Update:
Monday was a
less painful day. I started out by going
and working out at the gym for 90 minutes.
I went in my wheelchair without a prosthetic leg. Afterwards I went home ate an early lunch and
then put my leg on and went grocery shopping.
I went to two stores, parking in the handicap parking, walking the short
distance inside and then using a motorized shopping cart. At the grocery store midway through shopping,
my cart decided to have an emotional meltdown.
Every time I stood up to grab an item the backup alarm would beep
constantly until I sat back down again.
That thing is loud and annoying!
When I was in the checkout it did it when I was trying to pay and then
again as I bagged my groceries. Everyone
one in the surrounding lanes stopped and looked up to see what the incessant
noise was. One older gentleman
complained loudly about the irritating noise and begged someone to make it
stop. I apologized and took the cart
back to plug it in and park it. When I
plugged it in the beeping stopped! All
it wanted was to be charged up. I’ve got
to say that I get enough stares by people wondering why a guy my age is using
the motorized carts or parking my truck in handicap parking spaces without
calling attention to myself by non-stop obnoxious beeping of a shopping cart. Just got to laugh!
Good
progress was made at my appointment with my prosthetist on Monday. I am in a whole lot less pain now. It’s not the way it should be yet; but we are
getting there. Much of the pain I was
having was due to a nerve being pinched on the side of my leg. What is crazy is that almost 95% of the pain
I felt was at the bottom of my stump.
Guess where that nerve along the side of my leg runs! My
prosthetist heated the plastic of my test socket and gave me a bit more room
over the spot where the nerve passes over that bone and most of my problems
went away! After 2 ½ hours of
adjustments, I was done in and needed to go find some pain relief. After a while the pain just overwhelms me and
your body doesn’t care if the source of the pain is gone; it just wants to
scream at you for what you’ve done to it previously. So I spent Monday night with the prosthesis off,
taking a few ibuprofen and using an ice pack to get those nerve endings calmed
down. I’m about to don my prosthesis and
begin walking to discover how the leg will feel today. Now that the major pain has been removed; I
should be able to feel some of the comparatively minor pain points and get
those adjusted as well.
There was a
large emotional change in me that occurred in the middle of my appointment
yesterday. Going in, I was in pain and
it felt like it would never stop. I would
walk for a short period of time before major pain would hit, so I was always
either experiencing pain or anticipating it.
That’s not a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. But I had to feel the pain so I could locate
the problem areas so that Leah, my prosthetist, could fix them. About midway through the appointment after we
discovered the nerve issue and fixed it, I felt a noticeable change in the way
I felt--not only physically; but emotionally.
It was like a giant cloud had suddenly lifted off of my shoulders. I still had pain; but it was comparatively light
and easy to bear. I felt hope wash back
over me. “Yes! This is going to work and
I will walk pain-free again!” Even when you know that you will feel better
eventually; it’s still hard to endure pain.
Even if the pain isn’t over but you have a moment when you are
pain-free, it is like getting a few minutes of bright, warm sunshine on a
cloudy, dark day. It gives you
hope. Thankfully, I experienced that
yesterday afternoon.
At this
point, I am more hopeful that I will get to go out hunting for part of gun
season. A lot will depend upon what I
experience in the next few days. Minor
pain and discomfort is okay. Major pain
is not. At least I have hope again and I’m
headed in the right direction.
Thought for the Day:
Reading some
of the posts on one of the amputee sites I belong to, I was drawn to one person’s
comments. Without giving any details, he
complained about how awful life was as an amputee. He used some very “colorful” words to describe
what he thought about life. My heart
went out to the guy. And I wondered what
his life was really like. Was it really that
bad or had his outlook on life slipped that far? I am amazed at what some people go through,
so maybe life really is that awful for the guy.
On the other hand, I also see that people can turn minor inconveniences
into major catastrophes by the way they think.
Not knowing any details of this man’s life, I cannot form any opinion
about his comments. All I can say is “Thank
you, God, that I don’t feel that way about life.”
My life isn’t
perfect; but I have so many things to be thankful for. I have some limitations; but none of them
cause me to despair of life. Other
people might look at my life and think that I have it pretty bad; while I look
at my life and think, I have it pretty great.
I’ve got a loving wife and family who take care of me and help me do
what I cannot manage on my own. I have a
ton of friends who are willing to lend a hand (or more accurately a leg) when I
need it. My church family is very
supportive. I’ve got an excellent
medical team that gives me great care whom I enjoy working with. Yeah, I get sort of tired of washing my leg,
sheaths, socks, and liners (and applying moisturizer to my hands and lower
extremities all the time so they don’t dry out and crack). It’s a drag having to inspect my left leg and
my right foot every day. It is inconvenient
to have to spend time in the morning and evening donning and doffing my leg and
not just getting up and going. I don’t
like having distance restrictions on how far I can walk and I really don’t like
the days when I am stuck in my wheelchair.
But overall, I don’t have it too bad.
I am enjoying life and getting to rediscover it from a whole new perspective. Each new sunrise means another day that I get
to spend here on earth. I know that I am
a better person for what I’ve gone through the last year. I love to figure out ways to do things and
get a great sense of accomplishment when I do.
I get all sorts of opportunities to apply that kind of analytical skill
in my daily life. Just figuring out how to
get in and out of the pool and take a shower at the gym afterwards is a major
task with all sorts of things to remember to bring and take with me. Yep!
My life is really pretty awesome!
Every day is a new challenge and filled with discovery. There is always something more to learn.
What do you
have to be thankful for? Every one of us
can rattle off a list of how our life could be better; but thinking about what
is good in our lives can be a bit more challenging. Take time to think about what you are
thankful for.
Here’s one
of my favorite Thanksgiving quotes:
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