Update:
I met with my surgeon, Dr. Grewe, on Monday. He said everything looked great with my stump
and so he released me to be fitted for a prosthesis. Dr. Grewe and I exchanged jokes at each
appointment I’ve had with him, so Monday at our last appointment I gave him a
joke book as a thank you. I spared no
expense—it cost $5 dollars and was easily worth $1.75 (the jokes are that
bad!!! Of course, that is my kind of humor). He loved the book! I pity his staff who will have to listen to
his jokes—I guess that makes me his enabler.
I no longer have to wear my leg brace when I sleep at night. I’ve grown accustomed to its weight and
rigidness at night. It forced me to
learn to sleep on my back. At first I
had to wear it 24/7. Then a month ago, I
only had to wear it at night. Now I
don’t have to wear it at all. It has
become a part of my nightly ritual for getting ready for bed, so that will be
strange. It is sort of funny, I have
been wanting that thing off for a long time.
Now I am told that I am totally free of it, I am a little hesitant. It feels sort of like I’ve been told all of
my life not to stick forks into the electrical outlet and now suddenly I’m told
go ahead and jam one in there! J I didn’t sleep all that well last night. I think it was partially due to the fact that
I didn’t have the leg brace on—it felt nice, and wrong, all at the same
time. I’ll get used to it being gone,
just give me a few days.
Dr. Grewe said that it takes about 25% more energy to walk with a
prosthesis than with your natural leg.
That’s why there has been so much emphasis on doing my exercises every
day.
Next, I met with my prosthetist,
Leah. We took measurements of my leg as
a baseline. Every morning I have to
measure my stump in three places, so we can see if my leg size is stable. There isn’t any use in making a prosthesis if
my leg keeps changing shape—then you’d have to start it all back over because
it has to fit perfectly snug. Leah felt that
by next Monday I should be ready for making the cast of my leg.
After taking measurements, Leah fitted me with a shrinker sock to
ensure I don’t have fluid pooling in my leg. The shrinker sock is a tight
elastic sock that fits over the stump.
Before stretching that puppy over my leg, I first put some strands of
lamb’s wool on the front of my leg (down the tibia—the shin bone) and kneecap
for padding and protection. Then there
is a nylon sheath that goes against my skin, and finally the shrinker sock goes
over the top of it all. The sheath helps
protect the skin from irritation from the shrinker. Think of thread count on sheets. The sheath has an extremely high thread count
whereas the shrinker, by nature of what it has to do, does not. I only am supposed to take the shrinker sock
off to put a clean sheath on, while I shower, and to take my measurements—so
basically 23 hours a day. I’ll keep
wearing them whenever I don’t have my prosthesis on during the next six
months. After that we’ll see if my leg
swells up without it overnight. If my
leg stays the same size, then I won’t have to continue wearing them. Some people have trouble with swelling and are
required to wear a shrinker sock for the rest of their lives. The shrinker sock feels like a giant anaconda
has swallowed my leg—at least it feels like how I imagine that would
feel!! It’s tight pressure on my leg;
not uncomfortably so—but very noticeable.
Next, Leah had me try on my new shoe and the orthotic insert that was
made for my right foot. It looks like a
regular black New Balance walking shoe.
But it is THE shoe I wear from now on.
It is designed to protect my right foot from having any of the problems
that my left foot developed. One thing
that I learned by having my shoe professionally fitted is that I’ve been
wearing a shoe one size too small in length and a size too small in width. I’ve always had trouble choosing the right
size at the shoe store. New shoes always
feel okay to me. Who knew?
The plan is that next Monday (3/3/2014) I’ll have the cast made of my
leg and then on Monday (3/17/2014) I will get to put on my new prosthetic leg
and take my first steps! I’ll be certain
have a video camera rolling to capture that moment! Who knows, I might make money off of America’s
Funniest Home Videos!
By the time we got home and unloaded, Karen had to take off for the
evening. I made a few calls to clarify
some issues with two doctors. I put the
groceries away and then made myself some dinner. After that I was so worn out from the day
that instead of reading, I feel asleep in my recliner for 1½ hours. I woke up and then talked to my daughter,
Ruth, on the phone for 45 minutes and then got ready for bed. That’s why I never got a “Thought for The Day”
written yesterday—I was too tired to think thoughts!
Thought for the Day:
I just finished reading Luke 7:36-50.
Jesus is eating at the house of Simon, a Pharisee (a religious/political
leader of Israel). While they are eating,
a woman comes in and washes Jesus’ feet with her tears and dries them with her
hair. She kisses his feet and anoints them
with ointment. Simon is indignant
because this woman is known to be sinful (a prostitute?). Jesus asks his host a question (I’ll
modernize it a bit). Two men owed someone
money. One of them owed him $50, and the
second man owed him $50,000. The man forgave both of their debts owed to
him. Jesus poses the question, “Which of
them will love him (the man who forgave the debt) more?” Simon answered, “The one for whom he
cancelled the larger debt.”
In this culture everyone went barefoot or wore sandals. The streets were dirt and also where the sewage
ran. Washing a guest’s feet when they
arrived was a common courtesy (usually the job of the lowliest servant in the
household). That the woman used her
tears, her own hair, and kissed his feet is extremely self-degrading. The point is, she understood how sinful she
truly was and demonstrated that by her actions.
The Pharisee on the other hand assumed that he himself was righteous and
good. He didn’t even offer common
courtesy to Jesus. He also mentally
condemned the woman and Jesus for letting her touch his feet. The Pharisee had absolutely no concept of his
own personal sinfulness. He was blinded
to the truth of his own need. He assumed
since he was a religious leader that he was fine. Jesus ends up telling the woman that her sins
are forgiven. The others at the table
have still not understood their own spiritual needs and so they grumble among
themselves, “Where does this guy get off telling people their sins are
forgiven?” These people make no
admission of guilt or of personal need and so they miss the opportunity of
forgiveness.
Luke 7:50 “And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith
has saved you; go in peace.”
It’s easy to gloss over this story and move on without allowing it to
touch our own hearts. The best question
to ask ourselves is, “Who in the story do I most identify with?” Sadly I think that most often for me it is
Simon the Pharisee. I think that “I am
doing alright. I live a pretty clean
life. I am a whole lot more spiritual
than most other people. I don’t have the
problems that most people have, etc.” I
can easily look down upon and judge other people, favorably compare myself to
them and to their issues. Yep! I am a Pharisee at heart!
One thing that should sink in when reading the gospels, the Pharisees
never fared well. Jesus gave them very
poor ratings although they tried extremely hard to please God. It wasn’t what they did that was so wrong; as
much as it was their attitude and motivation.
They were self-reliant, self-assuming and self-deluded.
Lord, let me learn to see myself as You see me. Open my eyes to my true spiritual
condition. God, I don’t want my pride to
stand in the way of our relationship. I
admit that it is hard to really humble myself before You; but I know that I
must if I want Your forgiveness. I find
it easy to assume that I’m not so bad when I compare myself to others; but you
don’t judge me by comparison to others—You compare me to Your own standards. I don’t want to be a modern day Pharisee. Lord, I am so glad that Your acceptance of me
is not based upon my performance; but instead on your mercy and grace. Just like you forgave the woman for her many
sins because of her sorrow for her sins and for her faith in you; I ask you to
forgive my sins as well. God, help me to
live my life in a manner that is pleasing to you. Amen!
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