The Greatest Gift of All

The last few days I have just been worn out beyond belief. On Wednesday I also was running a low-grade fever, which of course sent up my red flag. Sure enough, I unwrapped my leg and found it much more red, swollen, and tender than it had been previously. Urg... that's all I need is an infection.

Knowing that an infection is never anything to be taken lightly, I immediately left a message for my surgeon in the cities, and also made an appointment with my doc in Two Harbors. The doc gave me a nice big shot and a 10-day supply of antibiotics and also commended me for coming in so promptly. She explained that especially when there is hardware involved (such as the plate and screws currently holding my leg together), it is very important that infections are treated quickly and kept a close eye on because if they get away from you it could require another surgery to clean the infection off of the plate. Don't want none of that, thank you very much!

I also must praise the Minnesota Orthopaedic Specialists which is who took care of my surgery. Not only did they promptly call me back after I left a message, they also called me this morning to find out how my appointment in Two Harbors went. Now that's what I call "Personalized Customer Service." And that is all it takes to make me a lifelong loyal customer... although I sure hope I won't be needing them again anytime soon.

My parents have been here the last two days and have been busy as bees not only taking care of me but also taking care of stuff around my house. Normally I would rather die than let them see my house looking like this, but I realized that they love helping me and I really NEED the help. So I put my pride aside and let them in. My Dad has been taking care of what is left of my garden and potted plants as well as fixing small things that needed fixing around here. My mom has done oodles of laundry, cleaned my bathrooms, kitchen and dining room, baked and cooked like crazy, and cleaned and organized my fridge.

And being it's my birthday today, I usually find myself wondering about my biological parents and siblings... I wonder where they are and if they think of me today. But today instead I find myself ever so thankful that Larry and Eva chose me to take home to be their daughter. They are the greatest gift of all and I believe they were truly sent by God himself. I thank God every day for selecting them to be my parents.

Sorry I don't have a better choice of pictures to post, but most of my boxes of photos are tucked away in high places, unreachable by birthday girls on crutches.

as if my life wasn't interesting enough

Too make my life more challenging and interesting, I decided to walk down a hill wearing flip flops and break my leg. That's right, I BROKE MY LEG. And I couldn't be lucky and have it be my left leg... nooo... it has to be my RIGHT leg. And it couldn't just be a simple break, but has to require surgery involving plates and screws.

And it couldn't have happened with someone I know really really well so that I could scream and holler like the big baby I truly am... nooo... it has to happen with a guy I haven't seen in 27 years. But that's okay since I had plenty of opportunity to scream. holler and cry myself silly as I drove myself across the twin cities using my left foot through rush hour traffic.

But on the good side of things, it happened in the cities so that Jeff and my parents could take care of me in shifts. And it happened during summer, so I don't have to worry about long pants, snow and ice, or big heavy backpacks filled with textbooks. And I should be walking again by the time I go back to school. So, see? There is a silver lining.

The bad thing is that I haven't been able to put any weight on it since it happened 11 days ago. And summer is the time of year I love to spend outdoors gardening, and hiking, and KAYAKING! Yes, I just bought the darn thing and now I can't use it! And it's my last free summer, no less. And, my ankle is really, really ugly now.

The surgery went well and was educational. I had awesome nurses who all shared little bits of nursing career advice with me. And they all thought I was delightful (yes, they actually told me this. One male nurse, who also went back to school midlife like me, said I was his favorite patient of the week). My first words I remember saying as I came back from being put under was "Do I look okay?" -- well, at least my sense of humor was intact.

I'm now back at home and Brandon has been helping me and trying to stay smiling at the same time. My parents are coming up later in the week and Jeff will be coming up on Friday. In the meantime I have figured out how to hobble around the house in small exhausting spurts, take a shower without actually stepping in, and drive my car using my left foot. My biggest excitement today was that I figured out to balance on one foot and clean the toilet at the same time! It's been an interesting adventure to say the least!

I have an appointment on Monday in the cities to get the staples taken out and I'm hoping I'll then be able to put a little weight on it and start physical therapy. Hopefully life can start to get back to normal after that.

I have learned a few things along this bumpy journey:

• I've learned to put my pride aside and let people help me.
  
• I've learned to be patient.
• I've learned to slow down.
• I've learned that not everyone does everything exactly the way I would, and that's okay.
• I've learned that Malcolm in the Middle is on TV a lot... and that's a very good thing.
• I've learned how to keep my toes cool and dry inside a hot black boot.
• I've relearned that there are a lot of wonderfully good people out there in the world.
  

Warning: some of the photos below are pretty gruesome!


Okay, well maybe THIS one isn't so gruesome. Jeff had surprised me with a hotel stay that weekend as an early birthday gift... well, the easiest way to get me in and out of the hotel was by use of the baggage cart.












Post Op Day 2










For those who aren't completely familiar with my right foot, it is not normally as fat as it here!