Update :
As of yesterday, I am
wheelchair bound again. My prosthetic leg is not fitting well and is
painful to wear. Doctors are worried that I will damage my knee or the
soft tissue if I continue to wear this one. So I was told by my
prosthetist (makes and adjusts the prosthesis) that I needed to set up an
appointment with the Physiatrist (Rehab Doctor) for the three of us. The
prosthetist and I needed to explain to the Physiatrist what was going wrong and
what we had tried. She would write the prescription to build me a new
prosthetic leg.
When I called the doctor’s
office and asked for an appointment I was given November 19th,
almost three weeks away! That would mean I would be in a wheelchair for
over a month while my new leg was being built. I asked if there was any
chance of getting squeezed in sooner. While I was waiting to hear if there was
(the scheduler was doubtful) I started praying for patience to endure the
wait. It is the last thing that I wanted to do but I told God that I
would accept the delay. I just had finished that prayer and the scheduler
asked if I could be at the Doctor’s office in 45 minutes. They just had a
cancellation that morning. “YES!!!” I called the prosthetist to let
her know and check her availability. Then I flew out of my office.
I had to go by the house to put my prosthesis on and grab some parts for the
wheelchair, etc.
Normally I leave at least
45 minutes before an appointment from home. I was leaving the office with
less than 45 minutes and I had to don my prosthesis and wheel myself through
the long hospital corridors to my doctor’s office by myself. I slid into
the waiting room right on time. Whew! My blood pressure was a
little elevated by the rush but I made it.
I was so grateful that
Leah, my prosthetist was able to quickly type up the notes we needed and met me
at the doctor’s office. I am also thankful that the scheduler checked and
offered me a crazy appointment too. Dr. Schmidt told me that the person
who had “my” time slot had just cancelled sometime earlier in the morning. Timing is everything!
I am waiting for a smaller
silicone liner to arrive (my current one is a size too large now). I have
an appointment for next Tuesday, November 4th to have my leg
cast. I’ll get a test socket about a week later (made of plastic and
fiberglass). That can easily be adjusted so that we can perfect the fit
before building me another check socket. Once I’ve gotten a good fit with
the test socket (a few weeks) they’ll take that to use as a mold to build the
check socket. So I will be without a leg for another week later in
November.
Despite delays and waiting,
I am on the way and making progress. The Physiatrist was rather shocked
to see me because just 19 days before I had an appointment with her and had
absolutely no problems and here I was back again so suddenly.
I continue to lose weight
and gain muscle strength. Those two
things along with the normal reduction in limb size that all amputees go
through caused this change. My doctor was very pleased with weight loss
and muscle gain. She also commended me for not let this current problem
go on too long and I develop a skin breakdown or other tissue damage. I
really can’t take too much credit for that. It hurt too bad to
walk. Even a GUY can figure out that he needs help when that happens!
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