4/03/2013

Quick foot drop health update

 Everyone wants to know how my problem with foot drop is progressing so here's a quick health update. The leg/foot/back are progressing as a fast as a three legged turtle going uphill. And healing is, an uphill climb.

I never dreamed that it would take this long to recover! Six weeks after having c-sections I was back to my normal self. It took less than that after appendicitis and even less after having the gallbladder removed. When we first discussed the back surgery it sounded like a relatively easy recovery period.

Then the foot drop developed and my world turned inside out.

The emergency surgery was done on New Year's Eve by a top notch team. I'm still in physical therapy and don't have a graduation date. We live in the boondocks and although I was cleared to drive, I have some limitations.

Doctors and other pros tell me that it can take up to a year or more to fully heal. The pros also say that most of my function should be regained by about six to eight months after surgery.  We don't know what that will look like yet. Right now, I'm still on a cane and am unsteady. Uneven ground is not my friend. I can't pick things up off of the floor and shopping has to be done with a shopping cart. (The carts are essentially walkers with bigger wheels.)

Everything else is still rocky but progressing. I like to travel and am taking a few more photos from outside the car. The superzoom camera takes up a lot of the slack there! By leaning on the cane, I'm able to stand up for about 1/3 of the church service now on most days.

My foot drop recovery progress is subtle and slow but I'm getting there. My plan is to win the turtle race as quickly as possible and get back into the rat race. So watch out world, I'm still coming through and will see you across the finish line.