When I started my blog, I called it Womanly Feats. You can read the dictionary definition of a feat out to the side, but my intent was that my friends could identify with some of the things I am going through--and the victory that I gain through walking it out with God as my provider, protector, friend, father, healer...and all the things He is to me.
Going through the bunion surgery and healing from it is one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I believe I've gone through a lot of hard things. This was my fifth surgery, so I think I was prepared for the process of going under anesthesia, waking up in recovery, feeling the pain from the surgery, using strong pain meds, fasting, resting when you would rather be active and do things, looking around at all that needs to be done, and knowing you have to "let it go," not to mention being dependent on everyone for everything!
Let me start by thanking my husband for all he did for this to happen. We don't have good insurance, so it was an out-of-pocket expense, and Tom earned and saved the money because he knows how much it means to me. Then he drove me, stayed with me, prayed with me, helped me from the wheelchair to lay down in the back of the car for the long drive home, and then spent the next two and a half weeks never leaving my side because I even had to depend on him to lift me on the crutches so I could use the restroom. He brought me food, water, pain medication, bowls to vomit in, wet washcloths, clean clothes, and stayed current on what we needed to do: cut bandages so my swelling feet would have enough room,stuff the back of the post-surgical shoes with cotton balls for my raw heels, help me take a shower for my upper body sitting on a shower chair, and most of all looking at me with eyes of love even though he had to see my greasy hair, pasty skin with no makeup, broken-out chest from food dropping on it as I ate laying down, calves losing every bit of muscle, and purple/red/blue feet. What an eye-opener.
Now, 4 1/2 weeks later, I expect to be walking...but it is still a very slow process and I am discouraged, even though I try to find things to be grateful for each day. I developed an infection in the left foot incision on Friday night. The steri-strips never fell off at 2-3 weeks as they were supposed to, so I finally took the gummy yellow strips off one-by-one and discovered a two-inch patch of bright red skin on the left foot,along with oozing pus, itching, and sharp pains going through the incision by Saturday. I babied it along with antibiotic ointment through the weekend, and called Wichita this morning. My orthopedic doctor wanted me to be seen either by their office or by my family doctor today. So, we headed to Dr. Waring's at 3:50. He poked, prodded, and squeezed and said there were definitely signs of infection but he thought my immune system was fighting it. Yeah!
Now, to what I can do, and what I can't do... I can walk short distances in my house, at someone else's house, and before the infection even walked a few aisles at Dillon's hanging on the cart for balance. I notice that people look at me with wondering eyes. Like--"what in the world happened?" I can also stand for short periods to cook, or do dishes and laundry, as long as I rest with my feet up afterwards. I can watch t.v., but tend to fall asleep once or twice a day while watching t.v. or working on my FHSU class on the computer. I can write letters, talk on the phone, search the internet, use Facebook, knit, study, and read People magazine. I can sit down to put on makeup and do my hair. Yippee. I can't drive, can't walk down the block (yet), can't clean (at least not floors), can't carry things up or down the stairs, can't go to Wal-Mart (unless someone pushes me in the wheelchair), can't take a bath or get my feet wet, can't wear anything but post-surgical shoes and knit pants to pull over them, and can't carry or lift my grandsons. Boo-hoo! I miss my life as it was before, but I know I will appreciate life so much more. It has already made me so compassionate for the infirm, elderly, and those in similar post-surgical situations. I've always had a lot of compassion, but I've never been laid up this long, or been in a wheelchair, or dependent on someone to drive me for so long.
The big question in my mind is "how am I going to be able to have enrollment in only one more month, and teach in only 6 more weeks?" Chelsea assures me I will do a lot of healing in that time, but I am really concerned. I need to start the hiring process and be sure that I can have an assistant with me full-time this fall instead of part-time. A cleaning lady for home/preschool would help too!
This is nothing compared to some people's womanly feats, or to what my mother is going through in fighting breast cancer. More on that later, but I needed to get this all down in a blog post in order to move on. Love ya, friends!
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