Reader: Steve asked me to
fill in for him from time to time for a while – he expects to be
unable to blog-post for about two weeks. The following is my
less-than-perfect attempt to echo his words this evening. George
Batten
A couple of weeks ago,
perhaps a little less, I suddenly started feeling extreme pain in my
right foot – the one that was already troublesome; i.e., the one
with the boot. After some visits with physicians – my usual one
and a DO – I was eventually sent to the clinic at Memorial Herman
Hospital (MHH) to be diagnosed for something more severe.
Ultimately, this led to my being admitted to MHH, and to a decision
that I am reasonably happy with: the foot will be amputated on
Thursday.
As you can imagine, this
was not a simple decision, and I did not make it without a lot of
discussion with professionals of the medical profession. It is
possible to have reconstructive surgery done, but people with my
condition that have had that generally have had more problems than
those who have had the amputation. An amputation seems to terminate
the infection. In my case, the surgery will take off the lower part
of the limb starting about halfway up to the knee.
After surgery on Thursday,
I will start rehabilitation with a clean start (perhaps I should say
a clean “end”). I feel that I have about half the staff at MHH
helping me, and it seems that I will be seeing them at MHH for a
couple of weeks. While that is an exaggeration, the team helping me
does have five members. One good thing is that, according to the
team, after all of this I will be able to drive. One bad thing is
that during the two weeks I probably will not be posting on this blog
– George will do some for me.
In that terrible news lies a new and very encouraging future. You are a brave and stalwart man. I suspect six months from now these past painful years will be old history. We are rooting for you, wishing you well and will stay tuned. Peace, my friend!
ReplyDeleteYou've endured a great deal, Steve and although losing part of your body is distressing in the extreme, losing a foot that has (in Bill Cosby's words) joined the enemy and is trying to kill you is unfortunately the correct thing to do. May you get a prosthetic that gives you a spring in your step and lets you walk to the library without a care.
ReplyDeleteHugs and much waves of the pom poms from the cheering section.
wow, I'm really sorry to hear about this. I haven't commented on your posts about your health problems in the past, largely because I didn't know what to say. But I'll give it a shot anyway: my thoughts are with you. I'm glad to hear that you are happy with the decision to amputate and I really hope this represents a light at the end of the tunnel for you. Have a swift recovery!
ReplyDeleteSteve, I am sorry to hear this, and I wish you a swift and uneventful recovery.
ReplyDeleteFEEEEEEL BETTER!
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are with you Steve. Speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteVery best wishes for a quick recovery!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear this Steve. I hope all goes well and you have a seedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteA little something to cheer you up Steve--over at http://adgitadiaries.com/ Peace my friend! Your CA. buds M&T and Bodhi dog
ReplyDeletekarmanot's blog shout out to you sent me on over. Enjoying your writing and your topics very much -- you're my kinda guy. Best wishes for your recovery and physical therapy. You are in the land of doctors, nurses I.V.s, oh my!
ReplyDelete