Prayer Request: Reconstructive Foot Surgery

[EchoDelta]

Thank you. I will certainly try to provide more frequent updates this time. But for the record, I haven't done much gaming, just a few games on my Ipad and some Xbox. Most of my time was concentrated on healing the foot.

Here's a pic of my left foot. It'll change after tomorrow:

[EchoDelta]

Unfortunately deja vu time. I went to the hospital on time and waited to be admitted. Then the receptionist walked up to me. I could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. He said surgery today was canceled because my plastic surgeon wasn't scheduled to be here today. He said they realized this at the last minute. Believe me, I'm shocked especially since the hospital continued to call to remind me of today.

This same thing happened last year too. Ironic that it's happened to me again. Last time it took 2 months to reschedule. So now I'm back home, tired and emotionally drained. I'm trying to plan what to do next while I wait again. But this will provide more time to heal my right foot. As of now, this is the only good thing that will come out of today's cancellation. Last time I questioned God, this time I accept it as is.

[ChickenSoup]

So sorry to hear that, man Praying next time the hospital gets it straight

[ccgr]

Hmm bummer, hope they get you back in soon! God has a reason for everything.

[EchoDelta]

Thanks everyone. By no means am I upset. However, on Thursday, I made an official complaint to the hospital highlighting that this happened before. The email was respectful and did not contain anger. On Friday, the hospital called apologizing again. They said they tried to learn from last year's mistake but still made it especially on the day of surgery, lol.

Yes, I laugh at all this. While it took about 2 days to get my strength back, with the extra time off I can concentrate on continuing to heal my right foot as well as do some gardening in the back yard.

In late May, my workman's comp is sending me to one of "their" doctors to get a second opinion on both feet. I've been looking forward to this in order to prove to them that I have never faked the amount of pain I'm in.

I'll provide an update on the next surgery date when I hear from the hospital. So again, thank you for the prayers. -Ed

[EchoDelta]

Hi again,

Oops! I never provided the new surgery date. *smacks head* I thought I did. I guess I am really bad at this.

Well, it's tomorrow morning. It's become high profile meaning it's getting a lot of attention from upper management due to the hospital's screw ups. So I'm certain it won't get postponed again this time.

Prayers please. I've put CCGR into my phone's calendar for a list of people to provide an update for after the surgery. For what it's worthy, I've done no gaming at all; no interest. I've just been reading books.

[ccgr]

Let us know how it goes. Whatcha been reading? We have book topics

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[EchoDelta]

Hello,

Thanks for the prayers. Surgery went well and was about 10 hours long. Afterwards, I was immediately placed in the "tropicana" room, where the heat is turned up to ensure the muscle and skin graft get the best blood flow circulation. But it was like living in a sauna and being unable to move. I hated it, lol.

Yesterday the heat was shut off and I began PT. These are "dangling" sessions where I simply hang the foot off the side of the bed. I only completed 2 sessions, 10 minutes each due to pain.

So speaking of pain, I did well for the first few days. But once the bandages were removed yesterday, its been steady pain in the "6" level. I had to take multiple doses of pain medication at one point yesterday. I can already tell that this recovery will be harder than the right foot. Discharge depends on being able to handle these dangling sessions and right now, its way too painful to dangle longer than 10 minutes. The dangling sessions are important because they lead to placing weight on the foot 2 months from now.

I've been reading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I've always wanted to read it after watching the movie several years ago. Again, thanks for the prayers. I'll let everyone know when I'm discharged.

[ccgr]

thanks for the updating. Praying for pain relief and fast healing!

[EchoDelta]

Hello,

Here's another update. I was discharged from the hospital on the 4th of July. Now it's Monday and I've stopped taking the pain meds. Reason for this is it caused massive itching as well as a rash on my back and on my right bicep. A nurse suggested to take more Benadryl. It gives a small 2-hour window of itching relief but causes more drowsiness. This morning, I switched back to Oxycodone, which I took last year for the surgery to my right foot but it only caused a "buzz" and did nothing for the pain. I have a followup appt on Thursday. I could get Vicodin. But from now until Thursday, I've chosen to go without pain meds. The itching and rash isn't worth it. So I'm definitely dealing with a lot more pain right now

[ccgr]

Sorry about the pain, doesn't the benadryl knock you out? I have a hard time staying awake when I take it.

[EchoDelta]

Hi again,

Benadryl doesn't knock me out. I wish it did. I take sleeping pills.

On Thursday, I had a followup appt with my plastic surgeon. The staples were removed. He wanted to remove these two doppler wires that were inserted in the foot during surgery in order to listen to the blood vessels to insure they were working. He wanted to remove these as well. They're removed by pulling until they come out. I still remember what happened last year when they were removed from the right foot: HORRIBLE PAIN. So I said, "No. They won't be removed until I get something to alleviate the pain." The nurse kept pushing and I was adamant. So I was prescribed Vicodin and need to come in next Thursday to have the wires removed. Unfortunately, the Vicodin had no effect.

On Friday, I had a followup appt with my orthopedic surgeon. I basically pleaded for pain relief. I wanted to give back the Vicodin, Dilaudid, Oxycodone and Percocet to show I wasn't a hoarder or exaggerating. But first stitches needed to be removed in 5 areas. Without pain medicine, it was unbearable. The stitches that were removed below the great toe were deeply embedded in the skin. They needed to be dug out. This caused tears in my eyes. It was that painful and I will remember it for awhile just like I still remember the wire removal from last year.

I was prescribed 2 types of morphine pills: short-acting (6 hours) and long-lasting (12 hours). Today I've been taking it and finally I'm getting pain relief. I can now "dangle" (hanging foot over side of bed) for 30 minutes without much pain. The dangling increases by 15 minutes each week until the 2 month mark when I begin placing weight on the foot.

So the first week back home since discharge has been memorable. Hopefully now I'll have better pain management and hopefully the morhpine will work for next Thursday when the wires get removed.

Thanks for the prayers. -Ed

BTW, I'm giving the game, Neverwinter a try.

[ccgr]

praying for comfort and healing

[EchoDelta]

Hi again,

Here's another update:

Pain management is better. But it's not due to pain meds. I began to tolerate it better to the point where the pain diminished. Plus there's still areas on the foot that remain numb. When all the nerves return is when I'll get a second round of intense pain. Judging from last year, this should occur in 2-4 weeks. I'm still non-weight bearing. Unfortunately continued reliance on the reconstructed right foot is causing more pain of its own. I thought the foot was ready but now I'm thinking I should have waited another year. I just need to deal with it. I should begin placing some weight back on the left foot at the end of this month.

Tried Neverwinter, but couldn't get into it. Think I'm done with MMO's. Currently playing State of Decay on Xbox.

[ccgr]

Thanks for the update, praying for healing