Well the holidays have past, they were wonderful spent time with family. I got to thinking I havent even touched on the !ost life changing part, the diabetes. That was a questioon I was asked from the time the ER nurse seen me first til my first shot of insulin. I had never even thought about it. The symptoms are tired, extreme thirst, frequent urination. The first two I could say that most of the people I knew were diabetic. Working in kitchens you get hot and tired and thirsty. I really never noticed if I was frequently urinating. After diagnosis lots of people came to me with well I thought you drank alot, or you always seemed so tired. I did ignore lots of signs on my health but I never picked up on the diabetes. About 7 or 8 yrs ago I started losing weight rather quickly. I thought I understood the reasons. But I did decide to change my eating habits, by eating a little healthier and such. I never thought I would hear Diabetes. This disease is very misunderstood and one persons diabetes is not the same as someone elses. Pricking your fingers waiting even holding your breath til that 5 seconds is up hoping your number is low.
You never realize how much you love something until you cant have it anymore. But I have learned to make substitutions and you learn to love it after awhile. I do have it a little easier than most I only take one shot in the morning before breakfast and I just watch what I eat throughout the day. Right now I dont get much exercise, but once I get mobile I should be able to burn more glucose. I dont want to be one of those people that think " well I can eat anything I want because I take insulin" I am sure this is my life so I am trying to make the best of it. As a kind of a self proclaimed foodie this has become quite the interesting experiment. I read all labels now and it really is disgusting the amount of sugar thatis added to food to make it more pallatable. I mean freaking vegetables with added sugar get real. So I have quiyt smoking, eating sugar i still indulgre in sugar free things but all things in moderation. Again, I urge anyone reading this that you pay close attention to your body and take care of yourself.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
all caught up
After 4 weeks of being very careful and washing and changing bandages as I was getting out of the car balancing on one leg the only thing I really remember happening is that I was going down. And I went down hard onto the gravel drive. Well of course everyone reacted quickly and stood me back up, and I walked over to the porch as I was trying to swing my leg up I heard Oh God you are bleeding. It had happened everything the doctors and the prosthetists said might happen I had, for lack of a better word, busted my stump open. This might be an understatement and with that came a new experience my first ride in an ambulance. I tried to remain as calm as possible, but all that kept going thru my mind was "Damn, I have to start over." I was almost there, oh well what can you do. Got to the ER the docs came and looked at !me and scheduled surgery for first thing in the morning, this time when they went in if there was anymore damage they possibly had to remove even more, maybe above the knee. OMG!!! I'm not sure how much more of this shit I can handle. Again, I cannot say enough how wonderful and supportive my entire family has been thru this whole ordeal. I'm not the only one going thru this life changing event. I arrived at the hospital again before dinner you would think I would develop a fear of dinner, and they cut me off at midnite and the surgery went well and as I woke up I wasnt in as near as much pain so I knew they didnt cut anymore off. Another huge round of antibiotics and more awful food. Came home with sutures this time instead of staples.
Well needless to say I was on extreme lockdown this time, which was fine, but I couldnt get down and scared because I have found out that I hate riding in a wheelchair. There are so many things we take for granted. I used to say how tired I was and didnt want to get up and do anything, wel I would give anything now to get up get in my car and drive where ever it dont even matter where. Or to just be able to go back to work and able to cook my own food and look after my dog. Im very blessed to have lots of support but I am a very independent person and that is no longer, for now...
Well needless to say I was on extreme lockdown this time, which was fine, but I couldnt get down and scared because I have found out that I hate riding in a wheelchair. There are so many things we take for granted. I used to say how tired I was and didnt want to get up and do anything, wel I would give anything now to get up get in my car and drive where ever it dont even matter where. Or to just be able to go back to work and able to cook my own food and look after my dog. Im very blessed to have lots of support but I am a very independent person and that is no longer, for now...
Sunday, December 21, 2014
almost caught up
Well as for some of the comments I have been getting, I am deeply touched by the words of love and encouragement. I know everyones life is very busy and sometimes we get so caught up in everyday things we forget to slow down and love each other. I can honestly say that is one thing I am taking away from this, of course there are so many things I have
learned about myself, that love knows no limits and that the smallest token of love will swell your heart and help heal you.
I left the hospital and came home to roost. Oh to finally be home where nobody walks in every two hours to check your vitals or to take your blood or that god awful IV machine with its incessant beeping. Went to sleep and woke up the next morning needing a real bath real bad. Laying in a bed and sponging off does not cut it pee yew. My stump was just stapled shut and had bloody spots every few cm or so not much blood, but enough to freak you out when you unwrapped the gauze and an ace bandage. My folks have a full bathroom downstairs with a step in shower, thank goodness for that. L walked or should say hopped in on my walker then had to figure out how to hop over a 4 inch threshold. I stood there for like 10 mins trying to figure out this without falling. My dear dear mother came in and I backed up to the door of the shower and she held the front of my walker and I hopped backwards over the lip and sat down on my shower chair. The next twenty mins can only be described as heaven for it was the combination of heat and water pressure words cannot describe. All humility gone you have to get over your modesty and just Let it Go, Let it Go. It had been several years since my momma had to put my towel on me, but I had to hold myself up with one hand. This all got a lot easier with time, but it did take time. Got all the way to 4 weeks and got half my staples out and was scheduled to come back in two weeks and remove the rest and get measured for my leg. Everything was healing very well. That was on a Thursday and that Sunday my cousin and his wife invited me up for dinner. They live on a hill and their driveway is gravel. I felt funny about going and wanted to invite them down to the house but we got in the car and went up anyway. Then the unthinkable happened....
learned about myself, that love knows no limits and that the smallest token of love will swell your heart and help heal you.
I left the hospital and came home to roost. Oh to finally be home where nobody walks in every two hours to check your vitals or to take your blood or that god awful IV machine with its incessant beeping. Went to sleep and woke up the next morning needing a real bath real bad. Laying in a bed and sponging off does not cut it pee yew. My stump was just stapled shut and had bloody spots every few cm or so not much blood, but enough to freak you out when you unwrapped the gauze and an ace bandage. My folks have a full bathroom downstairs with a step in shower, thank goodness for that. L walked or should say hopped in on my walker then had to figure out how to hop over a 4 inch threshold. I stood there for like 10 mins trying to figure out this without falling. My dear dear mother came in and I backed up to the door of the shower and she held the front of my walker and I hopped backwards over the lip and sat down on my shower chair. The next twenty mins can only be described as heaven for it was the combination of heat and water pressure words cannot describe. All humility gone you have to get over your modesty and just Let it Go, Let it Go. It had been several years since my momma had to put my towel on me, but I had to hold myself up with one hand. This all got a lot easier with time, but it did take time. Got all the way to 4 weeks and got half my staples out and was scheduled to come back in two weeks and remove the rest and get measured for my leg. Everything was healing very well. That was on a Thursday and that Sunday my cousin and his wife invited me up for dinner. They live on a hill and their driveway is gravel. I felt funny about going and wanted to invite them down to the house but we got in the car and went up anyway. Then the unthinkable happened....
Saturday, December 20, 2014
3 ah ah ah
well as I lay there in my drug induced state with family and friends roaming in and out, as well as myself in and out in and out, I was very thankful for the support. Here I am a 38 year old man and I will admit that I wanted my mommy so bad, and she was there everyday. Ok so to recap below the knee amputation, diabetes and 4 different antibiotics goin and insulin fast acting and long acting at night and also a blood thinner, and in walks another Dr. to tell me that I was at a 12% function in my kidneys. Well as you could suspect I was ecstatic to hear this news, NOT! But this is all part of the equation with severe infections and diabetes. I had not kept up with my health and I am no longer at an age where I am invincible.
Can I just touch on two negatives here. The food in hospitals is horrible and the worse news possible to me that I would never be able to return to the work I was doing because of peripheral neuropathy in my remaining limb. Restaurant is all I have ever done and that was like a kick in the stomach, the final straw. The on October 3, 2014 my view and attitude completely changed, for this is the day Choice Prosthetics came in and fitted me for my stump, that word is a hard one to use when referring to ones self, protector and immobilizer. After introductions he suggested a gal from his office come over and talk to me. She is a patient advocate in the billing department and has worn a prosthetic her whole life. She walked in the room and sat down in the chair beside the bed smiled, introduced herself rolled her pants leg up and took her leg off and handed it to me. She wasnt ashamed or self conscious about it at all, in short she was the angel I needed.
After a couple weeks in the hospital and no signs of infection and 15 pages of care instructions for my wound and diet, I was finally coming home. I had one tryout with my walker I had to get pretty good at hopping. I went home knowing I was criticalin the fact that my wound wasnt completely healed and I had to be very careful, so that meantmoving in with my parents basement again. This time its completely finished with its own bathroom so I was set. Except, I have a little dog who most of you are aware of her name is Myra and I have had her for like 15 years and I love her so....
Can I just touch on two negatives here. The food in hospitals is horrible and the worse news possible to me that I would never be able to return to the work I was doing because of peripheral neuropathy in my remaining limb. Restaurant is all I have ever done and that was like a kick in the stomach, the final straw. The on October 3, 2014 my view and attitude completely changed, for this is the day Choice Prosthetics came in and fitted me for my stump, that word is a hard one to use when referring to ones self, protector and immobilizer. After introductions he suggested a gal from his office come over and talk to me. She is a patient advocate in the billing department and has worn a prosthetic her whole life. She walked in the room and sat down in the chair beside the bed smiled, introduced herself rolled her pants leg up and took her leg off and handed it to me. She wasnt ashamed or self conscious about it at all, in short she was the angel I needed.
After a couple weeks in the hospital and no signs of infection and 15 pages of care instructions for my wound and diet, I was finally coming home. I had one tryout with my walker I had to get pretty good at hopping. I went home knowing I was criticalin the fact that my wound wasnt completely healed and I had to be very careful, so that meantmoving in with my parents basement again. This time its completely finished with its own bathroom so I was set. Except, I have a little dog who most of you are aware of her name is Myra and I have had her for like 15 years and I love her so....
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Part 2
Well while i was laying in the E.R. bed all by myself they took so much blood. I had been asked several times if I was diabetic but to my knowledge I didnt think so. I had never checked my "sugar" ever, but my dad had been diagnosed with type 2 about 2 years ago, so there was always that possiblity i guess. "were you real thirsty, tired" Well yeah I was working two jobs seven days a week, by this account everyone I knew had diabetes.
My blood was checked and I think my first number was like over 300 a healthy person should be between 70-100 the highest number after eating. The blood test for the A1C which is a 90 day average showed I had been running over 300 for that long. Long story short very very very sick. Eh, turned into Oh S@#$.
Shortly after that I was informed that i was going to have surgery to remove my toes and they would do everything possible to save the rest of my foot. Ok, so my first trip to the E.R. in 23 years and it is a doozy. October 1,2014 will forever remain in my brain, Dr. Joshua Arnold walked into my life and told me it would be best if he performed a BKA (below knee amputation) great you know it was just a blister for goodness sakes. But I could not be anymore greatful for the surgeon I had, he had so much compassion and really was great to my family and me. I went in again for surgery again, this time I was a pro had already been thru this you know. But I woke up from this one in horrible horrible pain, because they had cut thru my leg bone and folded my leg muscle up on the end. The part they cut off weighed about 10-12 lbs, they make you sign a cremation permit for the remains, gross. Returned to myroom with a pain pump with something lovely I could hit every 8 mins, I wished everyone could experience that at least once. The staff at UT Medical Center were absolutely fantastic. I would have never made it thru.....
My blood was checked and I think my first number was like over 300 a healthy person should be between 70-100 the highest number after eating. The blood test for the A1C which is a 90 day average showed I had been running over 300 for that long. Long story short very very very sick. Eh, turned into Oh S@#$.
Shortly after that I was informed that i was going to have surgery to remove my toes and they would do everything possible to save the rest of my foot. Ok, so my first trip to the E.R. in 23 years and it is a doozy. October 1,2014 will forever remain in my brain, Dr. Joshua Arnold walked into my life and told me it would be best if he performed a BKA (below knee amputation) great you know it was just a blister for goodness sakes. But I could not be anymore greatful for the surgeon I had, he had so much compassion and really was great to my family and me. I went in again for surgery again, this time I was a pro had already been thru this you know. But I woke up from this one in horrible horrible pain, because they had cut thru my leg bone and folded my leg muscle up on the end. The part they cut off weighed about 10-12 lbs, they make you sign a cremation permit for the remains, gross. Returned to myroom with a pain pump with something lovely I could hit every 8 mins, I wished everyone could experience that at least once. The staff at UT Medical Center were absolutely fantastic. I would have never made it thru.....
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Here We Go
Well, as the title says, not sure where to begin. So my story begins in the summer of 2014 at Dollywood Splash Country was having a great day with friends from work riding all the rides. As I left that day I noticed the bottom of my foot was killing me, but my feet were always killing me. I got home and noticed a blister on the bottom of my foot. Well, I thought nothing of it and went on about my daily business.
Now let me say this I recently just got health insurance because it was the law. I had not been to the doctor since i was like 15 and now at time of this post I am 38. I went to the beach with a lot of my family for Labor Day and my foot had not healed but I kept thinking well it looks better, well now i know that was D-E-N-I-A-L. Well while walking on the beach I burned a blister on the other foot. My mom and dad, aunts, uncles, cousins all were concerned. I was like eh, it'll be ok. I soaked in Epsom salt and peroxide, came back home and back to my business of working and other daily activities.
While working one night my right foot was killing me. I came home to doctor it and noticed a black streak running up the middle of my foot. Now that should have set off bells but still I was like eh, it'll be ok. I also had devleoped a little bit of a fever and achey body like I had the flu. After several more days of this my Mom and Dad talked me into going to the hospital. I waited for like an hour and a half and was finally seen. The nurse asked me to take off my shoe and she said "Wow, that is one pissed off foot" and here come everyone to check it out and then they said you are being admitted. Now I no longer thought, eh, it'll be ok...
to be continued....
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