HOW ARE WE DOIN'?

Sew-Sew

Even though the swelling makes this look like my knee, it is my left arm shortly before the stitches were removed yesterday. Son Matthew took this with his iPhone to show to Travis. Guess Travis and I can compare our scars -- his from his appendectomy. I think mine will win "ugliest" by far!

As I communicated my fears of this surgery with friends over the past few weeks, I was comforted by many. But without a doubt, my friend Carin from Denton inspired me the most! She sent me the following email with the accompanying photograph. Modern medicine is nothing short of miraculous! She gave me permission to post this. She is definitely my hero for now!

Leg Gear

"Here you go. A picture really is worth a thousand words: The bump-on-my-butt is the battery pack that runs the bone stimulator (the black coil over the brace), which sends electro-magnetic pulses to my femur (thigh bone). The E-M frequencies induce bone-building proteins to grow bone cells as well as bone marrow blood vessels! Isn't that amazing? I wear the bone stimulator 10-hours a day. Interestingly this $5,000 technology only works for 4,000 hours then quits! Talk about pre-designed to self-destruct.

The brace itself starts at my foot with a heel-cup and goes all the way to my waist -- it wraps around me. You can only see the left side. This "hard" brace is custom-made and stabilizes my leg like an exoskeleton. The goal is to keep my healing parts from moving while I stand or walk. I usually wear a full-length leg sock to keep the brace plastic from touching my skin but I was dressed-up for church when Robert took my picture! 

Dressing has been really interesting; the waist part of the brace adds 6 inches to my middle…agh! My leg is bent in the picture to show you that I can bend it! After being casted for 2-months, my knee didn't want to move at all. The brace knee "joint" is set at 90 degrees. I'm looking forward to bending my knee more and more, which has been a challenge. What is also amazing and not seeable without X-ray vision are all of the metal plates and screws that start about 4 inches below my knee and continue up to where the stem of my artificial hip connects to the femur.

Who would have thought that slipping on invisible ice could result in such an interesting physical challenge? But after 4.5-months…I'm "walking" about and started driving again last week -- whoopee! Thanks for your loving support, positive thoughts, and healing prayers. They're working!

Love from here to there from
"The Queen of Velcro"
aka
"Carin with a $300K leg"

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Not only are these sent to us as "physical challenges", but they are meant for our spiritual growth as well. Carin stated once how "humbling" it is to ask others for help when we are going through one of these challenges. I can certainly relate to that. But, as we care for one another during crises, everyone grows!

So how're we doing? I'd say we are doing very well indeed.

Peace, love, and healing,
Marilyn