Hello friends!
I received a very important phone call Tuesday morning. I picked up, and it was my new ankle specialist doctor. My heart sank, assuming that he was calling with bad news from the MRI I had taken on Good Friday. Instead, he told me that, according to the MRI, there is no sign of bone death in my talus, the central important ankle bone. This is a direct 180 degrees from what I’ve been hearing ever since the accident – that I had a 99-100% chance of bone death because the bone was so broken, dislocated, and cut off from blood supply.
I was absolutely shocked – so I asked him… “Are you sure??” He said that the MRI reader (radiologist?) agreed with him that things looked good – so good that he even questions whether my talus was actually broken! He said he believes there is little chance that I would need a major [pantalar] ankle fusion, possibly a less drastic surgery down the road.
Honestly… part of me is scared to let my hopes be reset so high – that I might have a healing, somewhat kinda normal ankle, instead of the shattered thing that I’ve been thinking I had. But I truly dare to think that this is the miracle that I along with so many others (thank you) have been praying for. And this week, especially after having some tough physical therapy on Wed., I’ve been working hard on putting more weight down on it and increasing my “walking” - still with some crutches' help, of course. And it’s responding. I loved walking in the grass for an hour today. I’m nervous to admit it – but I’m really excited. Thank you to so many of you who have walked alongside me during this. It’s not over – but God is making some beauty out of the ashes.
Your brother and limping partner along the road,
Todd
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Reasons to be thankful - and to pray.
Hey folks-
I just wanted to give a quick report of some really praise-worthy things that God has brought about this last week.
*/* My new Dr. recommended the use of Bone growth stimulator machine that straps onto the ankle at night for 30 min. and puts out a magnetic field that somehow stimulates stubborn bones to grow back. It sounded like a great hopeful prospect - and then my insurance refused to cover the charges. I didn't see how i would pay the $3600 cost - until the company interviewed me and decided to let me use the machine free of charge with a company write-off.
*/* It sounds like, if the business office person I talked to was correct, that the unpaid charges from my main surgeon that the insurance was trying to assign to me to pay has been negotiated from $15,000 down to around $7000, and the Dr's office is still appealing $6000 of it.
*/* */* And the best part this week - has been a kind of walking. I'm moving my ankle for the first time since Oct. really. I was unsure how much to do, how much can i handle, etc., and my parents challenged me on Monday that learning to walk is really my #1 job right now. So since Tues., I've been spending 2 hours every morning bending toes, loosening up the little movement I have, and then putting a little more and more weight on the foot - with my crutches' help, and with the foot in the new protective brace. It's slow progress, but it's progress. Slow heel to toe is actually working. It's very slow, but it's walking.
>>> Please thank God with me for the gift of this bone stimulator that I should receive on Fri., and ask God for its effectiveness in growing new bone where it may be dead.
>>> Please pray for good results in my MRI to be taken Good Friday morning, that it might show growing bone with blood flow and not a dead shell of a bone.
>>> Please pray that my insurance would recognize these surgery charges as fair and negotiate a fair payment that would not leave me with a large debt.
>>> Please pray that my foot will continue to gain movement and strength, and that I would soon fully walk on it... in God's timing.
God's Word has graciously spoken to me this week. I'm commanded to be strong and courageous - not because "I've got a lot more living to do," but because God has his purposes and plans to accomplish through my life. (Joshua 1:6) He is with me, and He will bring it to being. I'm also commanded to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Mark 12:30) How can I do that if I don't trust Him with my life? I realized that, at this point, I must love Him by trusting Him.
Love you guys. Looking forward to seeing many of you when we celebrate His resurrection Easter Sunday.
Peace of Christ - Todd
I just wanted to give a quick report of some really praise-worthy things that God has brought about this last week.
*/* My new Dr. recommended the use of Bone growth stimulator machine that straps onto the ankle at night for 30 min. and puts out a magnetic field that somehow stimulates stubborn bones to grow back. It sounded like a great hopeful prospect - and then my insurance refused to cover the charges. I didn't see how i would pay the $3600 cost - until the company interviewed me and decided to let me use the machine free of charge with a company write-off.
*/* It sounds like, if the business office person I talked to was correct, that the unpaid charges from my main surgeon that the insurance was trying to assign to me to pay has been negotiated from $15,000 down to around $7000, and the Dr's office is still appealing $6000 of it.
*/* */* And the best part this week - has been a kind of walking. I'm moving my ankle for the first time since Oct. really. I was unsure how much to do, how much can i handle, etc., and my parents challenged me on Monday that learning to walk is really my #1 job right now. So since Tues., I've been spending 2 hours every morning bending toes, loosening up the little movement I have, and then putting a little more and more weight on the foot - with my crutches' help, and with the foot in the new protective brace. It's slow progress, but it's progress. Slow heel to toe is actually working. It's very slow, but it's walking.
>>> Please thank God with me for the gift of this bone stimulator that I should receive on Fri., and ask God for its effectiveness in growing new bone where it may be dead.
>>> Please pray for good results in my MRI to be taken Good Friday morning, that it might show growing bone with blood flow and not a dead shell of a bone.
>>> Please pray that my insurance would recognize these surgery charges as fair and negotiate a fair payment that would not leave me with a large debt.
>>> Please pray that my foot will continue to gain movement and strength, and that I would soon fully walk on it... in God's timing.
God's Word has graciously spoken to me this week. I'm commanded to be strong and courageous - not because "I've got a lot more living to do," but because God has his purposes and plans to accomplish through my life. (Joshua 1:6) He is with me, and He will bring it to being. I'm also commanded to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Mark 12:30) How can I do that if I don't trust Him with my life? I realized that, at this point, I must love Him by trusting Him.
Love you guys. Looking forward to seeing many of you when we celebrate His resurrection Easter Sunday.
Peace of Christ - Todd
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Some good news!
Hello, blogging faithful ones!
Yes, I know - I am apparently CLEARLY not one of those people, the chosen ones. I didn't post ANYTHING here all March long. That's almost as bad as when my roommate and I decided not to wash any dishes for the month of April, about 10 years ago. So now it's April 1 - and I'm back. Terrible reason for my malaise - I spent 2 weeks in the suburbs in March, attending my home church, and so I just never emailed them any updates since I was right there. And so I never blogged either. Ok, enough apologies. Hopefully nobody hates me; THANK YOU for even checking in here. Your concern and friendship and prayers really mean THE WORLD to me at this time. I will hopefully have even more to say here soon. God has brought some hopeful things into being. He's good at that.
From Mar. 28.
Hey friends - I had some cautiously really good news this week that I wanted to share with you.
I went to my main dr. this Mon., expecting to hear very little new, more of the same about the terrible injury. Instead, my dr. was very surprised that I have had very little pain and haven't needed pain meds for weeks. [Thanks be to GOD!] He said the x-ray showed possibilities that the bone is surprisingly getting some blood supply and may not fully die. And therefore he wants me to get out of the big boot cast and carefully practice walking more and more, moving up to 100% weight! I was shocked.
I also went to my 2nd opinion on Fri., a foot/ankle specialist with a big Orthopedic group in the suburbs. He was a great listener and very knowledgeable - for maybe 45 min. he met with us and cautiously echoed some of these statements. He supplied me with a supportive brace to use for *practice* walking, and he took a sort of calm, natural approach. He said we should gently see what the ankle can do for the next 6-9-12 months and not rush any surgery. This means waiting til after my insurance runs out in July... but he said it's the only way to know how the ankle will heal.
So, ~shock~ i'm gonna be practicing "walking," seeing what the ankle can do slowly. I so appreciate your prayers as I try to carefully discern answers to these questions. Looking forward to hopefully sharing the feast of Easter with you all -
Todd
I appreciate your prayers!!!
On Mar 21, 2009, I wrote to my church:
Hello my dear friends -
These last 2 weeks, it was so great to be able to see all of you again and feel connected again on a face to face level. I hope to be able to be part of LOV on Sunday more in the future, now that i'm driving and a little less dependent - even if it means coming in on Sat. and sleeping on Holsclaws' futon... :)
* Thank you for praising God with me for continuing recovery. It's really slow, but at least I'm much more mobile now, and seeing my toes gain some necessary movement and strength.
* Please ask God with me -
- to speak to us at my main Dr.'s appointment this Monday. This is probably when they have to lay down whether I need to have a fused, immovable ankle, or whether there is hope for a less drastic treatment.
- to guide us at my 2nd opinion at a major western suburb Ortho clinic, Fri. 3/27. The foot/ankle specialist looks very experienced and promising. I'm really excited to hear from someone else. We're coming in with lots of questions, plus hopes to be able to walk normally and live a reasonably active life.
- to move mightily in my Insurance situation. They have covered me for SO much and have spent a lot of money on me. Still, it looks like there is $14,000 that they've assigned to me to pay just from the 6 surgeries from my main surgeon, and there's more coming in. We are appealing this, but we need WISDOM and good counsel to know how to do what is important and to not end up in a financial quandry.
* Please pray against fear. It's easy to have thoughts that "I may never walk again," or that the limits will be unbearable because I'm growing weary of life on crutches and not being able to work and do so many things. I also face fear about the mounting claims, since so much insurance stuff is simply unknown to us. But we know that after we do all that we can do humanly speaking, we have a sovereign God who is working for our good and for His purposes in us. I need to keep my mind stayed on this, not on the easily frightening unknown.
Thank you for standing beside me in many encouraging ways, big and small, through this. I have been blessed by so many of you. Hope to see you again soon - -
Todd
Hello my dear friends -
These last 2 weeks, it was so great to be able to see all of you again and feel connected again on a face to face level. I hope to be able to be part of LOV on Sunday more in the future, now that i'm driving and a little less dependent - even if it means coming in on Sat. and sleeping on Holsclaws' futon... :)
* Thank you for praising God with me for continuing recovery. It's really slow, but at least I'm much more mobile now, and seeing my toes gain some necessary movement and strength.
* Please ask God with me -
- to speak to us at my main Dr.'s appointment this Monday. This is probably when they have to lay down whether I need to have a fused, immovable ankle, or whether there is hope for a less drastic treatment.
- to guide us at my 2nd opinion at a major western suburb Ortho clinic, Fri. 3/27. The foot/ankle specialist looks very experienced and promising. I'm really excited to hear from someone else. We're coming in with lots of questions, plus hopes to be able to walk normally and live a reasonably active life.
- to move mightily in my Insurance situation. They have covered me for SO much and have spent a lot of money on me. Still, it looks like there is $14,000 that they've assigned to me to pay just from the 6 surgeries from my main surgeon, and there's more coming in. We are appealing this, but we need WISDOM and good counsel to know how to do what is important and to not end up in a financial quandry.
* Please pray against fear. It's easy to have thoughts that "I may never walk again," or that the limits will be unbearable because I'm growing weary of life on crutches and not being able to work and do so many things. I also face fear about the mounting claims, since so much insurance stuff is simply unknown to us. But we know that after we do all that we can do humanly speaking, we have a sovereign God who is working for our good and for His purposes in us. I need to keep my mind stayed on this, not on the easily frightening unknown.
Thank you for standing beside me in many encouraging ways, big and small, through this. I have been blessed by so many of you. Hope to see you again soon - -
Todd
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)