Friday, March 27, 2009

Howdy!  I have actually been able to get out of the house during the last few days!  I spent one day at school on Wednesday and began doing a little work for our Art Fair.  It is so much fun to see all of the teachers and kids.  Makes me feel like I am back in "the land of the living" again.

My dear friend, Lisa, who has taken over my class is doing such an amazing job.  Watching her enthusiastically teach class after class that came in made me realize something that I really didn't want to admit . . . That I do not have the energy right now to take on teaching full-time quite yet.  Just trying to maneuver my ridiculous body around the room was difficult in and of itself!  

The other thing is that my foot is still so fragile.  Just being up a little while makes it swell up like crazy.  I can not compromise healing just because I am antsy to get back to work.  Hopefully I will be able to return about half-time by the last month of school.  Dr. Carbonell told me that I can go back to work in August.  As usual--time will tell.  

Love to you all--

Anne

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Hello!  Throughout the past week, I have been amazed at how my wound appears to be getting smaller.  Sure enough, when Dr. Carbonell saw my wound, he was thrilled.  He said (if he was a betting man), it would probably be closed in about 6 weeks.  Even though the metal bar is still running through the middle of the wound, there is some tissue that seems to be acting like it wants to start to go over the metal.  If this works out, it would mean that I don't have to have another surgery in the next month.  That would be great.

I also asked Dr. Carbonell for his best guess at my future.  As a result, I feel like I got a realistic picture of what is to come.

Basically, assuming the wound heals, we will now be dealing with the bone.  There are a number of hurdles that will face us that will just be a "time will tell" situation.

Hurdle #1:  Death of the bone.  Even though the bone is alive right now, it could easily start to die over the next few months because of all the capillaries and blood vessels that were severed during the fall.  If the bone can not get enough blood, it will die.

Hurdle #2: Infection of the bone.  If they take me off the antibiotics too early, they are afraid that the bacteria that may have been trapped inside the bone fragments (that have now healed into a solid mass) will take hold of the bone and kill it.  There will come a point soon when they need to take me off of the antibiotics because of all of the negative side effects associated with their use.  Then it will just be a "wait and see" situation.

Hurdle #3: Collapse of the bone.  Once I go through physical therapy and start putting my full body weight on the bone, there is about a 50-50 chance that the bone will shatter and collapse.  Dr. Carbonell said that if it is going to happen, it will usually take place within the 6 months after being weight-bearing.  

If any of these hurdles occur, I will most likely have to have an ankle fusion.  This is where they permanently put the ankle in a fixed position so that it is not using the compromised bone in any way.  There are a host of yucky things that go along with ankle fusions--one being the four months of recovery required after surgery.  

So . . . my prayer is that we will take each of these hurdles one at a time and beat each one.  I know I have no power over any of it so I fully release it to my OH-So-much-smarter-than-me God.  

Love to you all!

Anne

Monday, March 24, 2009

Well, hello!  It has been a while since I last wrote!  If you notice a few days passing between entries, it is usually a sign that I am feeling a little down.  When I feel the blues coming on, I am finding that I am better off ignoring the situation for a little while rather than writing all about it in my blog.  Nevertheless, I am back on an upswing so . . . here I am!

Doug is back and the girls and I could not be happier.  What a blessing to have his whistling, happy body back home.

My friend, Marjorie, told me that her mother fell getting out of bed and broke BOTH of her ankles!!!  She now wears the same black boot that I wear on BOTH of her feet!  Poor thing!

Marjorie told me that her Dad refers to the boots as her "Frankenstein" boots.  Well, never having been a fan of Frankenstein, I did a little research to find out what he was talking about.  I have included a picture of Frank's boots and have to agree that they do bear a striking resemblance to my new footwear.  Although I might feel like the a pathetic version of the monster hobbling around with my walker (now fitted with tennis balls--I might add!!!), I much prefer Elise's perception of my appearance.  :)

Matt and Vera, my brother and sister-in-law, just arrived from Chicago to visit us and to attend a wedding.  Just when I was feeling like I was the only one attached to weird contraptions while sleeping at night, Matt pulled out this new thing he has to wear for his sleep apnea.  It is basically a blow up projectile that he straps on to keep him from rolling over onto his back while sleeping.  I just about peed my pants watching him demonstrate this miraculous development in modern medicine. 

I head to wound care to see Dr. Carbonell tomorrow so I will let you know the latest news as soon as I hear it.

Love to you all!

Anne