Update:
It’s just over 2 ½ weeks since my revision surgery and I’ve been off
all pain meds since last Thursday (10/6) and have had almost zero pain since
then!!! I do get some aches and
discomfort but that can be taken care of with ice. Most nights I am sleeping well (One night I
had to sleep in the recliner—but it worked!).
I got out of the house for the first time last Friday (10/7). My pastor took me out to lunch. I’m not driving yet so he had to come get me and
the wheelchair too! What a guy!! Thanks, Jerry! I was able to go to church and over to one of
my daughter’s for lunch on Sunday. I was
out 5 ½ hours which turned out to be too long.
I was worn out when I got home and had to take a 2 ½ hour nap to
recharge. I still have a ways to go to rebuild my stamina.
Pretty exciting day for me yesterday!
Since I live so far away from my surgeon (about 10 hour drive), I had a
follow-up appointment over the phone with him (I also send information, photos,
and questions by email). I was given the
okay to move onto the next phase!!
YESSSS! I am making good forward
progress!
I can start using a shrinker to reduce some of the post-surgical
swelling and a can begin doing light compression on the end of my limb. {Please Note: only amputees who had an
Ertl-type surgery can load bear on the end of their limb. Standard amputees should not attempt
this.} I’m taking a folded towel with
the middle slung over the end of my limb and gently pulling until it
smarts. I was surprised at how much I
could pull already! Over time, I
increase the amount that I’m pulling and the number of repetitions.
My first amputation was a traditional one and the lower end of the
muscles were not attached, so they haven’t worked for almost three years. My Ertl amputation that I just had reconnects
the muscles so they are functional again.
Having those muscles work again makes me feel more whole—that’s a good
feeling! I’m doing some leg exercises
designed to get those muscles below the knee tuned up. On my residual limb, I imagine that I have a
foot and move the muscles to get that imaginary foot to move up and down and
all around. I also have to imagine that
I have a marker attached to my outstretched toe and I have to write the
alphabet on a marker board. It is pretty
fun to see and feel the muscles moving down there again!!! Right now, I am making the motions with my
right foot as well so I can tell my brain what muscles to move in left leg. It
is kind of hard to explain how difficult it is to do otherwise without the
visual feedback of seeing a foot move.
I can start doing floor exercises and stretching, along with bending my
knee and occasionally kneeling again.
Wow! My world is opening up for me again and I am making good
progress. Minimal-to-no pain and appears
to be plenty of good possibilities ahead!!!
I am so very thankful!!! I deeply
appreciate everyone’s prayers and words of encouragement for me over the past
three years. I’m grateful to God for
bringing me to this place in my life—it’s been a journey and I’m not finished
yet. I mentioned to my wife last night
that for the last three years I’ve been on far end of the bell curve (poor
results and a downward spiral of health issues and limited mobility); now I’m
feeling like I’ve been moved to the other end of the bell curve and have good
things ahead. NICE!!!
I have a face-to-face appointment with my doctor in Indy set-up up for
November 9th. Afterwards I’ll
travel to visit the guy who will build my new prosthetic limb (my prosthetist),
Rob, at his office just outside of Cincinnati (I also keep him up to date with
emails and phone calls too). I’ll be
making this loop numerous times during the coming year.
If things continue as they have been, I’ll probably begin the process
of getting my new prosthesis in late November or early December.
Wish you could see the smile on my face!
Check out the YouTube video as well (some duplicate material but lots of different stuff too):
No comments:
Post a Comment