Crutch Life

It's been a week and two days since my melanoma surgery. I've been on crutches since then to get around when I'm not laid up on the couch. Of course the doctor keeps telling me to keep off my foot and keep it elevated. So super easy to do-go ahead and tell my 2 year old she can't have some applesauce- she'll cut you. I have a ton of help with my Mom and James home from work but I do still need to do basic things like go to the bathroom, eat at the table and take care of the kids when James has to leave the homestead for provisions. In the week since I went in for my bleed I've only fallen twice trying to take care of the tiny Fox. I've stumbled a few dozen times getting up in the middle of the night to go pump or try to soothe a baby. Bee's only banged it a couple times and Fox only threw up on my cast once. All in all I think we did dang good.

Life is still hard. Real hard. Only in the last day have I been able to not take narcotics to handle the pain. It drives me crazy to be drug dependant and it makes me sleepy. Because I'm so alert with having a newborn already. I've left the house exactly once because its just too draining and hard. I had to have my mom over to help me do laundry while James was doing a tiling project because I can't carry the baskets or put things in drawers. My good leg gets shaky and tired in the time it takes me to crutch from the couch to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. So let's forget about fixing my hair or putting on more than powder and chapstick. The palms of my hands and my back are super tender. I lean on the side of the counter to balance when I wash a few bottles or fix a bagel. I tuck anything I need in the waistband of my yoga pants- bottles, my travel coffee mug, my phone, my baby. We watch Cinderella. A. LOT. We let Bee pile toys on the coffee table and let mail sit in piles on the island. We accept every single offer for dinner and are so grateful for the food we have received. I have infinitely more respect and admiration for people with long term disabilities. It's no easy road.

James, tiny Fox and I headed to the doctor for my follow up yesterday. I was super nervous. I don't like anyone going near my foot and I was pretty confident the doctor would want to touch it. I did take some pain meds in anticipation and it was a good idea.

They did indeed want to touch my foot. Sigh. They cut off my soft cast and all the wound dressing. The actual dressing was soaked in blood so the times that I had fallen my wound had bled some. The graft looked great and to my great relief I do not need a skin graft from my thigh. The MA (the one I like) cleaned me up and redressed the wound. They put on another soft cast for another week and told me to expect to get it put back on again at my next appointment. So I should be in the soft cast for a total of about 3 weeks if everything looks good. If anyone is wondering what the bottom of my foot looks like I have pictures that I'll post all together when its healed. They're gross though. I couldn't look at the first one for a couple days.

I also decided that we needed to rent a knee walker to help me get around a little better. Insurance doesn't cover them but we decided to the rental of one of justified. As you can see it's big and bulky. It helps me get around the large open area of our house nicely. It's really zippy and I'm glad it has brakes on it. Its too bulky for me to drive into the kids room over the carpet because I can't turn it around. I'm now using a hybrid of both but it at least gives me the ability to put my leg up on something to do some dishes and one hand free to carry a bottle. I don't think it will allow me to get out of the house more quite yet because I don't know how I would be able to get it in the trunk then hop to the front of the car then hop back to get it out by myself. We'll see though!

James is headed back to work tonight for a week- clutching my pearls I'm nervous about the lose of my medical aid, maid and chef. *But* My stepmom arrives from Tennessee this afternoon so it's the changing of the guard! Bee and Fox will be so happy to be showered with love from their Grandma and I will be so happy to have some help. Even if it means my Dad will slowly starve while she's gone.