Update:
It’s been a tough week. Last
Saturday, I over did it (it doesn’t take much) and my leg was painful
throughout the weekend. On Monday
(8/22), I had an EMG done on my residual limb.
I had pictured some electrodes taped to my leg and them measuring the
nerve and muscle responses with gentle impulses. What I didn’t know about was the electrode
painfully pushed into my leg with increasingly more powerful shocks time after
time. I’ve had worse procedures done;
but that is one I hope never to have done again! The hard part was that after each shock I was
told to “Relax. We have to increase the
intensity and try that again.” It’s hard
to relax when you know what’s coming.
The second half of the procedures with needles wasn’t bad
comparatively. The doctor doing the
procedure kept asking if I was okay and if I wanted to quit. I told her to proceed because the needles
weren’t that bad. She turned around and
said to my wife, “He’s got a high threshold for pain…FOR A GUY!” Very funny, doc!
Following that procedure, everything hurt for the next couple of
days. I had PT on Tuesday and the
therapist worked on my lower back and sciatic pain. The pain at the distal end of my residual
limb was pretty intense too; but he worked at getting my spine straightened
out. Of course, after that the pain
continued.
On Wednesday, the parts I was missing finally arrived so I could put on
the new handrims on my wheelchair. The traditional, thin, silver handrims
aren’t easy to grasp. They work fine
indoors on level floors. Whenever I
went out, I had to wear a pair of leather gloves to get the grip I needed. My new Natural Fit rims are more
ergonomic—deeper and wider—making it easier to grab. I had to use my Dremel tool to make some
adjustments on the wheel to get them to fit; but I really like them now that
they are installed. One of the best
purchases that I have made!
After installing the handrims, I went out to do three quick
errands. It’s the first time since
Saturday that I felt good enough to even wear my prosthesis. It started off as uncomfortable and quickly
switched to painful. It felt good to get
the leg off as soon as I got home.
On Thursday, I had an appointment with my CPO (certified prosthetist
orthoptist) to get fitted for a new shoe and measured for a new orthotic
insert. It was nice seeing everyone at
the shop again. It has been awhile. I officially let them know that after surgery
that I won’t be coming back to have them make my new prosthetic limb. I’m not having a traditional amputation
revision this time, so I had to find a CPO who specializes in prosthetic legs
for an ERTL amputation. Nobody in my
area has experience, so I’ll have to travel to get my leg done. I’m sorry to end my relationship with my current
CPO. She has literally been with me
every step of the way since my amputation (that amp humor was on purpose). She has worked so hard to help me. We’ve spent many hours together working on my
prosthesis. It feels like saying goodbye
to family. It stinks; but it is the
right thing to do.
Besides the nerve pain in my leg, my back and sciatic nerve pain is
still bothering me at the end of the week.
I hope it goes away soon. I try
to avoid taking pain meds but it takes a lot out of me to “ignore” the pain all
day. My sleep suffers at night because
of it. Recently however I’ve started getting
6-7 hours per night (up from 4 hours per night—so the steroid injections have
helped some). I do better on 8-9 hours;
but I’m thankful for what I’m getting.
Just a little too much pain to rest well, I guess.
Less than a month left until my surgery. I’m eagerly looking forward to it with hope
for a better outcome. I’ve got my hotel for
pre-op appointments booked. I still
haven’t decided whether to fly or drive.
Details. Details. Details.
I hate not having every detail ironed out right now. I think that is a desire to achieve some
sense of control in my life, when so much of my life is out of my control. I know that it will all work out in the end…I
just need to relax about it.
