Update:
I had a
plaster cast made of my leg yesterday. The
prosthetist takes the cast and uses it as a mold to make a replica of my
leg. The new prosthesis is then built
using that replica. I have an
appointment on Thursday (11/13) to be fitted with the new and improved test
socket. So I should leave the office
that day on two legs!!! That means
another eight days in the wheelchair, which is disappointing. But nothing can be done to speed up the
process. It takes what it takes. So I just have to accept it and soldier on. Since the new prosthetic leg will be closely
shaped to my leg as it currently is, I should be pain-free and back in business
with very minor adjustments.
Some people
have asked if my old prosthesis can be donated or re-used. Think about that for a minute. It was created to exactly fit my leg eight
months ago. There have been enough
changes in the shape of my leg that the old prosthesis was causing great pain
and would have begun doing damage to my leg if I continued wearing it. What are the odds that someone could be found
that it would fit perfectly when it couldn’t be adjusted to fit the guy it was
created for? Unfortunately, there is no
use for an old prosthesis that I know of.
I was told
that the second prosthesis that you receive normally lasts about three to four
years. With the rate of change I am
going through they are guessing that mine will last two years. After that the rate of change in the
shape/size of the leg dramatically decreases so the legs last a longer time.
In the
middle of the night I woke up to nerve pain.
I am use to occasionally having phantom pain in my none-existent left
leg; but this pain is in my right ankle.
I kept waking up when the lightning bolt hit and it has been very
consistent and constant for the last three hours. I checked the ankle for damage or injury and
there are no external signs that anything is actually wrong. Normally, I would just shake it off and try
to ignore the pain as best I could.
However, since the troubles with my left leg started with an apparently
unexplained pain which eventually led up to amputation, I am more
concerned. My doctors have been
concerned about having a repeat of what happened before in my right foot. I have Charcot disease, in which the bones
are weakened and can break under normal wear and tear. So I need to follow up with the doctors to
ensure that nothing like that is happening.
When the doctor’s office opens later this morning, I’m placing a
call. If it is like the last time I
called with an issue, they will have me come in today to be seen. They really take this seriously. And so am I.
I don’t want to jeopardize my right leg and risk losing it. I don’t think that is what is happening; but
I am not taking any chances. It is probably
just nerve pain; but better safe than sorry.
Picture: waiting in the prosthetist's office to have my cast made.
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