Reflections on Pain and other stuff

Somehow in the craziness of pain, change, chaos and pain medication honor is sometimes hard to grasp. What is honor and right for one, may not be the path another chooses.

I ended up getting surgery on my ankle almost 6 weeks ago now. To make a long story short, I went to a new doctor who stated that even if I'd been treated poorly (i.e. no cast, no proper elevation and all the other stuff you do for a grade 3 sprain) that I should be doing much better than I had been. Because I wasn't making progress with the amount of time that passed, he recommended surgery. He thought he would need to put in an anchor. It ended up being two.

Well, this is the upswing, so it's good. I'm actually on my 3rd cast now, which gets to come off for examination this coming Tuesday, May 16th. The doctor wouldn't commit what kind of cast I'm going to end up with after that. Whether it will be another fiberglass or a walking cast belted on.

During all of this time, I've been in multiple states of pain and medication with doctors orders to stay off my feet with my left ankle elevated. Throughout this time, my pregnant wife and children have been hero's. Heather was under orders to stay off her feet, due to heavy premature contractions. With a due date of May 15th things have been crazy. My two oldest have had a character growing time, helping out both parents, above and beyond. And then two to three weeks before the new baby was born, Heather started experiencing elevated blood pressure, and the doctor told her to stop shopping or going out and to stay off her feet. In the midst of all this, our home was under repair for the frozen pipes & water damage that occurred Thanksgiving night and the morning after. (That repair is still going on.)

With two parents down my kids were a huge help. But we had a huge lesson in community also. Family, friends and Our church really have pulled us through. Our children performed a miraculous effort of cleaning house, helping with meals and laundry. Then women from our church brought us meals, deserts and friendship. Other family members took my mother-in-law during this time. My mom came out and shopped for us multiple times, people from our small group have been helping out with some of my spring projects to remove hazards from the yard.

Then, the doctor started looking at inducing Heather and was reiterating on a weekly basis that she needed to stay off her feet. She tried explaining to him, how "nigh on impossible" this was for her, with my foot up and being on pain meds and 4 kids at home already. Well, the Kara Amelie decided to come May 2nd, 2006, two days before the Doctors 2nd induce date. We had a wheelchair train into the Labor and Delivery area at Crittenton, much to the amusement of the nurses. The nurses and doctors were fabulous. She was born a beautiful 7lb, 6oz and 20 inch long baby, and Heather's blood pressure went back to normal. Family members and friends carried us back and forth to the hospital (I haven't been able to drive due to the pain medication I'm on containing narcotics.)

Well, it's now time for the work on our home to complete and they are moving us out for a week starting Monday morning.

The stuff that goes on here is not a statement of how our family has met a challenge, but the amazing contributions of time, energy and love of our family, friends and church towards us is a testament of real community. It's something I can write of with deep gratitude, but can't even begin to express or repay how our lives have been touched with peoples and God's love and grace.