Amazing...

It has been a very long time since I posted on this blog. My life has become fuller than I imagined it could. My grandchildren, Jack and Brenna, are keeping me moving and I look forward to our play dates with great excitement. My dogs keep me walking everyday and my sister and her husband keep me bowling weekly. Yes, that's what I said, bowling.  My average is about 110 and I expect it to keep going up. I haven't been swimming for nearly a year because finding an accessible pool nearby has been difficult.
Last summer Judy and I participated in the Transplant Games held in Madison, WI. It was an amazing experience and I am so glad we were able to take part. I bowled and swam and Judy bowled. We didn't win any medals but we did win emotional ones. I challenged myself to compete. I trained hard with a swimming coach and bowling coach and hours upon hours of practice. Odd to say but one footed with a double transplant, I was probably in the best shape I had been in since my mid twenties.
I am going to be getting another prosthetic in a few weeks now. The wonderful benefit of getting out of a wheelchair and back in the world of the walking is losing the weight I gained. I still could lose a few more pounds but to be honest I am not worried about it. But the weight loss has caused my existing prosthetic to become too loose and I am adding more and more socks to keep it fitting properly. This is a good problem to have.

Walking the Grand Canyon

I have also let my hair go salt and pepper and keep it very short. I love it. I am happy with who I am and what I have accomplished so far. There is still much work to be done and I will always be a work in process. But now I am not defined by my abilities physically I am being defined but what I do in spite of them.

Transplant Games, Judy and I and Larry Hagman.

Isn't it wonderful

It has been awhile since I updated the blog and that is a good thing. It means that I haven't had time to stop and write and have been out and about living. Well sort of, I am up and about more and even driving left footed to work twice a week, at least that is my goal, so far a few things have gotten in the way of meeting that goal but I am hopeful that in time I will consistently make it to the office twice a week. Working from home has kept me sane through this ordeal but being able to go into work and see co-workers makes me feel like life can be normal again.
I have to pat myself on the back since I started using my prosthetic I have surpassed the therapist, doctors and a few family members expectations. My surgeon, who is wonderfully gifted but suffers from surgeon bedside manner, even said he had to give me a hug he was so impressed with my progress. That was nearly 2 months ago I wonder what he would think now. My physical therapist stopped my therapy sessions after 9 out of 20 prescribed. She said to keep working on my own for strength, gave me exercises to do, some still kill me, and wished me good luck. I even brought a smile to my prosthetist face when I did knee bends and squats to check the fit of an adjustment he had made. I asked him what was he smiling at and he said I was doing everything I should be doing to check the fit and how far I had come since my first steps. He has been very patient with me and my less than intelligent questions and I wonder how I got so lucky to find such a great team of experts to help me through this journey.
I have worked hard to get my strength back to my hips and legs but I could never have made it through as well as I have without all the support from family and friends. Family taking me to swim before my prosthetic and all those trips out while I waited to walk again. The constant loading and unloading of a wheelchair wherever I went was appreciated more than they will ever know. The groceries my best friend Patty brought me weekly was my favorite part of the week. It was like Christmas every time she unpacked the bags and I got to see what treats she added on to my list, and rarely did she take my money. And on top of it all she would bring dinner. People wonder at my positive attitude but I cannot possibly feel sorry for myself. Of course there are times that I have looked down and see no foot in the morning and say to myself "oh yeah, I forgot about that". Then I think isn't wonderful not to have pain 24 hours a day. Isn't great to walk my dogs for mile and what hurts isn't my foot but my hands because they won't stop pulling on their leashes. Isn't it great to walk at my daughter's wedding and light the unity candle wearing a regular pretty sandal and a beautiful gown that didn't show my leg so no one knew when they saw me that I was differently-abled. Isn't it amazing that sometimes when I take a step I don't even realize it isn't my own natural foot I am stepping on. And isn't it amazing that my grandchildren don't think twice about my leg. In fact my granddaughter grew so use to it in a few car trips that she told me to "put your leg on grandma B so we can get our food", I take it off to drive for easier access to the pedals. And my grandson has been to nearly every appointment I have had and often comes up to me and pats my leg to make it sure it is on correctly. And what is really cool is being able to take care of my mother again when called upon and no one has to worry that I can't do the physical part of helping her up out of her chairs.
The only real set back I had was last week when my temporary prosthetic was made incorrectly and had to be re-made. The temporary is only for a week to check fit before my definitive prosthetic is made. It won't be ready until next week but I am impatient and want to see what the final leg will look like. I will make a video again when I get the definitive so you all can see the new me.
That is enough rambling from me for the day. Stayed tuned for more adventures.

Walk This Way

I won't add too much story to this, the videos will speak for themselves. The first 2 videos were taken on my camera video and the last 2 are from my phone. Even though some are clearer then others I think you will still get the gist. Now on to gait training and ...

Let's try that again...ahh better, sort of...

Then after a slight adjustment to the prosthetic...

The challenge now is to not push too hard, too fast. Patience is definitely going to be required.

What I look like now...

Hi All,

I though I would give you a quick look at how my leg is progressing. It isn't bad looking or scary just different.

Swimming

Things are progressing with my recovery. My stitches are out and I now only have a couple of regular band-aids. I wear a shrinker on my remaining limb to keep the swelling down and to prepare it for my prosthetic. Next week I have an appointment with the prosthetist to make a cast of my leg and in 7 to 10 day I will have my first prosthetic. In the mean time I am starting to build up my strength and endurance. I am using a resistance cord bench at home for strength training and have started to swim.
Yesterday was my first day back at the pool since last summer. Some of you may know that since my feet were so compromised I took to swimming for exercise, no impact and great aerobic exercise. I utilized the pool before when I was getting ready for Mike and Beth's wedding and recovering from several breaks. So I know first hand it is a very effective way to get back into shape.
My sister Dee came with me and assisted me in and out of the pool and watched me diligently in case I ran into trouble. She of course said that she hoped she didn't have to help me because she didn't want to get her jeans wet. The pool does have a lift but there was no one there to operate it and they weren't sure if it was working. I lowered myself from the wheelchair to the cement and scooted on my butt to the pools edge and lowered myself into the pool. I love the pool. It is the one place where I feel almost normal. I can bounce on my left foot without much impact and I can stand without fear of falling. I am a good swimmer and my upper body is even stronger now from months of lifting myself and using the manual wheelchair. The one thing I was not ready for was my right leg having a mind of its own.
When I made my first lap I concentrated on using both my thighs for motion and not using my lower legs. It was not so bad, but when I tried to swim the backstroke and use my legs I could not get the mechanics right. I felt like my leg was not listening to me at all. When I stopped swimming and rested I noticed my leg kept floating up and I had to really concentrate on keeping it down. It was sort of funny, I say it is trying to get away and find my foot.
All in all, it was a good experience and I have 2 more sessions scheduled for this week and my goal is to swim 3 times a week. I know that each time it will get easier and soon I will do things automatically but for now it is still new and a bit challenging.

One of these things...

Is not like the other... does anyone remember that song from Sesame Street? Not much to say but thought I would give you all a visual of what stage I am at now. Next week the stitches come out and I will post what it looks like then. Hollywood never leaves my side so that is his furry little back next to my left leg you are seeing.

The Unveiling - and going forward.

First let me say that if you ever need to convalesce go to Peggy's. She made the first few days easy and normal. She did not hover but still there when I needed her. My dogs had stayed with Peggy and they were very happy to run in her yard and her house. Hollywood was even more adventurous then ever and decided he would take a swim one day. Luckily I saw him jump in and only mildly panicked, okay maybe more than mildly, I was screaming "he's in the pool, I can't see him splashing". Peggy got him to safety and later that day Chad moved the stairs from pool so he could not jump in again. It wasn't until later that I heard Peggy recount the story and say there was a brief moment she didn't hear splashing and was a little concerned.
The days vanished and Tuesday was upon me. This was the day I was getting my cast off, my nerve block removed and was meeting with my Prosthetist.
I took a pain pill in advance and ate lunch before Mike picked me up for my appointment. I packed a travel sickness bag and true to me and pain killers I was using it before we left Aurora on the tollway. My stomach was still upset when we arrived at the doctor but we were put in a room almost as soon as we got there and Mike was able to make sure I got a trash can in case I lost my cookies again.
Thomas the Prothetist met us at Kelikian's office so my whole team was there. Kevin, Kelikian's assistant came in and the unveiling began. Thomas had started the process of removing the cast and Kevin came in to finish the job. I felt like he was claiming his territory, after all he has removed nearly every cast I have had in 7 years.
Kevin was not very gentle as he removed the cast and bandages below but after he asked how long it had been since surgery and realized it was only 5 days he slowed down and was a little more tender. As I was being unraveled I was unraveling. The layers peeled off and I turned my head towards the wall unable at first to look for more than a second. We all know that feeling when you fall and knock the air out and you can't breath for a moment or two. That's how I felt. As much as I prepared myself I still had no idea what it would really look like. I forced myself to look but couldn't keep my hands from my face to try to hide it, like a child hiding from the scary movie on the TV. I cried, as hard as I tried not to, I couldn't keep tears back. Thomas and Kevin kept telling me how good it looked, and Thomas was next to me saying it was okay to cry. He said he saw people at all stages of the process and it was okay to cry and my remaining limb looked good. Kelikian came into the room pulled the 6 inches of tape holding the nerve block in place and the nerve block in about 10 seconds. He looked at the sutures, said it looked good, see you in 2 weeks to remove the stitches and staples and told me I was in Thomas' hands now and left. I felt like life would be normal since he was acting like his old self again.
And then my next challenge began. Within minutes of not being able to look at my leg I was learning how to put a shrinker on it and put on the rigid dressing (a cast like cone at the end of my left made for additional protection). And now I am capable of doing it on my own and have cleaned around the area of my knee with alcohol to remove the surgical markings. It is not scary any more and Mike described it best as a baseball with the stitches the way they are located.
I am home now, my friend Al who had come in to town to help me transition to home life again, has gone home and my dogs are sleeping next to me. I started working part-time today and will return to full time next week. The stitches come out on Tuesday the 7th and the next steps to getting my new foot will begin. I will keep posting as the process goes on and will eventually post some pictures of my new leg and me standing. Until then each day I get better and stronger and life becomes more normal, or normal for me.