a better rest tonight …..
Looking forward to itch free days ahead …
Jenny
Today was a big day for answers to lots of unknown questions. I truly think this dr. is one of the most intelligent/thorough docs I’ve ever seen. She spent 40 minutes with me explaining the results of all the testing and her suggestions on treatment. The bottom line is that I have a Staph infection and am allergic to all tapes, adhesives, and something called wool alcohol (aka: lanolin).
The Staph infection has likely been present for quite some time & probably came from some hospital, surgery center, medical personnel, etc. …. think of the hundreds of “medical places” that I have visited. The blood work was totally obvious for Staph. The tape allergy was no surprise …. It is going to take a week she said to get over the tape reaction used for the patch testing. Honestly, I am surprised that I have not had Staph before given that we’ve done twenty surgeries. The dr. was glad that I do not have kiddos at work for awhile … less chance of more germs.
As for the lanolin allergy, this was the cause of the hives that I had 18 months ago. Lanolin has been in the steroid creams (I bet I’ve been on 10-15 of these in the past year), moisturizers, lipstick, eye make-up, shaving cream, makeup removes, any protective cream, hairspray, etc. I have a huge tub of prescription creams that we’ve tried unsuccessfully that we now know have been part of the problem.
This allergy very often involves swelling of the lips, which is what I had horribly at one time. Every day I’ve been using a lotion (Lubriderm) on my legs that had lanoline in it … this combined with my body having the Staph infection has not been a good thing!
The Staph infection is something that likely should have been caught before now on blood work, but I cannot change that fact. I am on major antibiotics, and am starting this leg wash/Rx cream routine tonight before bed. She suggested that I buy new 100% cotton sheets, so I did that tonight. I’m on the medication for the next 21 days and then we’ll re-evaluate … Staph is commonly hard to eliminate. The leg rash should go away with time, but it is a characteristic of staph. She said to be prepared for it to take longer than 21 days to cure.
This dr. has asked the lab to do another test to see which drug would treat the Staph the best, so I may learn more on that in the next few days. I have not heard back from Chicago on the hardware contents in my foot, but I did read my copy of the op notes last night and it referred to titanium several times and not nickel (which was our fear), so we are leaning toward thinking there is likely not a metal allergy …. Big PRAISE!
The allergist also told me that to just look at me you’d never know/guess that I’m walking around with a Staph infection, so she was not surprised that the ER in May, other dermatologists/allergists/family dr. had missed it (although it doesn’t say much for any of them). I am fortunate that the incision from the May surgery healed, given that an infection was quite likely present before May. I feel like a new person tonight just knowing that we finally have some answers & hopefully the treatment plan will work.
The allergist did not charge me for another co-pay today, since it was a follow-up from Monday …. this has never happened before, so I was thrilled to have saved fifty bucks.
I need to close for now and read the directions on what I’m supposed to be doing w/this bedtime wash/cream routine. I’ll have to write more soon on what happened today at the Wal-Mart pharmacy counter …. it was definitely a God blessing.
Thanks again for faithfully praying for answers, dr. wisdom, strength, and patience this week. There is still likely a long way to go with this, but I’m very grateful that all the other blood work was normal. Today was another example of God’s faithfulness and to never give up! Off to try out my new sheets & hopefully get a better rest tonight …..
Looking forward to itch free days ahead …
Jenny
Monday, July 12, 2010
Allergist Appt. Summary ....
The allergy appt. was okay …. at least I felt like it was a step in the right direction. This was a new doctor and she was super thorough. We talked a long time about my history, she read all my notes and went over all twenty surgeries w/me in detail. Obviously my case is complex, as there are so many possible causes. She suggested the following:
Blood work – to rule out thyroid issues, diabetes, any autoimmune disease, hypoglycemia, latex, etc.
Culture for Staph Infection – she cultured liquid on the rash & from the inside of my nose.
Internal Hardware – there is a possibility that I might be allergic to the hardware that is still inside my foot. There can be a delayed reaction, where it takes years for the body to realize it as a foreign object.
Patch Testing – She taped this big patch on my back that is testing for the top 18-20 common things. We leave it on until Wednesday at 2:30pm & then I have to return to her office to have it read. We both anticipate the paper tape bothering me, but I’m going to try to tough it out for 48 hours.
I had really high blood pressure going into the appt. ….. not sure what that was about (probably nervous). It was even higher after I heard the idea of the hardware as a possible issue! Pray that it is something else, other than a hardware problem. I don’t think going in & removing it is an option. I have a call into the Chicago dr. to get the make/contents of the hardware that was used.
I’m going to have to keep really busy for the next 48 hrs., so I don’t think about the taped stuff on my back. Good thing I washed my hair this morning! Keep praying for a clear diagnosis, for the blood work to come back by Wed. afternoon, and for toughness during the next two days!
Will keep you posted after I hopefully learn more on Wednesday ….
Thanks for praying!
je
Blood work – to rule out thyroid issues, diabetes, any autoimmune disease, hypoglycemia, latex, etc.
Culture for Staph Infection – she cultured liquid on the rash & from the inside of my nose.
Internal Hardware – there is a possibility that I might be allergic to the hardware that is still inside my foot. There can be a delayed reaction, where it takes years for the body to realize it as a foreign object.
Patch Testing – She taped this big patch on my back that is testing for the top 18-20 common things. We leave it on until Wednesday at 2:30pm & then I have to return to her office to have it read. We both anticipate the paper tape bothering me, but I’m going to try to tough it out for 48 hours.
I had really high blood pressure going into the appt. ….. not sure what that was about (probably nervous). It was even higher after I heard the idea of the hardware as a possible issue! Pray that it is something else, other than a hardware problem. I don’t think going in & removing it is an option. I have a call into the Chicago dr. to get the make/contents of the hardware that was used.
I’m going to have to keep really busy for the next 48 hrs., so I don’t think about the taped stuff on my back. Good thing I washed my hair this morning! Keep praying for a clear diagnosis, for the blood work to come back by Wed. afternoon, and for toughness during the next two days!
Will keep you posted after I hopefully learn more on Wednesday ….
Thanks for praying!
je
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Allergy Appt. on Monday ...
I was able to get an appt. w/the allergist for Monday afternoon (7/12). I am hoping that it works out to do the allergy testing at the initial appt., but we’ll see what happens. I am told it is possible, but it wasn’t a super confident “yes, you can do the testing also on Monday.” Not taking any medications this week was been rough, but I've almost made it.
I stopped the steroid tape 24 hours after starting it, because it made things worse and more spots started to appear …. It was a long week of trying not to itch! I typed up some notes to take to the appt. on what I think aggravates the skin.
We are headed to the Muny tonight to see the Titanic. I’m thankful it is a cooler evening outside. Camp is finished now at JA … yippee!
All is still stable with the foot. The suture line skin issue from several weeks ago finally ris better. The skin on the foot actually looks better than it has in a long time … it is the spots on my ankles and legs that looks like I have a bad case of the chicken pox.
Pray for a good appt. on Monday afternoon, patience and for a clear diagnosis.
je
I stopped the steroid tape 24 hours after starting it, because it made things worse and more spots started to appear …. It was a long week of trying not to itch! I typed up some notes to take to the appt. on what I think aggravates the skin.
We are headed to the Muny tonight to see the Titanic. I’m thankful it is a cooler evening outside. Camp is finished now at JA … yippee!
All is still stable with the foot. The suture line skin issue from several weeks ago finally ris better. The skin on the foot actually looks better than it has in a long time … it is the spots on my ankles and legs that looks like I have a bad case of the chicken pox.
Pray for a good appt. on Monday afternoon, patience and for a clear diagnosis.
je
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Biopsy Feedback . . .
Post #413 . . .
I finally upped the pressure a bit today and politely requested a response on the biopsy results, after over a week of waiting. The dermatologist finally called me at 5:15pm to tell me that it is an allergic reaction to something and that I’d need to see an allergist for allergy testing!! UGH!! I about dropped the phone, as that was about as vague as it gets. She attempted to convince me that now we know that there is a legitimate problem ……. no kidding! Her philosophy was that my itching the spots is not allowing the areas to heal. I agree to a point, but in general I have a tough time healing regardless of itchiness – no surprise there. The biopsy area from last week is still rough looking it is half the size of your pinkie finger & has been over a week.
I’m glad I’ve spent $200 thus far on this with minimal progress. The dermo. dr. wanted me to see a specific allergist, but she did not have the phone number, so I have to call back on Thursday (office closed tomorrow) to get the contact info.
She did prescribe a steroid tape to use for the short term. I’ve never done well with any kind of tape on my skin, so I am a bit leery. I filled the Rx and came home to read the tape instructions. It is transparent tape and it has to be cut in tiny squares to cover each spot, leave there for 12 hrs. or until it has to get wet (shower), remove and let air dry for an hour and reapply. Quite the process! The roll of tape has 80 inches and I used 12 inches tonight. At least the tape is not black or some weird color! If the tape is going to work, I should see some improvement in 48-72 hours.
The dermo. dr. did not think it had anything to do with past surgery, sutures, surgical wash, etc., because it is on both legs. It is the worst though on my operative foot. If it were a true allergy though, you’d think it would be spreading and it is not ….. I’ve had the same spots for 8-9 months – no worse, but it won’t heal either.
Allergy testing is no picnic …. I did it as a child. On the way driving home tonight, I wondered if the tape would clear up the spots perhaps that would solve it! It is my idealistic, magical, done with new doctors thinking. The “D” section of phone numbers stored in my cell phone is huge with about thirty doctors listed …. guess we’ll add one more to the list.
Pray that the steroid tape works, my patience level remains high and for ease in getting an allergy appt.
Thanks for checking in and for your faithfulness in praying . . .
Jenny
I finally upped the pressure a bit today and politely requested a response on the biopsy results, after over a week of waiting. The dermatologist finally called me at 5:15pm to tell me that it is an allergic reaction to something and that I’d need to see an allergist for allergy testing!! UGH!! I about dropped the phone, as that was about as vague as it gets. She attempted to convince me that now we know that there is a legitimate problem ……. no kidding! Her philosophy was that my itching the spots is not allowing the areas to heal. I agree to a point, but in general I have a tough time healing regardless of itchiness – no surprise there. The biopsy area from last week is still rough looking it is half the size of your pinkie finger & has been over a week.
I’m glad I’ve spent $200 thus far on this with minimal progress. The dermo. dr. wanted me to see a specific allergist, but she did not have the phone number, so I have to call back on Thursday (office closed tomorrow) to get the contact info.
She did prescribe a steroid tape to use for the short term. I’ve never done well with any kind of tape on my skin, so I am a bit leery. I filled the Rx and came home to read the tape instructions. It is transparent tape and it has to be cut in tiny squares to cover each spot, leave there for 12 hrs. or until it has to get wet (shower), remove and let air dry for an hour and reapply. Quite the process! The roll of tape has 80 inches and I used 12 inches tonight. At least the tape is not black or some weird color! If the tape is going to work, I should see some improvement in 48-72 hours.
The dermo. dr. did not think it had anything to do with past surgery, sutures, surgical wash, etc., because it is on both legs. It is the worst though on my operative foot. If it were a true allergy though, you’d think it would be spreading and it is not ….. I’ve had the same spots for 8-9 months – no worse, but it won’t heal either.
Allergy testing is no picnic …. I did it as a child. On the way driving home tonight, I wondered if the tape would clear up the spots perhaps that would solve it! It is my idealistic, magical, done with new doctors thinking. The “D” section of phone numbers stored in my cell phone is huge with about thirty doctors listed …. guess we’ll add one more to the list.
Pray that the steroid tape works, my patience level remains high and for ease in getting an allergy appt.
Thanks for checking in and for your faithfulness in praying . . .
Jenny
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Vacation Days This Week ....
I have had the last three days off of work and it has been wonderful! I've done a lot of things around my house that needed to get done and today had my carpets professionally cleaned. I've really enjoyed sleeping in and having a more leisurely pace.
On Tuesday, I went to the dermatologist about the itching on my foot and multiple spots on the other leg. She wasn't sure what it was totally, so she took a biopsy (not on the foot) and said she hopes to call me by the end of the week with a diagnosis & treatment plan. She didn't think that it was gluten related, but we'll see. I am hoping it is ok to eat gluten, because it has really limited my eating choices the past month. My STL orthopod is also a patient of my dermo dr., so that might come in handy for the future ... should have learned that fact long ago.
The little toe is definitely up where it was before, but the others look like they are "holding their own" and remaining down. My big toe is fused and does not function at all and then no weight goes on the little toe, so I am walking really only on the three middle toes. It is not ideal, but I am trying to make it work. The swelling has been a bit better this week with cooler temps outside.
Yesterday morning I noticed that I was able to buckle a sandal further back (different hole) than I have in the past, so that was encouraging. Gotta be thankful for those little moments of progress! I have been walking very slow today, but I am guessing it is because the foot is tired. I really notice how much slower I walk when I with a friend shopping at the mall .... everything that is normal feels like a speed race to me. I need to work on stepping it up a bit at some point. My gym membership is "frozen" until the beginning of July, so I'll get back to exercising after summer camp at JA is finished.
Nearly everyday I have someone call or e-mail me with foot surgery questions .... either pre or post-op. It amazes me how many people have foot surgery complications .... it is more common than most realize. I've got all the tips on cast and crutch products ... I should be a rep.
Need to finalize a few things before work begins again tomorrow .... thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement!
Jenny
On Tuesday, I went to the dermatologist about the itching on my foot and multiple spots on the other leg. She wasn't sure what it was totally, so she took a biopsy (not on the foot) and said she hopes to call me by the end of the week with a diagnosis & treatment plan. She didn't think that it was gluten related, but we'll see. I am hoping it is ok to eat gluten, because it has really limited my eating choices the past month. My STL orthopod is also a patient of my dermo dr., so that might come in handy for the future ... should have learned that fact long ago.
The little toe is definitely up where it was before, but the others look like they are "holding their own" and remaining down. My big toe is fused and does not function at all and then no weight goes on the little toe, so I am walking really only on the three middle toes. It is not ideal, but I am trying to make it work. The swelling has been a bit better this week with cooler temps outside.
Yesterday morning I noticed that I was able to buckle a sandal further back (different hole) than I have in the past, so that was encouraging. Gotta be thankful for those little moments of progress! I have been walking very slow today, but I am guessing it is because the foot is tired. I really notice how much slower I walk when I with a friend shopping at the mall .... everything that is normal feels like a speed race to me. I need to work on stepping it up a bit at some point. My gym membership is "frozen" until the beginning of July, so I'll get back to exercising after summer camp at JA is finished.
Nearly everyday I have someone call or e-mail me with foot surgery questions .... either pre or post-op. It amazes me how many people have foot surgery complications .... it is more common than most realize. I've got all the tips on cast and crutch products ... I should be a rep.
Need to finalize a few things before work begins again tomorrow .... thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement!
Jenny
Monday, June 21, 2010
Not A Lot New .....
I am doing okay ... not a lot new to report, so I guess that is good in my situation. It is like the same song verse twenty ..... swelling - itching - swelling - itching. The extreme heat only continues to make the swelling linger on and on. My foot looks great the first hour of the day and then it slowly increases in size. The positive side is that it does go down quite a bit at night, when it is elevated and in a cool house. I may have to resort to getting a DVD several nights this week, so I'll force myself to keep it elevated and iced.
The itchiness was rough over the weekend, so I'm going to try to avoid eating gluten/wheat this week and will see if that helps. It did in the past, so hopefully it will work again. I had been trying to do the gluten-free diet somewhat, but had not been strict about it lately.
All things considered I am okay with positioning, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Thursday is my birthday, so pray for a non-itchy day on Thursday ... that would be a great gift.
Thanks for your continued prayers!
Jenny
The itchiness was rough over the weekend, so I'm going to try to avoid eating gluten/wheat this week and will see if that helps. It did in the past, so hopefully it will work again. I had been trying to do the gluten-free diet somewhat, but had not been strict about it lately.
All things considered I am okay with positioning, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Thursday is my birthday, so pray for a non-itchy day on Thursday ... that would be a great gift.
Thanks for your continued prayers!
Jenny
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
All is about the same ....
The medication from last week seems to have helped some ... it is not getting any worse. I still think it looks like there is an allergic reaction happening on the outside of the skin.
The skin mess from last week is not totally gone, so I may need to call and get more steroid medicine. It was itching horribly on the way home from work tonight. There seems to be a lot of increased tone in the foot over the past few days ... I'm watching it. Toes 2-4 still look to be touching the ground. I don't see any "toe marks" on my sandals yet, so the toes must be barely making it or else I'm not putting much weight on the forefoot. I've not made much progress with getting the swelling to decrease .... until camp is over, I think there is just going to be a lot of swelling. Last Thursday was the 4 week post-op day.
I've not slept well the last two nights, so I am hoping for a better night of sleep tonight.
je
The skin mess from last week is not totally gone, so I may need to call and get more steroid medicine. It was itching horribly on the way home from work tonight. There seems to be a lot of increased tone in the foot over the past few days ... I'm watching it. Toes 2-4 still look to be touching the ground. I don't see any "toe marks" on my sandals yet, so the toes must be barely making it or else I'm not putting much weight on the forefoot. I've not made much progress with getting the swelling to decrease .... until camp is over, I think there is just going to be a lot of swelling. Last Thursday was the 4 week post-op day.
I've not slept well the last two nights, so I am hoping for a better night of sleep tonight.
je
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Suture Reaction & Positioning ....
Monday seemed to be filled with more "foot drama" than I'd like, but things were a little better today. I did see Dr. K on Monday afternoon after camp, and he thinks that I am allergic to the internal sutures that were used during the surgery on 5/13 and the skin reaction manifested itself above the latest incision. I'm on a steroid and antibiotic ... had a fever last night, but it is better tonight. It could be 2-3 weeks before the skin really clears up. The foot is very sore because of all the open areas that occurred over the weekend and on Monday. Everything needs to dry up, scab over, hopefully heal, etc. It will take 4-6 months for the internal sutures to dissolve, but I am not totally convinced that they do dissolve in my case. During the plastic surgery last November, there was a lot of internal stitches that had not dissolved from the previous March and that was part of the problem with the skin opening up.
Re: Positioning .... the little toe started to come up over the weekend, too. Dr. C called me Monday afternoon to discuss the issue and said that the other toes should not come up again. Supposedly he severed the tendons to all the little toes, so there is nothing left to possibly pull up. Dr. K felt otherwise yesterday that this would happen during healing due to scar tissue, so we'll see what happens with time. Initially I was totally panicked about this, but I am better now. I can likely live with it as it is now, but it is not has perfect as it was two weeks ago.
Needless to say, I'm ready for a few quiet days with no foot developments. I am finding it incredibly hard to manage camp, staff, and everyone while sitting .... it is not happening. I am using the scooter, but it has been a challenge. Next week camp is only mornings, so that will be a little better.
Although the skin looks terrible at the moment, it will get better with time. Keep praying that the positioning does not become any worse. The pattern in the past has always been that it begins with the small toe and progresses to the other toes. I am working with toe #5 (little piggy) manually but as you can imagine forcing your toe to go down, when it wants to stay up, is not real fun/comfortable.
Hanging in there!
je
Re: Positioning .... the little toe started to come up over the weekend, too. Dr. C called me Monday afternoon to discuss the issue and said that the other toes should not come up again. Supposedly he severed the tendons to all the little toes, so there is nothing left to possibly pull up. Dr. K felt otherwise yesterday that this would happen during healing due to scar tissue, so we'll see what happens with time. Initially I was totally panicked about this, but I am better now. I can likely live with it as it is now, but it is not has perfect as it was two weeks ago.
Needless to say, I'm ready for a few quiet days with no foot developments. I am finding it incredibly hard to manage camp, staff, and everyone while sitting .... it is not happening. I am using the scooter, but it has been a challenge. Next week camp is only mornings, so that will be a little better.
Although the skin looks terrible at the moment, it will get better with time. Keep praying that the positioning does not become any worse. The pattern in the past has always been that it begins with the small toe and progresses to the other toes. I am working with toe #5 (little piggy) manually but as you can imagine forcing your toe to go down, when it wants to stay up, is not real fun/comfortable.
Hanging in there!
je
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Small set back ....
Just when I tell you everything is going well, things have a way of changing .....
I was sitting in church this morning and felt something wet dripping down the side of my foot. I looked at my foot and realized that there was yellowish drainage seeping from an incision area right above where we just operated (about a 4 1/2" strip). It was swollen, red as a tomato and itching by the time I left church .... infection wass my immediate thought, but the weird thing was that the area when we just operated looked perfect.
I headed for the Take-Care clinic at Walgreens and they wanted me to go to the ER. There was a 2 1/2 hr. wait at the ER, so they sent me to the Urgent Care clinic, next door to the hospital. The doctor there immediately thought it was poision ivy, but I said no way ..... I have intentionally been indoors more, since it is has been so hot outside. They cultured the area, prescribed a steroid and antibiotic & told me to follow up w/my STL foot ortho dr. tomorrow. He did say that it could be an allergic suture reaction to the new internal sutures, and it is just showing symptoms above the area where the sutures are located .... talk about weird! The area has continued to drain all afternoon, so something is not right.
I had planned on taking digital pics of my foot this afternoon and sending them to Dallas with a note saying how well things were going. At the moment it looks so bad, that there is no way I want him to see it yet. Tomorrow is my first day of summer camp (I lead all day), so it is not the best day for me to work in a dr. appt. I'll figure it out somehow ... may be after 3pm, when the kids leave.
Pray that we'll get to the bottom of it tomorrow rather easily & that if it is an infection, it will be quickly treated with the right meds. Ortho guys are typically not masters at skin issues, but I guess I will start there. I feel like the queen of weird medical problems!
Will keep you posted ...
je
I was sitting in church this morning and felt something wet dripping down the side of my foot. I looked at my foot and realized that there was yellowish drainage seeping from an incision area right above where we just operated (about a 4 1/2" strip). It was swollen, red as a tomato and itching by the time I left church .... infection wass my immediate thought, but the weird thing was that the area when we just operated looked perfect.
I headed for the Take-Care clinic at Walgreens and they wanted me to go to the ER. There was a 2 1/2 hr. wait at the ER, so they sent me to the Urgent Care clinic, next door to the hospital. The doctor there immediately thought it was poision ivy, but I said no way ..... I have intentionally been indoors more, since it is has been so hot outside. They cultured the area, prescribed a steroid and antibiotic & told me to follow up w/my STL foot ortho dr. tomorrow. He did say that it could be an allergic suture reaction to the new internal sutures, and it is just showing symptoms above the area where the sutures are located .... talk about weird! The area has continued to drain all afternoon, so something is not right.
I had planned on taking digital pics of my foot this afternoon and sending them to Dallas with a note saying how well things were going. At the moment it looks so bad, that there is no way I want him to see it yet. Tomorrow is my first day of summer camp (I lead all day), so it is not the best day for me to work in a dr. appt. I'll figure it out somehow ... may be after 3pm, when the kids leave.
Pray that we'll get to the bottom of it tomorrow rather easily & that if it is an infection, it will be quickly treated with the right meds. Ortho guys are typically not masters at skin issues, but I guess I will start there. I feel like the queen of weird medical problems!
Will keep you posted ...
je
Friday, June 4, 2010
Swelling and Shoes . . .
I am still doing well with my foot. The largest challenge this week has been swelling and trying to figure out shoes that are workable. On Monday, the AC was out at JA so that got things off to a rough start. I had to go to Wal-Mart mid-day and buy a Velcro sandal. I'm just leaving the sandal under my desk from now on ... in case I have another swelling crisis. The hot weather increases the swelling.
I've started to transition from the surgical shoe back to a regular shoe. It is always a big process to find shoes that will work for the first several weeks. It seems like the summer is harder because I must have shoes with a back and most summer shoes are backless. I had a size 8 1/2 tennis shoe and a size 10 tennis shoe that I tried this week .... one was to small and one was to large. Today I bought a size 9 in hopes that it will work next week for summer camp. I have to wear something closed for camp, in case a camper steps on my foot.
This weekend I can begin to manually work on stretching the toes and the tendon that we lengthened. Everything is still pretty tight and stiff. It feels weird to not have pt appointments. I am still getting used to the feel of all the toes touching the ground ... it is a great feeling! I find myself checking on the positioning several times a day ... that will go away with time. I heard that it is supposed to be over a hundred degrees in Dallas this weekend and next week, so glad we are in STL.
I am trying to rest and take it easy this week, because next week will be busy with 85 campers.
Happy weekend to you!
Jenny
I've started to transition from the surgical shoe back to a regular shoe. It is always a big process to find shoes that will work for the first several weeks. It seems like the summer is harder because I must have shoes with a back and most summer shoes are backless. I had a size 8 1/2 tennis shoe and a size 10 tennis shoe that I tried this week .... one was to small and one was to large. Today I bought a size 9 in hopes that it will work next week for summer camp. I have to wear something closed for camp, in case a camper steps on my foot.
This weekend I can begin to manually work on stretching the toes and the tendon that we lengthened. Everything is still pretty tight and stiff. It feels weird to not have pt appointments. I am still getting used to the feel of all the toes touching the ground ... it is a great feeling! I find myself checking on the positioning several times a day ... that will go away with time. I heard that it is supposed to be over a hundred degrees in Dallas this weekend and next week, so glad we are in STL.
I am trying to rest and take it easy this week, because next week will be busy with 85 campers.
Happy weekend to you!
Jenny
Friday, May 28, 2010
Healing well ...
Whew ... glad there is a long weekend ahead. My foot has been so tired the past two days. It has felt good to get it wet in the shower, since the stitches are now gone. All looks to be healing well. The little "mountain peak" of skin that was pulled up, between the two incisions, is now flat and you'd never know it was once there. The small scab has come off and it should have stayed on longer ... there is a tiny area that needs to heal yet - just at the surface level, but nonetheless it needs to heal together. It will easily take 3-5 months for the swelling to completely disappear.
It amazes me how the toes are now relaxed and the increased tone that was there before is totally gone ... it is like nothing ever happened. I have to keep reminding myself that we are only at the two-week mark, so don't over do it ...... I am still not doing any more than needed. Tonight it is sore, tender, and it looks like it needs some rest and TLC.
I wore a sandal to work this morning on both feet and lasted until about 2:00 on the operative foot (had the incision covered w/a bandage) and then the swelling became a bit much, so I went back to the surgical shoe. Someone could me making big money if they sold surgical shoes in colors.
We are headed to central IL tomorrow morning to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday with relatives and will be there for the weekend. We have student visits at JA next week Tuesday through Thursday, then one day to set up for summer camp and that begins the following Monday with 85 kids. Of course the first week of camp is the biggest & there is a waiting list!
I am so grateful for having the scooter at work.
Thankful that all is healing well, no immediate complications, pain is diminishing each day and that Dr. C was able to fix the toe problem with a relatively minor surgery. I'd never have dreamed that feeling the floor with all five toes would be such a big accomplishment and reason for celebration .... God is good!
Happy Holiday Weekend to you ....
Jenny
It amazes me how the toes are now relaxed and the increased tone that was there before is totally gone ... it is like nothing ever happened. I have to keep reminding myself that we are only at the two-week mark, so don't over do it ...... I am still not doing any more than needed. Tonight it is sore, tender, and it looks like it needs some rest and TLC.
I wore a sandal to work this morning on both feet and lasted until about 2:00 on the operative foot (had the incision covered w/a bandage) and then the swelling became a bit much, so I went back to the surgical shoe. Someone could me making big money if they sold surgical shoes in colors.
We are headed to central IL tomorrow morning to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday with relatives and will be there for the weekend. We have student visits at JA next week Tuesday through Thursday, then one day to set up for summer camp and that begins the following Monday with 85 kids. Of course the first week of camp is the biggest & there is a waiting list!
I am so grateful for having the scooter at work.
Thankful that all is healing well, no immediate complications, pain is diminishing each day and that Dr. C was able to fix the toe problem with a relatively minor surgery. I'd never have dreamed that feeling the floor with all five toes would be such a big accomplishment and reason for celebration .... God is good!
Happy Holiday Weekend to you ....
Jenny
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Post-Op Appt. Summary ....
The post-op surgery appointment went well today. We removed the stitches and the two incisions look to be healing well. There is a scab area on one part, so you never know what is under there until it comes off. It is very sore tonight, but that will go away over the next few days ... always somewhat "traumatic" for the skin.
Dr. K thought it looked good. I asked what he thought on the probability of it lasting and he said it should under normal circumstances, but my case is not normal. He stated again that if this does last long term, he is fairly confident another problem will occur at some point (no guesses on time) .... this is like the fourth time I've heard this and so far, he has been right.
I asked about pursuing an underlying nerve condition aggressively, but he didn't think it would surface anything. He said we've done all the nerve tests - not surprising. Dr. K's advice was to simply get through the latest set-back (will take another 4-6 weeks before it is fully back to normal) and then see how things progress and try to roll with whatever happens. He reiterated that although we anticipate there being ongoing problems, you can't worry about it constantly and have to carry on as best as possible with life activities. He said we'll just keep treating whatever develops ..... taking that to mean that he (Dr. K) is in this for the long haul.
Dr. K joked at the end of the appt. that I need to tell Dr. C that he has to come to St. Louis next time to do the surgery and Dr. C can stay at Dr. K's house! Good thinking, except doctors have permits for surgery by state. Overall it was a good appointment .... can't believe the turn around in two weeks. I can return to a normal shoe, as the swelling goes down and strength returns. For now, no pt is needed .... we are being overly cautious and want to allow it to heal fully.
In another week, I am to manually move the toes downward and try to encourage them to stay down. Sometimes during the healing process the toes start to contract back up, which is what we just fixed .... don't want that to happen.
Please continue to pray that all heals fully and that the work we have done will remain permanent. The idea of on-going problems is all in God's hands .... thanks for continuing to faithfully pray!
Love,
Jenny
Thursday, May 20, 2010
One Week Post-Op ....
Today is the one week post-op mark .... yippee! I returned to work on Monday and have been using the scooter at JA , but it has been a very tiring week. I was in bed by 9pm last night, as I've not had much energy/stamina this week. There has been more pain with this than I anticipated, but I am managing. Hopefully I can taper off the prescription pain medication by the end of the weekend.
On Tuesday, I carefully looked at the incision again and realized that there are two parallel incisions on the top center of the foot with about a 1/2" gap between the two incisions. I'm guessing that Dr. C had to do this to have enough skin to draw up to close it properly. It looks like a mini mountain peak in between the two incisions. I believe the skin will go down eventually after the stitches come out. The toes are so stiff and sore.
Dallas did call me on Monday to make sure we got home okay and that everything was still going well. My first follow-up appt. w/Dr. K is on Wednesday afternoon of next week ... stitches will likely come out then. It looks to be healing well - nothing is obviously open or draining, so that is a positive start. Still a lot of swelling, but that is common .... swelling could be my middle name by now.
I did take a shower last night and could feel the shower floor with all my toes (even with the cast cover over the bandages). I have walked around the house a little as well without the boot and can feel that I am weight bearing in the proper places. I am so thankful that there was no forefoot structural issue ..... thankful that tomorrow is Friday and I'll have the weekend to rest. After tomorrow I will have seen almost 800 kids this week .... a bit much for the first week back.
We're finishing a week of great healing and a grateful heart filled with thanks to Him above ....
Many thanks for your encouraging cards, calls, e-mails, and flowers. I have loved them all!
Love,
Jenny
On Tuesday, I carefully looked at the incision again and realized that there are two parallel incisions on the top center of the foot with about a 1/2" gap between the two incisions. I'm guessing that Dr. C had to do this to have enough skin to draw up to close it properly. It looks like a mini mountain peak in between the two incisions. I believe the skin will go down eventually after the stitches come out. The toes are so stiff and sore.
Dallas did call me on Monday to make sure we got home okay and that everything was still going well. My first follow-up appt. w/Dr. K is on Wednesday afternoon of next week ... stitches will likely come out then. It looks to be healing well - nothing is obviously open or draining, so that is a positive start. Still a lot of swelling, but that is common .... swelling could be my middle name by now.
I did take a shower last night and could feel the shower floor with all my toes (even with the cast cover over the bandages). I have walked around the house a little as well without the boot and can feel that I am weight bearing in the proper places. I am so thankful that there was no forefoot structural issue ..... thankful that tomorrow is Friday and I'll have the weekend to rest. After tomorrow I will have seen almost 800 kids this week .... a bit much for the first week back.
We're finishing a week of great healing and a grateful heart filled with thanks to Him above ....
Many thanks for your encouraging cards, calls, e-mails, and flowers. I have loved them all!
Love,
Jenny
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Home from Dallas with corrected toes ....
We're home from Dallas and the trip went well .. yeah! We had a good meeting with Dr. C on Wednesday and it went better than I anticipated.
As we were on the elevator riding up to his office, there was a nurse and mom & I on the elevator. She asked us who were going to see, so we told her. She said that he was the BEST doctor in the practice .... another office person told me that people come from all over the US to consult with him. Sometimes he has two operations happening simultaneously.
The problem was not what Dr. C thought he was going to see, so it was good for him to see it in person. He really felt like since we had previously lengthened the main tendon in the foot (Anterior Tib) and it was weak, another tendon (EDL) had "taken over" and was majorly over compensating for the weak one .... to the point that it caused the toes to become contracted and stay in a fixed position. He had know idea why it happened, but he wasn't totally surprised by it. His suggestion was to lengthen the EDL tendon, which is the main tendon that causes the toes to work, pull up & function. This would cause the toes to go back down and hopefully remain down. It was more of a problem w/the tendon leading to the toes than an issue with the toes themselves. Lengthening anything does cause weakness, but it is better than cutting the tendon totally, which would cause the toes to be limp & that can lead to the foot drop issue.
The toes would still have structure to them, but would likely not be able to grip. The operation involved a 2" incision on the top center of the foot, so we did not have to open up anything near the toes.
He wasn't convinced it is a nerve problem, but he said diagnosing a nerve issue in something complex like my situation is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Dr. C compared this to playing one the those carnival games where the mole or animal pops up at various spots/times and you have to keep trying to hit it down ....... in my case he said we're just going to have to treat whatever arises as things surface. He was excited that we had 15 mo. of things being nearly perfect.
We did the EDL lengthening surgery at 2:30 on Thursday, May 13th. As procedures go, it was relatively minor and uneventful. The surgery was about 40 minutes and I left in a surgical shoe. We stayed with friends and rested on Friday ... weather in Dallas was rainy. The flight home was fine ... we know the drill w/using a wheelchair and getting through security.
The pain is better now ... first few days are always rough. I can walk on it w/the surgical shoe or boot, but I'm doing only what is necessary ..... I'll use the scooter at work. I can see that the toes are down again and are back in the correct position.
Thank you so much for praying for us this week .... everything went very smoothly and we felt your prayers! I can't think of any glitches or problems ... the medical trip went very well.
The stitches come out in two weeks, so we are praying that all heals well and for no wound issues. There really was no "extra skin" on the top of my foot to draw up to stitch together .... it looks to me like Dr. C pulled enough together to sew it closed, but I'm praying that it remains closed. He did not have a lot to work with.
I will be at mom & dad's house for the next two weeks and plan to return to work tomorrow. We were thrilled that there was a relatively minor "fix" and that we were able to get the problem corrected while we were in Dallas last week. I will do post-op care with my STL ortho doctor. Thankful to Him who provides in our time of need!
Jenny
As we were on the elevator riding up to his office, there was a nurse and mom & I on the elevator. She asked us who were going to see, so we told her. She said that he was the BEST doctor in the practice .... another office person told me that people come from all over the US to consult with him. Sometimes he has two operations happening simultaneously.
The problem was not what Dr. C thought he was going to see, so it was good for him to see it in person. He really felt like since we had previously lengthened the main tendon in the foot (Anterior Tib) and it was weak, another tendon (EDL) had "taken over" and was majorly over compensating for the weak one .... to the point that it caused the toes to become contracted and stay in a fixed position. He had know idea why it happened, but he wasn't totally surprised by it. His suggestion was to lengthen the EDL tendon, which is the main tendon that causes the toes to work, pull up & function. This would cause the toes to go back down and hopefully remain down. It was more of a problem w/the tendon leading to the toes than an issue with the toes themselves. Lengthening anything does cause weakness, but it is better than cutting the tendon totally, which would cause the toes to be limp & that can lead to the foot drop issue.
The toes would still have structure to them, but would likely not be able to grip. The operation involved a 2" incision on the top center of the foot, so we did not have to open up anything near the toes.
He wasn't convinced it is a nerve problem, but he said diagnosing a nerve issue in something complex like my situation is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Dr. C compared this to playing one the those carnival games where the mole or animal pops up at various spots/times and you have to keep trying to hit it down ....... in my case he said we're just going to have to treat whatever arises as things surface. He was excited that we had 15 mo. of things being nearly perfect.
We did the EDL lengthening surgery at 2:30 on Thursday, May 13th. As procedures go, it was relatively minor and uneventful. The surgery was about 40 minutes and I left in a surgical shoe. We stayed with friends and rested on Friday ... weather in Dallas was rainy. The flight home was fine ... we know the drill w/using a wheelchair and getting through security.
The pain is better now ... first few days are always rough. I can walk on it w/the surgical shoe or boot, but I'm doing only what is necessary ..... I'll use the scooter at work. I can see that the toes are down again and are back in the correct position.
Thank you so much for praying for us this week .... everything went very smoothly and we felt your prayers! I can't think of any glitches or problems ... the medical trip went very well.
The stitches come out in two weeks, so we are praying that all heals well and for no wound issues. There really was no "extra skin" on the top of my foot to draw up to stitch together .... it looks to me like Dr. C pulled enough together to sew it closed, but I'm praying that it remains closed. He did not have a lot to work with.
I will be at mom & dad's house for the next two weeks and plan to return to work tomorrow. We were thrilled that there was a relatively minor "fix" and that we were able to get the problem corrected while we were in Dallas last week. I will do post-op care with my STL ortho doctor. Thankful to Him who provides in our time of need!
Jenny
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
We're Off to Dallas ....
I'm heading to the airport in the next few minutes (10:30am flight). We meet with the orthopedic surgeon at 3:30 today, so pray hard between 3:30-4:00pm ..... this is the time that we will need to make a decision about the next step. I've slept well all week, so I'm ready to go. Dallas is supposed to be really warm - upper 80s. I am not taking the laptop, so I'll update the blog when we return home on Saturday afternoon.
Thanks for praying ...
Jenny
Thanks for praying ...
Jenny
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Pray hard & often this week ....
Only 3 days until we leave for Dallas! Last week was a very long week filled with pain and growing frustration with not being able to do things that I could do two months ago. I was in significant pain on Saturday evening and was ready to settle for any treatment suggestion. I was on my feet a lot on Saturday and paid for it dearly by Saturday evening.
I never heard back as to whether or not my STL surgeon spoke with Dr. C … hopefully it will still happen before the Wednesday appointment. Tomorrow is my last pt “evaluation” at 4pm so I can hand carry a report to Dallas that tells what we’ve tried, the loss of ROM measurements, etc. I had a new, fun pedicure over the weekend and am ready to go!
We arrive in Dallas around noon on Wednesday (5/12) and our appt. w/Dr. C is at 3:30pm. Here are a few specific prayer requests:
- Wisdom for Dr. C … may he have a “plan” after seeing the foot.
- Pray that Dr. C will be willing to continue w/my medical case.
- Surgery details to occur on Thursday, if needed.
- Travel Safety
- Strong medical team during surgery
- If surgery is not recommended, where do we go or what do we do next?
- Peace, strength & contentment to deal w/whatever we learn.
- Pray that the amputation topic will not surface again.
- Health otherwise … mom & I stay healthy.
- Open heart; to accept whatever lies ahead.
This is a very “up-in-the-air” trip, as we really don’t know what we are facing this week. There could be no “fix,” a minor resolution or it could be something more major. Flexibility and trusting in Him is going to be our best hope. The sermon at church this morning was on suffering and trusting in God – very appropriate timing. I have been at peace over the weekend about Dr. C’s willingness to continue to work with us ….. I will be devastated if he sends us to another doctor.
I have accepted the possible need to operate again, but I don’t have my head around a cast and no-weight for 4-6 weeks if that is needed. I am trying to just take it one day at a time and not think ahead too much.
The best case scenario on Wednesday would be that Dr. C knows the problem, has a “fix” that is relatively minor and if surgery is needed he is willing to move forward w/our tentative surgery time on Thursday … pray for this to become a reality.
I am undecided yet as to if I am taking the laptop. It is hard to manage with the laptop, carry on bag and crutches on the plane … especially if I am in a wheel chair through the airport on the way home. However, I hate not being able to update you with the latest information.
“Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and fine grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:11
Pray hard & often this week!
Jenny
I never heard back as to whether or not my STL surgeon spoke with Dr. C … hopefully it will still happen before the Wednesday appointment. Tomorrow is my last pt “evaluation” at 4pm so I can hand carry a report to Dallas that tells what we’ve tried, the loss of ROM measurements, etc. I had a new, fun pedicure over the weekend and am ready to go!
We arrive in Dallas around noon on Wednesday (5/12) and our appt. w/Dr. C is at 3:30pm. Here are a few specific prayer requests:
- Wisdom for Dr. C … may he have a “plan” after seeing the foot.
- Pray that Dr. C will be willing to continue w/my medical case.
- Surgery details to occur on Thursday, if needed.
- Travel Safety
- Strong medical team during surgery
- If surgery is not recommended, where do we go or what do we do next?
- Peace, strength & contentment to deal w/whatever we learn.
- Pray that the amputation topic will not surface again.
- Health otherwise … mom & I stay healthy.
- Open heart; to accept whatever lies ahead.
This is a very “up-in-the-air” trip, as we really don’t know what we are facing this week. There could be no “fix,” a minor resolution or it could be something more major. Flexibility and trusting in Him is going to be our best hope. The sermon at church this morning was on suffering and trusting in God – very appropriate timing. I have been at peace over the weekend about Dr. C’s willingness to continue to work with us ….. I will be devastated if he sends us to another doctor.
I have accepted the possible need to operate again, but I don’t have my head around a cast and no-weight for 4-6 weeks if that is needed. I am trying to just take it one day at a time and not think ahead too much.
The best case scenario on Wednesday would be that Dr. C knows the problem, has a “fix” that is relatively minor and if surgery is needed he is willing to move forward w/our tentative surgery time on Thursday … pray for this to become a reality.
I am undecided yet as to if I am taking the laptop. It is hard to manage with the laptop, carry on bag and crutches on the plane … especially if I am in a wheel chair through the airport on the way home. However, I hate not being able to update you with the latest information.
“Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and fine grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:11
Pray hard & often this week!
Jenny
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
6 Days Until TX Trip ....
Post #400 .....
All is about the same - no better, but not a lot worse. I am very ready to go to Dallas and get on with this, as walking on your big toe only and the side of your foot is just exhausting. I had to pull the car over on the way home from work today and take off my shoe, as the swelling was more pain than I could tolerate. On Monday at pt, my therapist thought the height of the gap (between toes and floor) had increased - possibly, it is hard to tell. I have pt again tomorrow, but it is not helping significantly .... at least it gives you peace of mind that we are attempting to not let it get a lot worse. My therapist and I are frustrated beyond belief with the current situation .... it is hard to still believe that this all declined so rapidly.
I did a lot of research last night on a treatment called, extensor tenotomies .... one thing that has been suggested. It basically involves cutting the tendons that are contracted and allowing all the toes to go limp. I have mixed feelings about it .... I am very anxious to see what Dr. C recommends. I have tried to read up on foot tendons, muscles, etc. this week so I can understand it all better next week. I am REALLY hoping this doesn't involve being non-weight bearing or a cast ... won't know until after our appt. next week.
I need to call TX this week and make sure all is still scheduled/set for next week. I have flight reservations and car rental in place. We will stay with our Dallas friend, so no hotel needed. I'll write out some specific prayer requests this weekend ... wisdom for Dr. C, a "solution" to the current problem and continued willingness on the part of Dr. C to work with us (he hasn't given any indication that he will stop helping us) are the biggies. Pray that the next 6 days go quickly, as I'm ready for some pain relief.
In His Grasp,
Jenny
All is about the same - no better, but not a lot worse. I am very ready to go to Dallas and get on with this, as walking on your big toe only and the side of your foot is just exhausting. I had to pull the car over on the way home from work today and take off my shoe, as the swelling was more pain than I could tolerate. On Monday at pt, my therapist thought the height of the gap (between toes and floor) had increased - possibly, it is hard to tell. I have pt again tomorrow, but it is not helping significantly .... at least it gives you peace of mind that we are attempting to not let it get a lot worse. My therapist and I are frustrated beyond belief with the current situation .... it is hard to still believe that this all declined so rapidly.
I did a lot of research last night on a treatment called, extensor tenotomies .... one thing that has been suggested. It basically involves cutting the tendons that are contracted and allowing all the toes to go limp. I have mixed feelings about it .... I am very anxious to see what Dr. C recommends. I have tried to read up on foot tendons, muscles, etc. this week so I can understand it all better next week. I am REALLY hoping this doesn't involve being non-weight bearing or a cast ... won't know until after our appt. next week.
I need to call TX this week and make sure all is still scheduled/set for next week. I have flight reservations and car rental in place. We will stay with our Dallas friend, so no hotel needed. I'll write out some specific prayer requests this weekend ... wisdom for Dr. C, a "solution" to the current problem and continued willingness on the part of Dr. C to work with us (he hasn't given any indication that he will stop helping us) are the biggies. Pray that the next 6 days go quickly, as I'm ready for some pain relief.
In His Grasp,
Jenny
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Weekend Update .....
There is not a lot new happening, other than the pain and struggle with walking tend to get a little worse each day. I did go to a pt appt. on Thursday of last week. Swelling was 1 1/2" larger on the bad foot/ankle compared to the other side. The loss of ROM was significant, but I expected that would likely happen. My therapist was shocked at how quickly this has reversed. Toes 2-4 are a little over an inch fixed in the air and toe #5 is even higher. I didn't leave the appt. in tears, but it happened when I made it to my car. It was pouring rain outside and I was crying inside ... what a mess. I have another appt. on Wednesday of this week .... just trying to do a little manual massage to keep it from getting any worse related to stiffness and height.
I requested a copy of Dr. K's (STL) office notes, so hopefully I will receive that early this week. I wanted to read his surgical plan in writing, as this is what he sent to TX.
All is set and scheduled for a 3:30pm appt. w/Dr. C in Dallas on Wednesday, May 12th and I am tentatively on his surgery schedule for 5/13. My mom is going w/me to Dallas and we will stay with a friend. We're praying for an accurate treatment option and that this will simply be an issue with the toes and not a structural problem with the ball area of the foot. Who knows about a cast, pins, no weight on it, etc. .... lots of questions still. Pray that it is correctable ... sounds that way now, but that has a way of often changing.
It is a little nerve wracking going down there and not having a total plan in place, but it is all part of being flexible. I feel comfortable w/this surgeon that we'll likely go with whatever he
recommends.
Better get to bed .... long week ahead with student visits all five days. I have Friday off, as we are returning to Ft. Wayne, IN to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church where we attended before moving to St. Louis.
Keep praying for wisdom, acceptance, grace and pain relief!
Jenny
I requested a copy of Dr. K's (STL) office notes, so hopefully I will receive that early this week. I wanted to read his surgical plan in writing, as this is what he sent to TX.
All is set and scheduled for a 3:30pm appt. w/Dr. C in Dallas on Wednesday, May 12th and I am tentatively on his surgery schedule for 5/13. My mom is going w/me to Dallas and we will stay with a friend. We're praying for an accurate treatment option and that this will simply be an issue with the toes and not a structural problem with the ball area of the foot. Who knows about a cast, pins, no weight on it, etc. .... lots of questions still. Pray that it is correctable ... sounds that way now, but that has a way of often changing.
It is a little nerve wracking going down there and not having a total plan in place, but it is all part of being flexible. I feel comfortable w/this surgeon that we'll likely go with whatever he
recommends.
Better get to bed .... long week ahead with student visits all five days. I have Friday off, as we are returning to Ft. Wayne, IN to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church where we attended before moving to St. Louis.
Keep praying for wisdom, acceptance, grace and pain relief!
Jenny
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Appointment Summary ....
At 2:00pm today, I got a migraine headache at work and started to lose vision instantly (stress related). I thought for sure that I was going to have to call and cancel the appt. at 3:20pm. I took some medicine, had a Coke and gave it thirty minutes …. Eventually, it worked enough that I could see to drive and talk coherently.
The appt. was about as positive as I could expect … thank-you for praying. Dr. K joked w/me upon entering that it had been 6 months since I had seen him, which is a major time record for my foot. He fully agreed that we are now back to where we were a year ago. He said to forget about attempting to figure out why it reoccurred, as we’ll likely never know & it will just prove to me more frustrating to keep searching.
He suggested cutting the tendon that is pulling it up and not necessarily lengthening it ….. he was not concerned about the “foot drop” possibility & said that it would not happen if the tendon was just clipped. It is supposed to be a relatively simple operation. He said that he wouldn’t pay for the pt, but I could do whatever I want on that topic …. won’t hurt it, but he said it will likely not reverse the problem. Dr. K’s explanation of the problem was essentially the same as the Dallas doctor. It is a little hard to tell if is just a toe positioning issue or if it is a bigger positioning issue w/the ball of the foot (hard to tell w/how I bear weight now). Dr. K & I lean toward to feeling that it will improve if the toes touch the ground & if I can bear weight on the entire foot.
He firmly believes that there is still a nerve issue & that I will likely deal with this the rest of my life. Because none of the neuro tests reveal anything, he said that you have to treat the symptoms, try to get it to be somewhat better, see how long it lasts and then do more treatment/surgery again as needed. He feels strongly that this is going to be ongoing and that any fix we do now will not last forever. He made the point that I am now having more time in between each surgery (which is good), so what we are doing/trying is working, but he fully expects the problem to continue to return at some level down the road …. doesn’t sound like there is any way around that & no one guarantees anything in the medical world.
Dr. K just saw Dr. C (Dallas dr.) three weeks ago at a conference and they talked about how well I was doing ….. ugh! Dr. K is going to send Dallas a letter with his thoughts/recommendations. Tomorrow I am supposed to call Dallas and make sure I can do surgery (assuming Dallas agrees upon seeing it) on May 13th, after my appt. on May 12th. Dr. K agreed to do the follow-up in STL …. if there are no wound issues, it sounds pretty minor. The Dallas dr. has never said anything about a nerve issue, so I’d be curious what he thinks on that point, but I’m hesitant to bring it up. Dallas may have another idea on solving the problem when I go to for the appointment …. this is hard to discuss over the phone.
I am dealing with it all and am still processing the reality of the situation. The idea that this is likely going to be an on-going problem was something that I have heard before, but I really thought that being 13 months post-op …. maybe we had dodged that notion. Evidently not. One of the hardest things about this is the fact that most of the general public naturally assumes that if you have surgery you should be “fixed” forever, which is not the case in my situation. It is hard for me swallow, too.
For now, there still seem to be treatment options (even if just a few), for which I am grateful. Dallas & STL still seem to be willing to help, which is another praise – pray that it stays that way.
Thanks again for praying today … I’m thankful for supportive friends, family, faith, and strong medical care. Keep praying for wise decision making and pain management in the next few weeks.
Jenny
The appt. was about as positive as I could expect … thank-you for praying. Dr. K joked w/me upon entering that it had been 6 months since I had seen him, which is a major time record for my foot. He fully agreed that we are now back to where we were a year ago. He said to forget about attempting to figure out why it reoccurred, as we’ll likely never know & it will just prove to me more frustrating to keep searching.
He suggested cutting the tendon that is pulling it up and not necessarily lengthening it ….. he was not concerned about the “foot drop” possibility & said that it would not happen if the tendon was just clipped. It is supposed to be a relatively simple operation. He said that he wouldn’t pay for the pt, but I could do whatever I want on that topic …. won’t hurt it, but he said it will likely not reverse the problem. Dr. K’s explanation of the problem was essentially the same as the Dallas doctor. It is a little hard to tell if is just a toe positioning issue or if it is a bigger positioning issue w/the ball of the foot (hard to tell w/how I bear weight now). Dr. K & I lean toward to feeling that it will improve if the toes touch the ground & if I can bear weight on the entire foot.
He firmly believes that there is still a nerve issue & that I will likely deal with this the rest of my life. Because none of the neuro tests reveal anything, he said that you have to treat the symptoms, try to get it to be somewhat better, see how long it lasts and then do more treatment/surgery again as needed. He feels strongly that this is going to be ongoing and that any fix we do now will not last forever. He made the point that I am now having more time in between each surgery (which is good), so what we are doing/trying is working, but he fully expects the problem to continue to return at some level down the road …. doesn’t sound like there is any way around that & no one guarantees anything in the medical world.
Dr. K just saw Dr. C (Dallas dr.) three weeks ago at a conference and they talked about how well I was doing ….. ugh! Dr. K is going to send Dallas a letter with his thoughts/recommendations. Tomorrow I am supposed to call Dallas and make sure I can do surgery (assuming Dallas agrees upon seeing it) on May 13th, after my appt. on May 12th. Dr. K agreed to do the follow-up in STL …. if there are no wound issues, it sounds pretty minor. The Dallas dr. has never said anything about a nerve issue, so I’d be curious what he thinks on that point, but I’m hesitant to bring it up. Dallas may have another idea on solving the problem when I go to for the appointment …. this is hard to discuss over the phone.
I am dealing with it all and am still processing the reality of the situation. The idea that this is likely going to be an on-going problem was something that I have heard before, but I really thought that being 13 months post-op …. maybe we had dodged that notion. Evidently not. One of the hardest things about this is the fact that most of the general public naturally assumes that if you have surgery you should be “fixed” forever, which is not the case in my situation. It is hard for me swallow, too.
For now, there still seem to be treatment options (even if just a few), for which I am grateful. Dallas & STL still seem to be willing to help, which is another praise – pray that it stays that way.
Thanks again for praying today … I’m thankful for supportive friends, family, faith, and strong medical care. Keep praying for wise decision making and pain management in the next few weeks.
Jenny
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Appointment tomorrow ...
Pray at 3:20 tomorrow .... Wed., April 21st .... hopefully it is a positive appointment with my STL foot, ortho doctor. I have not seen him since October. The positioning is about the same as when it started to go downhill last week. I am hoping to get a better understanding as to reality of pt working and if the Dallas/STL doctors should talk on the phone. We tried pt for this exact problem in the past with no success, but I am trying to keep an open mind.
I was not able to get in for a pt appt. earlier this week, as I had hoped. My first appt. is Thursday afternoon of this week. I did make an appt. in Dallas for May 12th ..... as it looks now, if surgery would be necessary I could do it the following day. We are going to "evaluate the situation" in another week and decide if they need to "pencil me in" on the surgery schedule. I'm not thinking about that possibility yet and hope to ask some more questions related to all of this tomorrow.
Keep praying ....
je
I was not able to get in for a pt appt. earlier this week, as I had hoped. My first appt. is Thursday afternoon of this week. I did make an appt. in Dallas for May 12th ..... as it looks now, if surgery would be necessary I could do it the following day. We are going to "evaluate the situation" in another week and decide if they need to "pencil me in" on the surgery schedule. I'm not thinking about that possibility yet and hope to ask some more questions related to all of this tomorrow.
Keep praying ....
je
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Tough Weekend ....
Post #396
The weekend was a big dose of how quickly things have changed, as pain quickly set in, more swelling, and walking has been labored & exhausting. The top of my foot and ankle area has been very painful, as I can feel the tendons/muscles (whatever it is) tensing up inside … feels like one big contracted knot with no relaxing in the immediate future. I was reminded of how far we had progressed and how quickly it has reversed.
I walked only for what I had to get done this weekend …. walking on the left side and heel is not going to last real long. At the moment, my tolerance for this set-back is pretty low. I have students all five days this week, which sounds really overwhelming - just taking it day-by-day.
I spent a little time on the Internet yesterday doing some research in hopes to understand a possible “why” to this suddenly reoccurring, but not a lot of luck finding something that truly applies to my situation.
My pt did e-mail me on Friday and told me that he would work me in earlier than Thursday, but I don’t have a specific time/date yet. My calendar is now suddenly full with medical appointments and I spent an hour today trying to juggle around some work obligations, so I can work in the pt stuff.
I realized another “sign” that this problem has existed for several weeks …. three weeks ago I bought a pair of silver sandals. Upon wearing them several times, you could see the “toe imprints” on the front portion of the sandal. Well, on the right foot the only toe imprint on the sandal is the big toe – hmmmm??? Obviously, none of the others were making contact.
I am still astounded by how this has deteriorated in a week’s time. I have a colleague from our JA Minneapolis office coming to shadow me for the first half of this week. She arrives tomorrow at 11am and will be with me until Wednesday evening ….. she may have to shop at Chesterfield mall a bit in order for me to go to pt and the Wednesday dr. appointment.
I am anxious for the Wed. orthopedic appointment. Maybe Dr. K will call Dr. C and discuss the situation, if necessary. I am going to ask him if he thinks there is even a chance of the pt working …. it is significant money, so I want to be realistic about it. In the meantime, I’m going to schedule an appt. w/Dr. C (in Dallas) for several weeks from now …. just in case I need it.
Pray hard for pain relief, good Wednesday appt. and encouragement this week!
je
The weekend was a big dose of how quickly things have changed, as pain quickly set in, more swelling, and walking has been labored & exhausting. The top of my foot and ankle area has been very painful, as I can feel the tendons/muscles (whatever it is) tensing up inside … feels like one big contracted knot with no relaxing in the immediate future. I was reminded of how far we had progressed and how quickly it has reversed.
I walked only for what I had to get done this weekend …. walking on the left side and heel is not going to last real long. At the moment, my tolerance for this set-back is pretty low. I have students all five days this week, which sounds really overwhelming - just taking it day-by-day.
I spent a little time on the Internet yesterday doing some research in hopes to understand a possible “why” to this suddenly reoccurring, but not a lot of luck finding something that truly applies to my situation.
My pt did e-mail me on Friday and told me that he would work me in earlier than Thursday, but I don’t have a specific time/date yet. My calendar is now suddenly full with medical appointments and I spent an hour today trying to juggle around some work obligations, so I can work in the pt stuff.
I realized another “sign” that this problem has existed for several weeks …. three weeks ago I bought a pair of silver sandals. Upon wearing them several times, you could see the “toe imprints” on the front portion of the sandal. Well, on the right foot the only toe imprint on the sandal is the big toe – hmmmm??? Obviously, none of the others were making contact.
I am still astounded by how this has deteriorated in a week’s time. I have a colleague from our JA Minneapolis office coming to shadow me for the first half of this week. She arrives tomorrow at 11am and will be with me until Wednesday evening ….. she may have to shop at Chesterfield mall a bit in order for me to go to pt and the Wednesday dr. appointment.
I am anxious for the Wed. orthopedic appointment. Maybe Dr. K will call Dr. C and discuss the situation, if necessary. I am going to ask him if he thinks there is even a chance of the pt working …. it is significant money, so I want to be realistic about it. In the meantime, I’m going to schedule an appt. w/Dr. C (in Dallas) for several weeks from now …. just in case I need it.
Pray hard for pain relief, good Wednesday appt. and encouragement this week!
je
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Oh, No .... Toes Lifting
Today has been an incredibly difficult day in relation to the foot. Since November, things had been going very well and I have been walking with minimal pain and pretty much back to everyday life. Last weekend I was in Chicago with friends and we commented on how great it was that I could go on the trip with no crutches/cast. Things have now changed significantly in the past few days.
Over the past 4-5 months, I have had a continual callus, swelling and soreness on the left side of my big toe. I attributed it to my big toe being fused, using it more now, etc. Basically I’ve just dealt with it & thought it was an inconvenience that I’d need to live with. At the same time that was happening, my little toe (#5) was off the ground. I noticed that when I wore different shoes in would get stuck in a strap or poke out the top of a sandal. I tried on sandals last weekend in Chicago & my co-workers even asked me why that small toe was sticking up ….. I told them then that was just the way it was. .
During this week, I’ve come to realize that the toe positioning problem that we had a year ago has returned. Now the four small toes are fixed off the ground and nothing makes contact with the floor ….. exactly where we have been twice before. There is an strong inch+ gap between the toes and the floor .. the little toe is even higher. I can run my entire hand under the toes.
I only bear weight now on the heel and left side of the foot. I am about 13 months post-op, so the fact that this has suddenly returned is quite puzzling. I now realize that all the issues with the side of the big toe have likely happened because that was the only side of the foot that was making contact with the ground. It is most disheartening to say the least …. I thought we were so far beyond needing to have anything else done, I was going to close my medical bank account this weekend (not now). Why it took me so long to put it all together is beyond me!
I called the ortho dr.’s office in Dallas this morning and got a new receptionist to relay a message to his assistant (both were in surgery). Dr. C’s PA called me back & then went and spoke w/Dr. C, while I stayed on the phone. I won’t do justice to explaining this well, but basically the tendons that were lengthened are weak and it is causing other tendons to overwork to compensate … to the point that they are pulling up the toes. There is more to it, but I was in such shock that I only grasped a few facts.
It feels just like it did a year ago – tense, pulling up, etc. …. it is scary at how quickly this has gone from good to bad. In the past, the pattern has always been that once the toes come up, they do not go back down. We have to try pt, but I am doubtful.
Dr. C does not want to lengthen the tendons again (would be the 3rd time), as the risk of “foot drop” (droopy, floppy foot) happening is quite high … the risk is likely not worth taking. The tendon leading to the small toe could be lengthened. The solution for now is to resume pt immediately to try and manually get the toes to relax, come down and stay down. If I do pt for 3-4 weeks with no results, then Dr. C could lengthen the small toe and see if this would be enough to get the others to come down or maybe pt will work on toes 2-4 and then we fix the small toe.
I promptly scheduled pt appointments, but the soonest I could get in is next Thursday ….. pray for a cancellation. We need to work on this sooner than later, if there is hope of turning it around. I do have an e-mail into my therapist begging for something sooner. Thankfully, the pt office is right next door to JA so I can be over there in a few minutes, if needed.
Between now and the end of June, I have a super busy work schedule … students every day and three weeks of summer camp in June. It is not a good time for me to have this happening or leaving mid-day for pt appointments. I will figure out a way to make it all happen, but it seems like a big task at the moment. I am glad there is only one day of work left this week …. I need the weekend to wrap my head around this. I am very thankful that Dr. C’s PA called me back today in between surgery cases.
The hip appt. earlier this week was not real productive. I was going to get another opinion on it this coming week, but given the foot issues the hip is taking a back seat. There are mixed feelings on the right time to do the revision surgery. Forget the hip issues for the time being …..
Wednesday, April 21st – 3:20 appt. w/Dr. K in STL – to get his opinion on the situation.
The bottom line is put my name back on your prayer list …. Pray specifically that the pt will be effective & for an appt. to happen by early next week. Pray for wisdom, strength, grace, acceptance, and a positive attitude.
In His Grasp,
Jenny
Over the past 4-5 months, I have had a continual callus, swelling and soreness on the left side of my big toe. I attributed it to my big toe being fused, using it more now, etc. Basically I’ve just dealt with it & thought it was an inconvenience that I’d need to live with. At the same time that was happening, my little toe (#5) was off the ground. I noticed that when I wore different shoes in would get stuck in a strap or poke out the top of a sandal. I tried on sandals last weekend in Chicago & my co-workers even asked me why that small toe was sticking up ….. I told them then that was just the way it was. .
During this week, I’ve come to realize that the toe positioning problem that we had a year ago has returned. Now the four small toes are fixed off the ground and nothing makes contact with the floor ….. exactly where we have been twice before. There is an strong inch+ gap between the toes and the floor .. the little toe is even higher. I can run my entire hand under the toes.
I only bear weight now on the heel and left side of the foot. I am about 13 months post-op, so the fact that this has suddenly returned is quite puzzling. I now realize that all the issues with the side of the big toe have likely happened because that was the only side of the foot that was making contact with the ground. It is most disheartening to say the least …. I thought we were so far beyond needing to have anything else done, I was going to close my medical bank account this weekend (not now). Why it took me so long to put it all together is beyond me!
I called the ortho dr.’s office in Dallas this morning and got a new receptionist to relay a message to his assistant (both were in surgery). Dr. C’s PA called me back & then went and spoke w/Dr. C, while I stayed on the phone. I won’t do justice to explaining this well, but basically the tendons that were lengthened are weak and it is causing other tendons to overwork to compensate … to the point that they are pulling up the toes. There is more to it, but I was in such shock that I only grasped a few facts.
It feels just like it did a year ago – tense, pulling up, etc. …. it is scary at how quickly this has gone from good to bad. In the past, the pattern has always been that once the toes come up, they do not go back down. We have to try pt, but I am doubtful.
Dr. C does not want to lengthen the tendons again (would be the 3rd time), as the risk of “foot drop” (droopy, floppy foot) happening is quite high … the risk is likely not worth taking. The tendon leading to the small toe could be lengthened. The solution for now is to resume pt immediately to try and manually get the toes to relax, come down and stay down. If I do pt for 3-4 weeks with no results, then Dr. C could lengthen the small toe and see if this would be enough to get the others to come down or maybe pt will work on toes 2-4 and then we fix the small toe.
I promptly scheduled pt appointments, but the soonest I could get in is next Thursday ….. pray for a cancellation. We need to work on this sooner than later, if there is hope of turning it around. I do have an e-mail into my therapist begging for something sooner. Thankfully, the pt office is right next door to JA so I can be over there in a few minutes, if needed.
Between now and the end of June, I have a super busy work schedule … students every day and three weeks of summer camp in June. It is not a good time for me to have this happening or leaving mid-day for pt appointments. I will figure out a way to make it all happen, but it seems like a big task at the moment. I am glad there is only one day of work left this week …. I need the weekend to wrap my head around this. I am very thankful that Dr. C’s PA called me back today in between surgery cases.
The hip appt. earlier this week was not real productive. I was going to get another opinion on it this coming week, but given the foot issues the hip is taking a back seat. There are mixed feelings on the right time to do the revision surgery. Forget the hip issues for the time being …..
Wednesday, April 21st – 3:20 appt. w/Dr. K in STL – to get his opinion on the situation.
The bottom line is put my name back on your prayer list …. Pray specifically that the pt will be effective & for an appt. to happen by early next week. Pray for wisdom, strength, grace, acceptance, and a positive attitude.
In His Grasp,
Jenny
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