Rehab Take Two

When I got the fixator I had to return to rehab. It was so sweet because my old staff tried really hard not to just get me back on their floor, but to actually get me back in my old room. It didn't work but I thought it was so sweet that they tried. I ended up one floor down on the third floor, but was so touched when they would still come visit me even though I wasn't on their floor. Fortunately, I was able to return to the rehab routine fairly quickly. Once again my favorite part was going to the pool and being able to walk with the frame on. And at least this time I was able to get in and out of bed. I just had to build up the strength in my arms in order to walk with the walker.

I didn't journal during this time for some reason so I don't remember how long I actually was in rehab this time but I think it was just a couple of weeks. Anyway...when I returned home there was quite a bit of pain because we had to turn screws every day to move the bone down.

It was very amazing how the technology actually worked you can see in the x-ray below. At the bottom is where the infection was and then the gap at the top is where we moved the bone down and new bone had to grow. In this x-ray the bottom had not met yet, but it would.

I was thankful for gaucho and palazzo pants. Genell McClendon was sweet and made me 3 covers for the frame that I was able to wear with my skirts and dresses so that it was not so scary for the children at church. I was also thankful for a new bed. Workman's comp got me one of those Craftmatic beds and it made all the difference in being able to sleep with the frame on. However, I didn't have rubber sheets so I kept getting them caught and ripping them on the frame.

The other blessing of the frame is that I was able to return to ministry part time. My favorite memory of the frame was that I had mentioned wanting to decorate it for Christmas and Kelley Thomas came to church with some red garland for me to wrap around it. It wouldn't be until the following year and frame 2 that I actually wrapped Christmas lights around it. I was suppose to wear the frame for 9-12 months but we were thrilled when after 7 months the doctor said it was ready come off. We rejoiced and gave thanks. Once again I thought I was returning to some type of normalcy. But it was short lived. I'll talk about that tomorrow.