Hello!
After
my sad tale last time of being rushed to the ER and strokes right after the New
Year, I wanted to let you know that I am still breathing on this end. A friend
and my sweet Auntie Mae (my mother's younger sister and last sibling left)
though have passed away since. They are dearly missed.
Outside
my bedroom window, there is a riot of color that spring can only do. The
crocus, daffodils, and forsythias at my house had barely begun to fade when the
cherry, pear, crabapple, and redbud trees & bushes began blooming their
pinks, whites, and purple. As if not to be undone, the violets, wisteria,
azaleas, lilacs, and dogwoods are adding more shades of color and perfuming the
air. It makes one want to sing, kick up their heels, and dance for joy. Each
day, I look out my bedroom windows hating to be kept inside.
The
beginning of February, I had a zoom call with the orthopedist specialist and
finally after nine months found out what was going on inside my hip. As soon as
he saw my x-rays, the specialist immediately knew what was wrong- so much for
all the specialists and surgeons at Vanderbilt. He pulled up my x-rays and
MRI's showing where I have severe deterioration in my hip bone, at my spine
that pinches the nerves causing the excruciating pain. The doctor said that for
me surgery was the last thing he wanted to do as with my RA and hemophilia it
makes things a lot more difficult to fix. He was impressed that I was doing as
good as I was and advised me to continue to strengthen my hip muscles in order
to stay up on my feet.
After
more than a month, I had slowly gotten to where I could walk on my own and was
able to begin watering my plants and washing dishes again. What bliss! The
horrible pain was under control; I was exercising and feeling like myself. Over
a week ago, Mon morning, I had for the first time walked out my short driveway
to check the mail. I was only taking a pain med at night and was free of
icepacks.
The
next day, Tues, I had my first physical therapy session and things quickly went
from bad to worse. I wanted to focus on getting my upper body strength back. I
told the physical therapist what set my hip pain off, but she kept insisting on
me doing different exercises with my legs and feet to evaluate what I could and
could not do. Before she left, I had to take Tylenol and get icepacks. I knew
then I was in trouble.
The
next four days and nights (where I was only able to get four hours of restless
sleep) was a haze of pain trying to exist in my recliner, popping pain pills,
living with icepacks, and shuffling around on my walker from the bed to the
recliner and bathroom. I totally crashed, so now once more, like so many times
before these past months, I am slowly fighting to get back up on my feet.
Needless to say, we canceled physical therapy- the girl was planning on coming
back that Thurs.
My
laid-back son, Dwight, hit the roof. From having multiple internal bleeds over
the years, he knows how sensitive it is when nerves are involved and how slow
the process is when they get inflamed. Just lifting my hands/arms up hurts my
hip when it is bad, so all exercises were immediately stopped. Thankfully, my
pain is back under control now as I work to be able to put weight back on my
left side again. As soon as my hip feels sore, I have to slow back down and
rest. Dwight is keeping an eagle eye on me and hovering to make sure I don’t
overdo it as I battle through the depression of having to be waited on hand and
foot, and seeing my plans of being able, by now, to be walking around outside
go up in smoke. Instead, I have to focus on my blessings and what I can do.
When
I was up and around, Dwight was able to get back to working on his pocketknives.
He also got the brainstorm (Are we related or what?) of turning the smallest
back room in our house into a place where he could create his knives. It would
save his ankles, which he is having more trouble with, walking back and forth
down to his shop and he could work on his knives year- round as his shop has no
heat, so he’s not able to work down there on cold winter days. So, my previous
sew/ironing room has been emptied out and Dwight made it where he can work on
the machines sitting down (at the shop, he had to stand up) and built a low
worktable. Now Dwight can sit in an office chair and move back and forth from
his machines to his table.
The
past months since Dawn and Randy returned back to the Philippines, in November,
has been very dry. They have had to carry all their water in and do their
laundry by hand at a neighboring well as their well went dry. They have finally
had a couple good rains but not enough yet to fill up their well. This adds to
their workload each day in the hot humid climate. Dawn also had another bout
with pneumonia as well but thankfully is doing much better and has gained her
strength back. Their church and children services at their house and up on the
mountain is continuing to grow. The Lord is helping them make new friends as
they take people to the hospital and through Dawn’s medical help each week.
They are finishing up their third year of missionary work in the Philippines.
We are hoping they can come back this summer.
I
am truly grateful for all the prayer support over the past ten months since I
injured my hip, and my life suddenly changed overnight. I have much to be
thankful for this Easter season. If we
can get dressed, comb our hair, and walk, we are blessed. Walking out on the
front porch and breathing in the warm spring air is an extra bonus. No matter
what situation we may find ourselves in, we can still rejoice in the hope and
resurrection of our Lord. As all of nature puts on a breathtaking display for
Easter here in the TN Mountains, we too once again celebrate a risen and alive
Savior. What a blessed hope. He is not
here. He is Risen!!!
Have
a blessed Easter season.
Until
next time~
Dorcas
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