Update:
Up until a couple of weeks ago everything seemed to be going well. I had cut back on my walking somewhat because
my knee was popping. I figured that I
needed to give it some time to strengthen and get used to carrying the load
again after not walking very much for so long. The knee responded well but then
I developed a pain along my tibia a couple of inches below the knee. For those of you into anatomy, it’s in the
region of the tibial tubercle. One thing
cool about all my medical issues—I get to learn something new about the body
all the time!
So communicating with my prosthetist (Rob, the guy who builds and
adjusts my prosthesis), I’ve tried all sorts of things on my own. At first I thought it had to do with the
alignment of my prosthesis due to using different shoes; but after getting
those adjusted the pain has continued.
If you have ever walked around the back end of a truck and hit your shin
(that’s the tibia) on hitch, you have a great understanding of the pain I’m
having. Every step I take feels like I’m
running into the hitch again. Some days
as I take it easy, I can get through most of the day without pain. Most days, I get a couple hours of limited
use before it starts. On a few days, the
pain begins as soon as I put my leg on.
At times I’ve been using crutches along with my prosthesis. Usually taking some of the weight off the leg
reduces the pain significantly—usually but not always. This pain is something brand new and is not associated
with the revision surgery I had done last September, that’s all good.
So I’m scheduled on March 12th to head back to
Indianapolis/Cincinnati for evaluation and have work done on my
prosthesis. Hopefully Rob can work his
magic on my prosthesis and make all the pain go away! I’m hoping that there isn’t anything that
will require that I not wear the prosthesis for a period of time or requires surgery
to repair. We’ll see. I know I’m in good hands and I trust Rob and
my surgeon to find the best solution for me.
Recently I decided that driving towards the mountains is a good
metaphor for my journey as an amputee.
As you drive towards the mountains, you think, “I just have to get over
that one mountain.” But then you reach
the top and realize that there is a valley to go through and then another
mountain top to reach. When you get to
the top of that one, you find that there is yet another valley and another peak
ahead. What appeared to be fairly simple
and straight forward at first has become more of a journey of epic proportions.
So I’ve crested yet another mountain peak and am now in another valley… I don’t know how long my journey will last,
nor do I know how many more peaks and valleys I’ll have to traverse. All I can do is keep putting one foot forward
and taking the next step…
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