I can see the hospital's lights from
where I sit.
But I am at home. Oh, how glad I am to
be at home.
The infected ankle was finally operated on
Thursday. I was not at all nervous before or during the operation.
With spinal anesthesia, I was awake the whole time but had no feeling
in the left leg. As good an experience as an operation could be. I
even felt surprisingly good afterwards. It's a strange feeling when
the legs 'come back' - like pins and needles - but this time I had a
lot less pain in the evening and the night than after the previous operation in October.
The hardest thing was to wash the wound
on Friday morning, before the nurses put a PICO on it. I have to
admit, I didn't really look at the wound... But neither did I faint in the
shower. PICO is "negative pressure wound therapy": a
special dressing on the ankle and a little pump that I carry round.
Apparently, it's a pretty good and effective way to treat wounds like
mine.
With the PICO in place and working well
and my body responding nicely to pain medication (paracetamol and
ibuprofen), I was able to come home on Friday.
So here I am. I can still walk, a bit
better than four weeks ago when the cast came off. At home, I walk
carefully but without crutches etc. Going outside, I take crutches
and wear a walker boot, just to be on the safe side. I try to keep
mostly at rest.
I'm thankful for a good, succesful operation and
hospital stay and for all the lovely, helpful, positive medical
professionals who have helped me along the way.
I'm thankful that the ankle bone has set pretty well already, so I can walk at home without a cast.
I'm thankful to be at home now.
So, rehab time again. Some steps
forward, some steps back. There are no shortcuts to reach the
goal without effort. There may still be setbacks (I hope not).
But I'm at peace.
Let's walk.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with
you.
For You have rescued my soul from
death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
Psalm 116: 7-9
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