Hello Lefty- it is nice of you to register

Out of the hospital for 3 days and apparently, I have a social schedule. Thursday, my friend Kim took the train down from Ct. where she is visiting her family for a week. She was treated to the site of me in a wheelchair upon arrival to our hotel and then forced into duty helping me with my first solo dressing change. We carefully went through the whole procedure and studied my foot along the way; however, I was nervous that I would do anything wrong, so we went slowly and methodically. She and her friend, Leeanne, then took me out for a walk. It was so great to be outside and fortunately not too cold yesterday. We wrapped lefty in my mom's red scraf to keep it warm, but it really seemed to signal oversized load- note foot sticking out. See below.



Here we are on Park Ave


Other than that life in the Kelly hotel room has found a rhythm. We have played many games of Gin Rummy which are often filled with great laughter as my dad hums the Battle Hymn of Republic much to my mom's and my dismay. We have also doven into a puzzle, the whole thing reminds me of many a New Years Eve at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin in Lake Arrowhead when we used to challenge ourselved to ever more difficult puzzles while hoping to have snow fall so we could play try to kill ourselves on the tobaggon and then we would play huge games of Oh Hell. But I digress. All of these pursuits are passing time nicely. Plus, I have been lucky to have many visitors to help take some pressure off of my parents and break up the time. Yesterday, Tricia, today LT (formely LW). It is funny how much I focussed on 5 days of bed confinement, and yet it never really dawned on me that after bed rest would come--- more immobility. I am still supposed to keep my foot elevated at all times, and I really am pretty much relegated to the wheelchair for locomotion. Oh well, it was minus 3 outside yesterday with the windchill, I don't think I missed mush.


My mom and dad hard at work on the puzzle

In more exciting news yesterday, I was changing my dressing with more attention to my foot than the day before, when all of a sudden I touched my heel while applying the quaze and I FELT IT. Somehow, it registerred to me, OH, MY GOD, I CAN FEEL MYSELF TOUCHING MY FOOT. I exclaimed with great joy to my mom. I can feel my heel and then I suddenly broke into uncontrollable sobs. I knew that the doctor said she had been able to spare the nerves, but she had to completely strip them all of their covering, and really I hven't felt my heel normally sinse my last surgery so I had very low expectations for sensation to my heel. But somehow, that slow registering of the fact that I could feel my heel just overtook me. I know that it will be a long road back, but this - this is a major relief. SO, lefty thanks for registering with my brain.