HOME IS WHERE THE TRUCK IS: February 2019

Thursday, February 28, 2019

I can do all things...

I just painted my nails. Ahhhhh.. My world is finally starting to slowly right itself.

Mark got "home" from the hospital on Tuesday evening. We will have to do home health care twice a week to change this sponges on his wound vac and then once a week we will go to the doctor's office to have it changed. I really have to say and I think Mark will agree that the dressing changes are the worst part of this whole thing. I have debated posting a pic of his foot (and he doesn't care if I do) but I decided not to because some people just do not want to see that, and that's cool. I am still trying to get used to seeing his new foot so I get it. But, I can do all things..

Wound Vac changes involve the clear sticky film being peeled off his foot and then having the sponge removed from the vacuum and then the sponge packing pulled out of the "toe hole" and then having his foot and toe hole cleaned and repacked. The whole thing only takes 15-20 minutes but its horrible. The first Doctor to change the dressing told Mark that it would be excruciating the first time but promised him that each time would get easier because each time it would be a couple more days healed. He has had three dressing changes so far and so far, each one has been minimally but noticeably relatively less painful. It's still just awful though. However, he can do all things..

The whole idea of the wound vac is pretty cool the way it heals from the inside. I pray that it works the way it supposed to or it could mean the loss of his foot. Both Doctors and the Nurse that have changed it are very encouraged by the pink tissue and the flow of blood that they say. So, yay?
I did get to look in the " toe hole" yesterday and it was ....pink and bloody. I actually could see a little bit of the foot bone and that was slightly off putting but I am learning a lot and want to be able to best take care of my husband. Like I said, I can do all things..

To be honest, he is pretty down. He is in pain and is frustrated at his lack of mobility and despite me telling him I am figuring things out, worried about our financial status and work status. I know he worries about me not sleeping and not eating but I try really hard to keep up a brave face in front of him. Truth is, this is stressful. Like...really really stressful on so many levels. We can do all things..

We did get some good news from work that since he will be out 5-6 more weeks they can give him a medical release from his truck lease with no penalty. Then when he is released to go back to work we will just get a new truck. Downside is Andrew and I have to drive down there (Greer, SC) Saturday to clean out the truck and that is going to be a chore. We can do all things...

It will be sad but I am super excited to get to spend some time with my mini me, Andrew. He is doing great in trucking school and really likes it. I could not be more proud of him and am so excited to see him. It still freaks me out to think of him driving one of those huge tractor/trailers! He can do all things..

Adam is doing well in Cullowhee. He is working full time and will be attending a community college in the fall to take a one year course to become and HVAC tech . He is learning A LOT of "adulty" things lately and I am so proud of him. He had an accident last weekend and had soley been the one to handle the insurance company, finance company and body shop. It's all about growing up and he is doing a bang up job. Hate that his car is totalled, but so thankful he is ok. The car is totaled so we still have to figure out how to get him another car. Reminding myself, I can do all things...and so can Adam.

Our son Tyler also just landed a sweet new job at a Toyota Dealership in Pueblo. He is an auto technician there. His lovely wife also got a job at a new salon and she starts next week. We are so proud of how hard they are working to better their lives.

So, in small little steps things are improving. I do have to say that sweet, sweet friends flew in on Angel wings and very lovingly paid for two weeks of hotel for us, so that takes some pressure off for a bit for me to figure things out. We will never be able to thank them enough. Currently trying to find a cheaper rental car since we have to have wheels and this one is pricey. Really wishing we had our own car right now! We have some healthy groceries (thanks to another amazing friend) so we are just hanging out, healing and working on life changes and trying to be patient with all of this and reminding ourselves that we can do all things...

Thanks for reading. Thanks for praying. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts. We need it!

Much love to all.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin....AKA the most stressful my life has ever been

Y'all. I am mentally and physically exhausted. We never saw this coming and it hit like a freight train.

Let me back track several months. Mark had what he thought was a toe nail fungus on his left big toe. We bought some over the counter stuff and treated it but it was not working very fast. In November when Mark had a check up with his vascular doctor, she said he needed to see a podiatrist or his primary care doctor for some oral meds. Well, he could not get in to see them soon enough and so we went back out on the road and kept treating with over the counter stuff. Of course it kept giving him problems but he kept pushing through.

Fast forward to January. After a shower one night Mark noticed his toe " leaking". He knew he had an appointment with his vascular doctor in February so he just babied it along with peroxide and that ointment stuff that for the life of me I cannot think of the name. It seemed to be getting a little better so we were not very concerned.

Fast forward to 2/11/19 when Mark had his appointment with his doctor. She takes one look at his toe and says " this is not good, not good at all." Due to the lack of circulation in his foot the toe got infected and she told us without the bypass surgery in his thigh she was not sure the toe would heal. She cut his toe open and took out as much infection as she could in the office and put him on a strong course of antibiotics. She scheduled an appointment for the following Tuesday. The hospital called that afternoon and scheduled Mark's surgery for the 21st.

We took a quick load to Florida (where the weather was glorious even though I was sick) and made it back here Monday afternoon where we checked into our efficiency hotel. She told Mark to plan to be out a week. So we rented a car and this hotel for ten nights.

At his appointment on Tuesday she told him that she would probably have to take the top part of his toe, but that it would still just be a week out of work. If only that is what happened.

I'll spare you the details of the drama that went on just to get him even in to the operating room because our insurance is horrible.

On Thursday they took him back at 11am but his surgery did not start until 130 or so. His doctor finally came to talk to me ar 6pm-ish. She told me that they ended up having to take the whole toe because the infection was so bad. She said that he did fine in surgery but the blood flow to his foot was not what they wanted it to be so she put on a wound vac instead of stitches. She said that he was not out of the woods and could still lose his foot but she was hoping that she did enough and the wound vac would ward off any infection and help the wound heal faster.

I finally got to see him around 830 when they brought him to his room. He was still mostly doped out and for that I was thankful. The nurse asked me if I wanted to see his foot and I said yes, but I was not prepared. I nearly fainted. It was not gross or gory or anything but just the site of his forever altered foot was too much for me to take at that moment. It was and still is strange to look at. I took a picture of it when he was sleeping so I could practice looking at it and not show any emotion.He still had no idea what was going on and asked me three times what happened with his toe. I stayed overnight in the hospital with him and got no sleep at all. Friday morning he told me his foot hurt. I asked him if he knew why. He said ' Did she have to take part of my toe?" I told him no. They had to take the whole thing. He uttered a curse word and then said " well that sucks". Friday afternoon we found out that his one week off of work was more likely going to be 5-6 weeks.

Initiate panic. We were prepared for one week off. But since this became way more than what we thought there is nothing going according to plan. So, still trying to figure out what happens next. We have the hotel room until 3/1 and the car until 3/2. No idea what happens after that.

Then on Saturday as I was talking to Adam on the phone he got into a car accident . He is fine, but it was terrifying. The car is not ok. So in addition to figuring out where we will be for five to six weeks , and what we will drive, now have to figure out how to pay the deductible for Adam's car.

So, its been stressful to say the least. Hopefully over the next day or so I'll be able to figure the next pieces out and then maybe I will be able to sleep.

Appreciate continued prayers and well wishes. We have a long road to travel.