Update:
Friday, what a day! Got my 60
minute workout done and was working on Sunday’s message when I got a call from
the church. I had been working from home
because I’ve had so much trouble with my prosthetic leg. So I went into church to take care of an
issue. While I was there, I braved
calling customer service again about my recent computer order. Somehow when I ordered my new computer, the
three peripheral items that I ordered with it were doubled (so I received two
docking stations, two extra AC adapters, two docking stations). Those three items had to be returned. I had spent over an hour on hold earlier in
the week to customer service trying to get it done; but never got through. I finally sent an email that only got a
partial response. Today when I called my wait was about 5 minutes and the first
person I talked to actually helped me get the return authorization and the
return shipping labels printed. I
repackaged the boxes and loaded them in my truck. That actually was quite a sight; me carrying
out two large boxes while walking with a cane.
I actually got stuck in the door at church because of the closure
automatically trying to shut the door on me.
It would have made a great YouTube video! I made it to FedEx and got the boxes shipped
off. One problem solved today! Hurrah!
I didn’t have enough time for my next errand before my 2 p.m.
appointment with my prosthetist. So I
went to sit for a few minutes before my appointment. Leah got behind with a previous client so I
ended up waiting 40 minutes. I wasn’t
upset because she has gone over 30 minutes while helping me before; it takes
whatever time that it does. I am always
glad they don’t give up and shove you out the door at exactly thirty minutes or
one hour. With Leah stilled tied up,
Mike said that he would help me. I had
never met him before, but he seemed VERY competent; it turns out that he is one
of the co-founders of the company. Then
for the next THREE HOURS he and Leah worked on fitting my prosthesis. Talk about customer care! I was having pain in my knee and along the
fibula where the nerve crosses it. I
had tried to keep the pain at bay by adding more socks. That didn’t work; it was only a VERY
temporary reduction in pain and after a while you reach the point where you
can’t add any more layers of socks because the prosthesis gets painfully tight
on the leg.
Although it was late Friday afternoon and Mike still had to drive back
to Rochester, MN where the home office is located; I am very grateful that he
and Leah kept at it until I was pain-free.
I went in to the office with my leg in pain and after every adjustment
and tweak they made; I’d have to walk again to see if the pain returned. Usually it only took about 10-20 steps for
the pain to return then it was more evaluation and they’d go back to the lab with
various parts of my leg to make the necessary adjustments, then I would try
walking again until the pain returned.
Let’s just say it was a painful afternoon; but it was a profitable one
too. I learned a lot about what I could
do at home to fit the prosthesis, how many socks to wear; when to put them on,
etc., etc. At the end of the three
hours, I left walking without pain.
I also got to ask questions about whether I could ride a bike if my leg
continues to change on a regular basis; what happens when this prosthesis can
no longer be adjusted, etc. Because not
all of my weight is pushing on the pedals, I was assured that riding a bike
would be no problem and a great way to exercise my legs when I am restricted in
the amount of walking I can do. I have
also been concerned that at some point that they would no longer be able to
adjust this prosthesis to my leg. I thought
that eventually I would have to sit in a wheelchair (a few weeks, a month) until
I lost all my weight and my leg size stabilized. I was assured that they don’t want me sitting
in a wheelchair for long periods because I would lose muscle tone and lose many
of the gains that I had made. If
necessary, they will make me an intermediate leg so that I can keep on walking
while I lose the rest of my weight.
Whew! That makes me happy to
know. All my medical team wants me to
get the weight off, so we are all working towards that same goal. I ended up walking more at the prosthetic lab
office today testing the fit than I have been able to walk in the last week or
two combined. Now that the leg fits
again, all the pain is gone. I left the
lab office very tired but happy.
Here’s a link to a 3 minute video that explains a trick I use in
donning my foam liner:
I then went to Verizon because my cell phone continues to cut out
during conversations. I had already
taken it in once this week for the same issue.
They made some adjustments and told me that fixes it 6 out of 7
times. Not my phone, I must be #7! I was rather surprised that after asking me
some questions, checking the records and looking over the phone; they decided
to replace my phone for free. So in the
next day or so I should be getting a replacement phone that I can actually hear
what people are saying when they talk to me! Cool! “Can you hear me now?”
I stopped by the Fire Department on my way home and was able to catch
the Assistant Chief so he could adjust my pager. I’ve been having trouble getting pages and if
I do get them, they are filled with noisy static and I can’t understand what
the dispatcher is saying. If this fix
doesn’t work, the county will be making some frequency changes in a month or
two that should take care of all my pager problems; it just a matter of waiting
for it to happen. Recently, all I’ve
been getting has been the tones and then static. It’s like being woken up in the middle of the
night by a screaming preschooler. “mom!
Mom!!! MOM!!!!!” and when you go
into their room, they say in a sleepy voice, “Never mind.” Aargh!
I think that I mentioned in an earlier post that my computer at my
office freaked out on me last week or so.
My tech guy got it limping along for me to use; but it is very difficult
to get much done because so much remains messed up. My new computer cannot get here fast enough!
Let’s see: Phone, Pager, Computer.
Right now I don’t think you want me near your electronics—apparently, my
very presence near them is destructive.
Ha! Ha!
I have another eye injection scheduled for Monday morning; so I am not
certain whether I will have time to publish an Update on Monday. I know that I will not be posting anything on
Tuesday because my eye will need time to recover before I use the computer.
Thought for the Day:
After yesterday’s appointment at the prosthetic lab, for the first time
in the last few weeks I have hope of being pain-free again. During these past weeks, I’ve gone through a
repetitive cycle: Fine one day. Sometime
on the second day, pain begins and continues until I can get into the lab. I get a temporary fix but it lasts only about
24 hours until I am in pain again. The
problem is not the prosthetic lab—it’s me.
Between dieting and my leg changing size daily from muscle atrophy,
keeping my leg fitting properly is like trying to hit a moving target while
galloping along on horseback. I only
have pain when I put my weight on my left leg—it’s not like it is all-day
non-stop, which makes it easier to bear.
I am averaging about two pain-free days per week. I’ve developed an expectation that sometime
during the day I will end up taking another step which leads to pain. I walk with an expectancy of experiencing
pain. That prospect has taken some of
the joy out of walking recently.
It is very strange what that does to me. I sort flinch (at least emotionally) every
time I take a step assuming that this will be “the one” that sets off the
pain. I’ve drastically reduced the
amount of walking that I’ve been doing; if I limit my walking, it takes longer
for the pain to return. I’m spending
more time in the wheelchair. I drag it
along with me everywhere in case I suddenly cannot walk. And the pain does
happen like that. One moment I am fine; then
I take one more step and I am in pain. I
don’t go out for walks without thinking about whether there is someone to call who
can come rescue me if I cannot take another step, etc. I always have my backpack filled with socks
of various sizes to try to regain a proper fit, etc. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of ‘pain’, I
will fear no evil, for ‘my wheelchair and various socks’ are with me…they
comfort me.” (a poor attempt at humor: re-written Psalm 23:4).
Walking with the pain is not an option.
I’ve been cautioned not to even try it (one piece of medical advice that
I fully plan to follow without reservation!); although I have to take a few painful
steps to get to my wheelchair, etc. If
I try to push through the pain I could quickly cause an injury (bruising, wound,
etc.) which could land me in a wheelchair for a few weeks while I heal.
Fortunately, I know that this painful cycle is going to end after my
leg stabilizes in size. It might be
another month or two; but then everything should calm down. But even knowing it isn’t going to last forever
doesn’t mean that it doesn’t affect me.
The pain is real and the pain is happening to me right now. Although my pain level would be considered a
mere inconvenience compared to what some people experience, I can understand
how people can get to the point of despairing for their own life. How can a
person live like this?
By the strength of our will we can gut out pain for a short time
because we know it will end eventually.
Without an end in sight, pain can quickly become unbearable as we reach
the end of our endurance. What do we do
then? I think we have to refocus our
attention upon God and eternity.
No matter how long our life lasts, we know that it will eventually end;
but as a Christian, I believe that this isn’t really the end of life, merely
the end of this phase of existence. We
will live forever. So whatever pain we
suffer in this life, it will eventually end and we will receive a glorified
body that never grows old, wears out, sustains injury or illness. I’ll be whole again with two legs that work
perfectly! I am reframing my problem
with pain by giving myself perspective looking forward to that day. But that doesn’t completely take care of the
present pain.
Another resource for pain is prayer. Not only can we pray for
deliverance from pain; we can pray for deliverance through the pain. God will not always remove or lessen the pain
in response to our prayers. But I feel
that He will give us extra resources to endure the pain and to stand up under
the test it brings to our life. His
peace and power can flood our souls and enable us during our time of need. Living through pain can serve to strengthen
our character as well as our faith and reliance upon God. Remembering what the testing of our faith
produces helps me to undergo the pain with a much healthier outlook.
James 1:2-4 “Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything.” (NIV)
The final resource for pain that we have is God Himself. He promises to be our constant companion
through all of life’s ups and downs. His
presence brings peace and comfort and strength that goes far beyond the limits
of our endurance.
Pain is never easy. Constant
pain is very draining. The fear of pain
can be very paralyzing. We dig deep and seek to stand up against pain but
eventually our defenses are overwhelmed and we must turn to God to be our help
and sustainer. I’m hoping to have a pain
free day; but if I don’t—I know where I will turn for help.
(Note: Lest someone misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with appropriate treatment and medication to help manage pain as well.)
(Note: Lest someone misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with appropriate treatment and medication to help manage pain as well.)
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