An On Going Journey

  

   Good afternoon from the Panhandle, and welcome. It looks like I am coming to the end of this series of blogs. I have to tell you it has been a journey for sure. Back in July I had both legs, was fully mobile, and my 18 year old son was still alive and excited about going to O.U. Now I am a below the right knee amputee and my son is dead at just barely 19 years old. 

   I went through three operations on my right leg because of a broken tibia and fibula. The third and I pray the final was the amputation because of infection in my lower leg. What has been wild about this trip is that I really haven't had a hard time dealing with the lost of my lower leg. I mean sure it's a major bummer, but it's not the end of my life. I still can get around with my prosthetic leg, which is cool looking by the way. Yes, I have had to learn about shrinkers, socks and sleeves, but that not been to bad. And walking with a walker or a cane is going pretty good. My good leg has had a bad knee for a number of years and it can get to hurting pretty bad sometimes. But a couple of Tylenol or ibuprofen helps with that.

   Another thing, I thought I would be done with my wheelchair when I got my new leg and that's not so. After wearing my leg all day, I have to go back to my chair to get around. That also means when I go to bed at night or take a nap I have to move over to my wheelchair. Also in the morning I start out in my chair and really it's not so bad for a short time. 

   One of two big draw backs has been that we live in the church parsonage and it has tiny doorways to the bathroom and no walk-in shower. I wrote about this some time back, for me to take a shower is a process; but praise the Lord I can take a shower. The other draw back is I can't drive - yet. I thought it would be as easy as buying a hand system for the car, but noooo. It seems I have several hoops that I am going to have to hobble through before that can happen, but I'm so ready for it to happen and so is my wife.

   Like dealing with the grief over the death of our son, though not as hard; dealing with the lost of my lower leg will be an on going process. However with the great support I have from family, church family, friends, and my Lord, Christ Jesus it is bearable. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Christ Jesus' promise found in Matthew 28:20b. Also I find great comfort in these words for Christ Jesus, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30).

  I pray that this series on my journey thus far will be helpful to you or someone you know. And if you have any questions you can ask them here or on my facebook page, Orden Hartley or my e-mail - broordenh@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer them.

May the Lord bless you on your journey.

Bro. Orden - A Panhandle pastor

A Tale of Two Feet

    Good evening and welcome, glad you could drop by. Last week I wrote about counting each step in your process no matter how seemingly small as a victory. I want to start off by telling of one such victory for me. I've told you that we had to drive 90 miles to Dumus TX. to see my orthopedic surgeon, but I don't think I told you that is also where we would go to Wal-mart. For those not familiar with Wal-mart it is our big all purpose  store. It is where we go to find things the small stores in our area just don't have. 

   Now back to my story, when ever we went Dumus we had to go to Wal-mart to pick-up groceries, medicine, and stuff. Plus I had to let Gayla just shop, I have always teased her that to her Wal-mart is a verb. You see like most people like me just go to Wal-mart, but Gayla goes Wal-marting. When we lived in Oklahoma City and her mother was alive they would go to Wal-mart every Saturday and then go to McDonald for lunch. I remember once we we going to be driving right past a Wal-mart and I told her she was going to be like Moses. She asked me what I meant and I told her see could look at Promise Land, but she couldn't go in.

   Where was I? Oh yeah the Wal-mart in Dumus. From August through the first part of August I would go in with her in my wheelchair. Usually I would put my foot up on the basket and she would push me and I pushed the basket. To be honest it was nice to be out and about, but sometime she would go one way and I would try to go another and that didn't work well. And then came the big day when in late October I walked in by myself. No big deal to anyone else but what a day for me. 

   Of course after we got in I got on one of the motorized carts they have. I knew my legs wouldn't hold up to Gayla's shopping.

   Most of you have heard of the book "A Tale of Two Cities", well mine is a tale of two feet. Like I've said before I had my right leg amputated about 5" below my knee near the end of August. Naturally that meant that my right foot went with the leg, it just kind of works that way. Anyway so until I got my first practice leg I only had a left foot, well actually when I got my first practice leg I still only had a left foot, I mean feet. Yeap, I literally had two left feet; they didn't have my right foot in yet and the closes foot they had in my size was a left foot. I have my regular leg now, the one I pray I'm in for quite awhile and I have a left foot and a right foot now. A few weeks ago I finally got up the courage to take my right shoe off and put on a new sock on the new foot. 

   My new foot has got longer toes than I had, and what looks like a vain or two on it. Another big difference is no hammer toe, that's a good thing and of course I don't have to trim the toenails on that foot. You gotta find your blessings where you can. Speaking of blessings I had a friend send me some Scriptures of comfort when our son went to be with the Lord and among them is this one - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: What a wonderful God we have-he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us. I think it works great with this journey I'm on and that you may be on. And I pray you can find a blessing and if need be comfort in it.

 Until next time, a Panhandle Pastor

 

 

Little Victories

    Good evening, and thanks for dropping by. I wanted to quickly recap how I got to where I'm at. In July of 2024 I broke my fibula and my tibia. My orthopedic surgeon went in and found out that I had Charcot foot, (my bones were soft below my ankle) making it hard to fix the broken bones. That was surgery #1, prior to this I had never had anything but oral surgery. To try and a line the bones they put this apparatus with a rod going through my heel and two going down into my leg at the breaks. I also had two pins in my foot. I was in that about three weeks, definitely not fun.  

   On my next to last visit they had to pull out one of the pins that started sticking out the side of my foot. This is going to sound funny but praise the Lord for Charcot foot because I couldn't feel a thing even when they pulled it the rest of the way out. The next visit Doc. didn't look to happy or sound to encouraging she just scheduled a surgery for the next week. Surgery #2 all the stuff came off and out of my leg, but the surgery also came with some bad news. They had found infection in my leg and the plate and screws weren't going to work on my bones. My options, a bunch of little surgeries stretched out over a long period of time or one surgery, surgery #3 just two days after surgery #2 and an amputated right leg about 5" below the knee. 

   The leg healed up nicely and I was on my way to Mahaffeys to get measured for my prosthetic leg, and to get my shrinkers. The thing is I knew nothing about this whole process, but Cliff the owner and the one who took the measurements took time to explain what was going to be involved. He showed us how to put the shrinker on and how to take care of them. Then he gave us two shrinkers and a big PVC tube (to put the shrinker on my leg) and we were on our way. 

   Two practice legs, also used for measurements for my final leg later I was ready for my final leg. I went with a solar system pattern and the I added a little guy looking up through a telescope to it. I joke with folk that at the age of 64 I finally got a tattoo.

    Now back to my title for this weeks blog, Little Victories. Every new accomplishment is a victory. It may seem small, but those little victories add up. Things like getting up into the workshop/shed for the first time. Getting up and down the ramp by myself with my walker. Walk up to the stage with the handrail and my cane to the pulpit after not being up there since July. Jump starting our van, and well you get the idea, small step/victories. 

   I got to tell you this isn't easy, some days my legs hurt. And I still can't drive, that's a whole nother story. And some days it a little harder to get my leg on than other days. And the sock thing is definitely a trial and error process. Also I have found that after I have sat for a bit that I have a hard time walking at first. So not a bed of roses, but life is good. I am reminded of that Scripture John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

   I'll let this do for tonight, I pray that you have a great evening. - A Panhandle Pastor

A Mountain Troll, No Just My Stump

    Evening folks and welcome to the Panhandle of Oklahoma. I don't know about where you are tonight but here it is cold, the wind is blowing and there's a bit of snow on the ground. Praise God for a warm house. If you'll give me a minute I'd like to ask you to pray for all those folks in Southern California who are in harms way because of the fires there. Also remember the fire fighters battling those fires.

   Remember last week I told you about getting a blister on my stump, with good doctoring by Dr. Gayla (yes, my wife) my stump was healed and ready for my leg in less than a week. I think I will have a permanent red spot but the folks at Mahaffey say that is okay.

   I told Gayla that my stump kind of looks like the Mountain Trolls in the Hobbit movie. I have to laugh every time I see it. What do you think? I'm also praising the Lord that my blister wasn't very bad. As a diabetic and amputee a blister can be a serious thing. Blisters can lead to infection and infection can lead to more of the leg being taken off. So, yeah blisters are a bad thing and need to be treated right away and remember no wearing your prosthetic when you have a blister.

   A couple of weeks ago I learned another hard lesson. One of many in this journey. If you keep your stump down for to long it can become bulbous and it will not fit in the prosthetic no matter how hard you push or stomp or how much you move the sleeve around. Boy talk about frustration, I have got my final leg, well final for now, but that's a story for another time. Anyway I had tried for over thirty minutes to get my leg on and then the next day I tried about the same amount of time. The third day I got up all excited to put on that new leg, oh yea let me show you this beauty. Being a child of the 60's I grew up withe the Gemini and Apollo space programs. I was in the third grade when we landed on the moon. And the there was the t.v. shows Lost In Space and Star Trek. I was hooked and have loved every thing to with our solar system and beyond. This love for the stars was passed to our daughter and our son Orden J.T. Because of my interest I have and in memory of our son I picked this star field, stars, and plants pattern for my leg. 

   Okay, now back to my story. I tried to put my leg on and it went right on with the first try, not. I tried and I tried, and I tried. I dropped my sleeve into my leg and it went in just fine, so I tried again. I tried without a sock no luck. I moved the pin all over the place on my stump, no luck. After an hour and a lot of frustration and a stump that was starting to hurt I called the good folks at Mahaffey. Jeff got on the phone with us and tried to talk us through the process and still no luck. Then Jeff said he would like to take a look at my stump so he face timed us, I mean you talk about above and beyond. Anyway after watching me and Gayla try about a dozen different thing he looked at my stump and said it looked pretty bulbous. He recommended putting my shrinkers back on and keeping it up, and so I did. The next day I tried and after about 10 minutes I was able to get my stump into my leg. So if you have a below the knee amputation watch that stump closely and try and keep up as much as possible it may mean wearing your leg that day or not.

   This process has been and continues to be more involved then I thought it would be. I am ready to be walking normally, but right now it's halting and jerky steps with the cane or still some wheelchair time. Of course the walker offers greater mobility, but it takes both hands so I can't carry anything. But I plod on. And as I do I remember that no matter how bad the trials seem to be I am not alone, I have Gayla at my side. We have a loving family, church family, neighbors, and friends old and new praying for us. And I have a loving God who has come in the form of the Holy Spirit walking and guiding me daily. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you...But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 14:16-17, 16:13. 

I pray you find some encouragement from this, and thanks again for dropping by, 

A Panhandle Pastor

 

Socks and Sores, And A Look Back

    Good afternoon it's great to have you visiting. If this is your first time here I am a below the right knee amputee and these blogs have been about how I got here, and what adjustments I have had to make. And every now and then an observation.

   2025 is now just three days away and as I sit and look back on the changes that have happened in my life I just have to shake my head. At the beginning of 2024 I still had my right leg and I was totally mobile, now my right leg below my knee is gone. At the beginning of 2024 my son was getting Seniorites as he would be graduating in May and heading off to Oklahoma University. Now my son is dead, having killed himself just three months into his first semester of collage. My daughter was starting her last semester at Oklahoma Baptist University, and now she is an OBU graduate with a bachelors in Psychology. What a  crazy year!

   The last couple of blogs I have said that I would write about socks. Now that doesn't sound like a big deal, and unless your an amputee or know one this your probably wondering where I'm going with this. Before I started the process of getting my prosthetic leg, socks really weren't a thing. As a kid I wore tube socks or what they call sports socks now when ever I wore shoes. I did on a few occasions wear dress socks, but that was very, very rare. About 4 years ago I was told to help the circulation in my legs I really needed to start wearing compression socks and so Monday through Saturday if I wore socks (I preferred to go barefooted) I wore compression socks. On Sundays I would ware dress compression socks. When I broke my leg, I got worried about my other foot so now I ware a compression sock on my left foot all the time. 

   Now fast forward to my first visit to Mahaffey, I was filling out the paperwork needed for first time clients and came across a question that ask how many socks I wore. Of course I thought it was a silly question and a no brainier, I mean everyone only wears one sock on a foot at a time right. Well, okay maybe two on a cold day. So naturally I put one as my answer. Well guess what? That isn't how it works with a prosthetic leg, well not exactly. 

 

   There are four basic socks each being a different thickness, a half, a #1, a #3, and a #5. The reason for this is because the stump shrinks over time in circumference and so that the stump fits into the leg without creating problems you wear any combination of these socks. The socks are worn over the sleeve that I wrote about last time. This totally throws my wife, she thinks I should have the padding inside the sleeve not on the outside. The socks are on the outside between your sleeve and your prosthetic to keep your stump from rubbing. If you don't have just the right fit you can end up with a blister on the bottom of the stump, it looks something like this or worse - 

  I was blessed that it isn't any worse. I have a friend who had to go on antibiotics his blister was so bad. I have to tell you I'm not sure about figuring out how many socks or what thicknesses I need. I started with two #1s and then moved to two #1s and a half sock, and lately I have been wearing a #3 and it looks like I am going to have to go up to a #1 and a #3. The leg is to fit snug, but not to tight. Totally a learn as you go kind-a thing.

   I try to keep these short so I guess I'll finish up with this today. I don't know what you have gone through this year, but I do know this, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8). My Mother-in-law use to have a plaque that read, "Don't worry about tomorrow, God's already there." Yes, He is there and He's got you covered if you will let Him. 

 

   And if like us you have been dealt a pretty hard hand remember these words of comfort - What a wonderful God we have-he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:3). 

 

I pray 2025 is a great year for you.

      

A Different Christmas and Liner Experiences

   Well here I am again and yes I'll talk about the journey I have been going through with my leg. But if you will indulge me for a moment or two. Christmas this year has been hard, is hard. Our sweet boy whom we were blessed to have for 19 years will not be having Christmas with us this year or ever again. Our son, for reasons unknown took his life this past October, and now our boy celebrates Christmas with the author of Christmas. But truth be told knowing this and rejoicing in it doesn't make his absent any easier.

   Thank you for allowing me a moment to remember my son.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

   As I have traveled this unexpected road this year I have been blessed by family and friend walking side by side with me. We live 6 hours from our nearest family, but God has given us a loving, caring community as extended family. I can never get tired of tell folks how blessed we have been by our neighbors. That said I have to tell you without Jesus Christ in my life as my Lord and Saviour this journey would be harder than it has been.

   One of the things that has really been mind boggling is the liner and socks that are used with the prosthetic leg. The folks at Mahaffey have been great in showing us how to use them. But in the end it comes down to trial and error. Here is a picture of the liner -     

   The thing with the liner is that you have to get that bolt at the end in just the right position or it will not set into the prosthetic leg no matter how hard you push. Sometime I can get it in one or two tries and sometimes it takes four or five tries. And one day I tried for almost an hour and never could get the leg on. All that trying caused my stump to become bulbous and it wouldn't fit in the bottom of the leg. Jeff from Mahaffey said that my only option was to wear my shrinkers the rest of the day and keep my leg elevated. It worked and the next day my liner went into my leg in just a couple of tries. Have I told you how great the folks at Mahaffey are?

   The next thing to go on my stump is the sock or socks as needed. Now if your like me when I hear the word sock I think of what we used to call tube socks now they're sports socks. Or if your like me I have to wear compression socks now. Well the sock or socks that fit over the sleeve are a little different. And I will show you a picture of them and explain them next week. Until then have a Merry Christmas and remember the angels' message to the shepherds on the night Christ was born - But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11).

My First Steps In Over Three Months

                                             

   Good evening and welcome back to my blog. If your just checking in I have been writing about my journey from walking around on two good legs to having my lower right leg amputated because of infection. 

    Last time I talked about getting around on my walker, but for the most part I have been confined to a wheelchair that is up and until I finally got my first practice leg. Here is a picture of it without the protective cast on it. Also because they didn't have the foot in that they ordered for me yet so I actually had two left feet when I took my first steps. I guess it was a good thing I didn't try and dance with Gayla. 

 

   It was a weird feeling being tall again. Remember I had been in a wheelchair for about three months and so I had a slightly shorter perspective. I had a cousin tell me that walking again wouldn't be easy and I couldn't understand what he was saying, I mean I have been walking for over 60 years. I thought it would be like riding a bike, you know that it would just come natural after a few steps. Surprise, surprise - I looked like I was stepping over logs or something, I mean I was really "High Steppin" it looked pretty funny. 

   Also with the cast material over the plastic my first leg weighed about 8 pounds. That may not sound like a lot but when your not use to weight below your stump, it feels like a ton. The great news was I didn't fall and that was a big blessing. 

   I wasn't suppose to wear the practice leg but about two or three hours at a time. We over did it the first night by about four or five hours. Boy was I hurting when I got home. It was definitely going to be a learning process and a strengthening process for both legs. And the whole sock thing, well I'll talk about that next week. 

   I wanted to write real quick about something else I have had to get use to. At night before I go to bed I have to take my leg off and put my shrinkers back on so that in bed I am back down to a leg and a half. I don't know about any other amputees but I have found that I can't turn onto my side as easy as I use to. I have to grab a hold of the bed frame and do a kind of pull/roll thing to get up on my side. I'm not sure why the lost of my lower leg has effected me that way but it sure has. 

   In my sermon this last week I asked do you feel you’re fresh out of options this morning; if you feel that you’ve been dealt a crumby hand in life, then I have a message for you: It doesn't matter what you life is like or has been like, just bring your case to the Almighty. It may be a dog eat dog world out there, but God's grace is a grace that is for all who will call on Jesus' name. John 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. May the Lord bless and keep you.