So Much Has Changed

Well, in my last writing I was updating on what was the cause of all the change in our lives. Two common household bacteria crawled into an opening of callous on the bottom of my husband's foot. They made a home, set up shop, and started eating away at the tissue in his right foot.

So, long story short, after 2 amputation surgeries (1st for the 2nd toe which had a bone infection and the 2nd for all the other toes that couldn't be saved), being told the infection may be fatal, debriding surgeries, and a skin graft...my husband is left with two-thirds of his right foot. He's still on crutches with minimal weight bearing and we are now approaching the 6 month mark of dealing with this disaster.

I've dealt with home health care nurses, podiatrists, endocrinologists, infectious disease specialists, a general practitioner, anesthesiologists, and two fantastic plastic surgeons. I've learned wound care, skin care, and more nursing techniques than I ever thought possible. I've dealt with insurance companies, pharmacies, hospitals, and short term disability companies. In all, I've become an expert on "What to Expect When All Hell Breaks Lose and You are in the Middle of It." No one writes a script for this. Hell, if they did, they would look at me and say, "Really?" My reply is a very firm, "Yeah, really."

We (our household of 4) are still trying to put all the pieces back together to make everything work as it once did, but we still are still waiting for the day when my husband is finally fitted for a prosthetic for the front part of his foot. You try going from a men's size 14 shoe down to a ladies size 7. You are going to need some filler.

My kids have missed very little school. 1 child has lost 2 days for illness & a few hours to visit dad in the hospital. The other has missed zero days. So I averaged that out to being very little. They have missed no activities due to all of this. Both played baseball in the fall and are signed up to play baseball in the spring. Our oldest has only missed 1 campout with scouts (not a good time to go out of town when your father may have a fatal disease) but has attended every other activity they have put before us.

In the beginning of all the drama, we lost my sister-in-law to her 20+ year long battle against breast cancer and lymphoma. It made all of the news being presented to me all the harder to bear. But, slowly and surely my frustrations are getting more pronounced as warmer weather is coming and we will all want to participate in more outdoor activities.

Now, am I writing this for sympathy? No. Am I writing this for pity? No. There are many others that are worse off than our family and I make sure that my children know it. I am mainly writing to clear my head, release some of my stress and frustration, and to get some closure on what I think has been a pretty nightmarish chapter of my life.

We'll see what the doctors tell us today. Trust me when I say I really am trying to do such a good job at wound care that I want to be fired from it. I'm not a fan of wrapping wounds and poking at tissue. It's just another reason why the medical field was the absolute last of my choices on career day at school.

So, do I look forward to my next posting? Sure. Do I hope I never have to mention transmetatarsal amputation again in my lifetime? You bet!