I want to start out today by saying thank you to all who have like my dad served in our military and to all those who still are.
If you have been following my blog you'll remember that because of a broken fibula and tibia and charcot I had to have an operation on my lower right leg. If you are new to this blog welcome and now you know how my journey of readjustment began. The attempt to mend the two bones didn't go as planned, I got infection in my foot and ankle, this led to a pretty serious decision. I could try and fight the infection and try and save my leg, but the bones wouldn't hold the plates and screws. I could let them take my foot and ankle and then more than likely take more of my leg later or I could start fresh with an area of good bone and blood flow. To me and Gayla the answers was pretty simple and straight forward, take the leg about 4 or 5 inches below my knee. Again by doing this there was almost no chance of infection setting in because of good bone and good blood flow. Gayla told me that the doctor told her that some people become so obsessed with saving their leg that it becomes kind of like their god. I wasn't going to let that happen and I sure didn't want to keep going through more surgeries than I had to. A little off my leg and my life, it was a no brainier as far as I was concerned.
Surgery, recovery, and about a week in the hospital again. Can you believe it, I went from never having had any surgeries to having three within a month and two within three days. Now that everything checked out it was time for me to be released from the hospital and to say goodbye to all our friends - the great staff- and head home. One of the best things about this time was that I got to sit in the front seat again, you see I didn't have a foot and lower leg that I had to keep elevated any more.
Once home it didn't take me long to realize that I was no longer bed or couch bound. That and once I got my handy dandy gripper I could do more things. When our son was a live he teased me about getting under foot, and being more of a hindrance than a help. The thing is, I didn't hear Gayla disagreeing, actually I think I made her more nervous than anything. But we both started settling into this new life style.
It felt good to be able to get out and about, I even liked shopping with Gayla. The only thing that bothered me was I couldn't get out the door on my own or back up our ramp on my own or could I? I kept eyeing the ramp and telling Gayla, "I think I can do it." Finally after about three weeks I went down the ramp by myself and it was a little scary and so I didn't try it again for awhile. Now I go down by myself and if the door is propped open I can back up the ramp and into the house on my own. FREEDOM!
Losing my leg was nothing compared to the death of our son, but God's Word tells me, The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalms 34:18). While I struggle with only one and a half legs and morn the untimely death of our son I give thanks for God's promises, Christ Jesus' sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit's guidance. Is life easy? Not by a long shot, but it's easier than it could be because of my faith and trust in God and His mercies.
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