Well, hello! Greetings from the cold and blustery farm, many miles west of most of you. I hope that all of you are doing well and enjoying anticipating the advent of our Savior this Christmas time.
I wanted to share some of the things that have happened since I emailed last from the hospital. I was very happy to finally go home this Tuesday after a week there.
It has been… different, and honestly, a little difficult with a lot of ups and downs. I was starting to feel a lot stronger and trying to exercise and be a little active – before these surgeries. But there's something more difficult about having a vacuum attached to your body with a cord and carrying around a machine with you. I'm a lot more tired and sedentary, and it's more painful. But the doctors believe that the foot is in a better place now, so I guess these are changes that have to take place for the sake of getting better.
The vacuum is something I'm getting used to. It sucks fluids out of my ankle that get in the way of healing. It runs for 5 minutes and then rests for 2. When it comes on, it sounds like a dirt bike. Or a 4-wheeler. It's actually kind of a friendly conversation throughout the day. I guess I'm less excited about that conversation at night.
God has provided some more big things. We had a REALLY tough time finding a home care nurse to change my vacuum since we live in the boondocks, and very few people claim our area as territory. But He provided a nurse just in time for my first vacuum change – yesterday morning. This was my most painful moment that I've had throughout the whole journey. Honestly, I hadn't dealt with bad, BAD pain at all – until this.
My nurse was a really fast, caffeinated woman named Karen. She had done a lot of vacuums, but had never seen a "fixator" like mine, the titanium jungle gym around my foot. I was pretty nervous about a super fast woman ripping shrink wrap and a sponge off my wounded foot. It was… a well-founded nervousness. Because it had been a week since the doctors changed the vacuum, it was sticking to the wound pretty bad. I bit my finger while she worked at it. Finally, we had success birthed out of adversity. The bare foot looks VERY different now, swollen and with the skin graft removed. (I'll try to get some updated shots on Facebook tomorrow.) I'm not sure if the "really cool scar" that Tackett thought I'd have will still look like it did. I wish I had a camera with me then, but I was more concerned about survival. She was shocked that I was on the "wimpy" pain medicine that I was on, and told me I needed one that could do the job. I've slowly realized she's right, after a rough day today proved it.
Anyway, it's getting late and this letter's getting long. I thank all of you who have prayed for me. I can't find the words to tell you how much I've been lifted up by your emails, calls, visits, promises of visits, words of encouragement, staying in touch, and your intercession. I really miss seeing you all. I've only been able to attend church on 2 Sundays over the last 2 months. And both pastors didn't cry at all in their sermons, which really kind of threw me for a loop, more than expected. I also thank the LOV kids for their Christmas cards that they sent, with great drawings and thoughtful messages and extra-cool spellings.
If you would, I appreciate your prayers for
* pain tolerance
* that the healing process would move forward
* that I'd be able to be active and exercising
* that I'd use my time and my days wisely, redemptively, for God's purposes, even if I have less usable time
* and that the Holy Spirit would help me to truly abide in Him now, and be able to succinctly and clearly point people I meet to Christ and His power, rather than just be vaguely thankful and expectedly nice.
I'll continue lifting you up, and I hope to see you soon.
Love and peace in Christ,
Todd
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