General Update

Hi everyone!

No MAJOR news this time around but on the eve of the day marking 5 months since the accident, I thought I'd post what has been going on lately.

First, you may have noticed I changed the blog layout again. I took out a lot of stuff and added a slideshow. As I collect more pics relating to the accident, they'll show up in the slideshow. But be warned. Some of the pics that will be going up are pretty graphic. They were taken in the ER and during the following hospital stays.

Well, my PT is going in fits and starts, as expected. I started doing better, then I got hit with some pain and swelling so we had to back off a little. That's going to be the normal routine from here on out.

Two PT sessions ago I walked 2 laps around the room (about 300 feet). I had help and was very much using my walker of course, but I walked with my head up, with better flow, and my balance was better. It was good enough that I got the OK to carefully, and with supervision, walk around the house 2 or 3 times per day. Which I have started doing.

Walking at home is a LOT different than walking at PT. The carpet at PT is that unpadded, industrial stuff. At home we have padded carpet or the stone tiles. The tiles aren't too bad except it is a rather rough surface and the grout lines are something to experience. The carpet is a whole other problem. Between the padding and the swelling in my feet, it feels like I am walking with water balloons strapped to the bottoms of my feet! That really affects my senses of balance and stability!

With all this walking, exercise, standing, transferring without the sliding board (meaning I stand up as I move between my chair and other things), comes a rather unpleasant side effect...increased swelling. So now I'm finding myself with my feet up either in my wheelchair leg supports or, when it REALLY gets bad, back in bed. I'm spending more time working and such in bed again than I have since shortly after leaving the hospital (which was 4 months ago today, by the way).

On a completely different subject, you more observant folks out there will notice in some of the slideshow pics that I am wearing Crocs. Yes, Crocs...on MY feet. When these things first came out I SWORE I'd never spend that kinda money on ugly plastic shoes. Well, I have 3 pair and may get more.

When I started PT, they said I'd need some kind of shoes or something to cover my feet when I'm on the equipment and when I start walking. Well, OK. We thought we could easily find some oversize tennis shoes or something. We were wrong. I tried on shoes up a size 16E and could not find ANYTHING that would accommodate the swelling without looking like clown shoes.

Then we spied some Crocs and tried them just for the heck of it. And whaddaya know. They fit great because the wide opening and wide toes accommodate the swelling very well. Also, they are surprisingly comfortable, provide pretty good support, the sole and material provides good padding and decent traction, they are very lightweight but provide some protection, and the inside sole surface kinda massages and helps desensitize my feet. Who'd-a thunk it? So now I have 2 pair in my regular size 12 for normal wear and a pair of 13's that fit well when the swelling is up.

Well, That about does it for now. I think, by-and-large, I am now in a routine with my PT, both in the work I do and how I respond to it. There will be good days and not-so-good days. All I can do is trust in the Lord and keep working to get my strength and abilities back as soon as possible.