Well, I THOUGHT that was all. I was wrong.

This morning we went and saw my Orthopaedic Surgeon.

First, the general situation.

The left foot is lookin pretty good. Not as good as he had hoped, but good enough.

The right foot ain't so good, but it looks like it's about as good as it's ever gonna be.

So what do we do about it?

Well, the left foot gets it's tune-up on November 11. It will be outpatient surgery to remove all the metal from it and that should give me relief from the burning feeling I get under my ankle from the plate that's in there. It will also stop all the friggin metal detectors from wiggin out every time I get near one. ;)

After the surgery I am to stay off the foot for 5 days (use crutches and/or walker) to protect the sutures. After that I can start wearing the klingon mukluk boots, shoes, or whatever I want and start putting weight on it again and the stitches will come out probably the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. After that, it should be good to go. No word on follow-up physical therapy.

The right foot is a bit more problematic. The thought is it will not get any better and very well could get worse with age (growths, arthritis, etc.). Surgery to make it better is no longer an option. There just is not enough good stuff in the right places to do what he thought of doing except for 1 radical procedure that I outright refused. It involves cutting off my heel bone and repositioning it. No thanks!

So what's the answer? Live with it until I can't take it any more or something gets much worse. At that point we, to quote the Doc, "Trade it in for a new one." Yes, we are talking amputation.

I know it sounds terrible and drastic, but in the long view it could be far better than what I am dealing with now. It could offer the possibility of more normal and flexible mobility than I will likely ever have with the foot being the way it is now.

But that is a lingering consideration for another day. No big plans to take action on that. I am thinking about it, of course, but serious consideration will be put off until we see how the 11/11 surgery, at least, goes.

J and I have seen pretty much this exact scenario as a possibility for quite some time, so we are doing pretty OK with it...at least for now.

Here we go again...

Th...th...th....th...that's all folks!

Yes, I've decided to wrap up this blog. Why? Well, the progress now is slow and generally steady and all things are, relatively speaking, getting back to some version of “normal.” So to wrap this up I want to do two things.

First, I was reflecting last night on some of the things I could not do a year ago that I can do now. So a few that come to mind and in no particular order....

• Stand.
  
• Walk.
  
• Sleep in any position other than flat on my back.
  
• Sit up for more than just a short while.
  
• Go anywhere without help.
  
• Be left unattended for extended periods of time.
  
• Get myself something to eat or drink.
  
• Dress myself.
  
• Take a shower without help.
  
• Go to the bathroom without help.
  
• Get in a vehicle without help.
  
• Go to work.
  
• Drive.
  
• Wear any kind of footwear.
  
• Have even the smallest pain-free moment without the aid of drugs.
  
• Sleep through the night without the aid of drugs.
  
• Have my feet down the majority of the day.
  
• Sleep without my feet stacked on a pile of pillows.
  
• Go outside without help.
  
• Care for the pets.
  
• Help with anything around the house.
  

And finally, I have a lot of people to thank. I am only going to use initials, but you'll know who you are. As I said, there are a lot of people, so please excuse my thanking some as a group and if I miss anyone.

• JW – I don't know how I could have gotten through this without you.
  
• BG & CW – Your help to both me and JW, the hours you spent with me helping take care of me and just keeping me going. Friends like you are rare and I am very fortunate to know you.
  
• M & DP – Right when things were getting tough, you two showed up, pitched in with work that needed done, listened when we needed someone to talk to, and quickly became dear friends.
  
• My extended family – Thank you for all you have done for us to help us get through all this.
  
• Geocachers – What a great bunch of people geocachers are! I've heard from cachers from, quite literally, all around the globe! And of all those, the Central Texas bunch are the best! Thanks to you all for your support, helping with the house, putting out caches for me, and so much more.
  
• NLBC – Your continued concern, support, and prayers have meant the world to us and helped get us through some very tough times.
  
• AAS – The folks there have bent over backwards to accommodate my limitations and have been very patient with me. When other employers would have sent me packing on some kind of disability, they stuck with me through thick and thick. My immediate co-workers and friends have been incredibly supportive and helpful and I am lucky to work with such a great bunch of people.
  
• Last, but most certainly not least, all of the doctors, nurses, therapists, assistant, technicians, and so on that cobbled me back together and got me back on my feet. I've been very fortunate to have such great professionals on my case and keeping me going when I thought I could not do any more.
  

No, I'm not completely healed yet. I still have mobility problems, some pain and discomfort, and maybe even a few more surgical procedures in my future. But I think I'm over the hump now and I am very grateful to everyone involved for helping me get here.

Thanks again and God bless you all.

A Quickie...

There hasn't been a lot going on, but a couple of weeks ago J and I teamed up with 3 friends and went to the Texas Challenge geocaching event that was held in and around Fredericksburg, TX. Even moving slow because of me we managed to score 20 caches. Not a great power run or anything, but not too shabby, either! The amazing part of this is that J thought I would be one hurtin' puppy the next day but it worked out just the opposite. My feet felt better than they had in months. They've been tightening up and acting as usual since, but that was a nice relief.

On the work front, I brought my work PC back into my office today and I'm going to start trying to come into work more often than not. However, I'm still gonna work abbreviated hours to avoid the worst of the traffic until I get a little more drive time under my belt.

PT continues and we are adding more stuff to it fairly regularly. My equipment time is up to 15 minutes per exercise. My leg weights are increasing again, I've started using the balance board, I've started walking backwards on the treadmill, and the "interruption walking' has been reintroduced. I shudder to think what they will come up with next!

Everyone be well and be careful out there!