How are we doing?

Im sure that many of you are wondering how John and myself are doing. We have kind of been silent on the blog for the past month. The main reason for that is because there haven't been many new things to keep you all updated on. In the past couple of weeks though there have been a couple of changes and some new and exciting things that we have been able to accomplish. 

John has been very active this last month. This month he has tried bi-cycling, four-wheelers, dirt bikes,volleyball,  and trampolines. He has done phenomenally with all of these new things. 

To be completely honest with you I have never seen someone so determined to just continue to live a "normal" life and move forward daily. John has also been instrumental in doing renovations in our home along with my amazing father-in-laws help. We are nearing the finish line with our main living area and are so excited with the results. 

The one thing we have been able to do over the past month was attend "The Walking School". This is a program where amputees can come together and learn how to better use their prosthetics for daily life or activities. It was such an encouragement to us to meet some fellow amputees and learn how to strengthen John's residual limb. They have "The Walking School" every few months and the next one is in July. We are very much looking forward to attending again. 

It's amazing to me how much there is to learn about this world of prosthetics that we have been thrust into. I must say though that we have really enjoyed learning more about it and its extremely interesting. The technology is phenomenal and constantly moving forward. 

We just had a prosthetic appointment yesterday to make some adjustments to the inside of his socket because his limb has shrunk significantly (which is totally normal and expected).  They built of some padding on the inside and said the next time we have that done we will be ready for a completely new socket. The projected time frame for that is in a few months. They seem to be very pleased with his progress. 

We have truly been blessed by this life that God has chosen for us. 

Im sure some people are wondering why we have been so positive throughout these past eight months. Here is my explanation. As terrible as this may seem, it has truly been the best thing for our lives. God knew we needed exactly this for us to move forward in His will. We have never been so happy, in love, blessed, and fulfilled. I am firmly believe that we still wouldn't be if God had not brought this trial into our lives. 

We are so thankful for all the love and support you have shown to us! If you have any questions ever please feel free to message us and we will do our best to answer them. 

When God Provides

When God Provides.

This week John and I wanted to say "Thank You" to some wonderful Foundations that have been so helpful to us in this difficult time. When faced with this kind of situation you can never be prepared. You find yourself terrified of where you will stay while your spouse is in the hospital, how are you going to pay for lodging, food, gasoline, the things that are needed while away from home. 

I will have to say that it was slightly foolish of me to even be scared of God not providing for me. Within two weeks of being in the hospital God provided help through some wonderful Organizations.

    The first one that I want to talk about is the Hubble Foundation. This Foundation was founded by Dr. Bridgette Hester. She started the foundation in honor of  her husband Jonce Hubble, who was killed in a tower failure. She is one of the kindest human beings that I have ever had the pleasure of talking to. She got in touch with me during the first week of John's hospital stay. She sent us a check to help with the daily needs and to save some for any needs that may arise. Although the donation was wonderful, her personal investment and interest was what made the biggest impact on me. John and I called to thank her the other night and spent close to a half hour on the phone with her. We had a wonderful conversation and she continues to be an encouragement and a blessing to us in so many ways! We are looking forward to being a help to her in any way that we can. 

The next Foundation that reached out to us is the Tower Family Foundation. They are a much larger foundation working with most all the major cellular companies. They have an application that you fill out and it asks about what kind of injuries has the worker incurred and then they speak to the employer and the doctors to insure that it isn't a fraud. They then send the application to the board and decide if they will send you a check. They will send up to 10,000 dollars depending on the severity of the injuries. This money is to help with the daily expenses and bills during the time before workers compensation kicks in. Along with the check that they sent us the founder sent a hand written letter saying that himself and the other members of the board were praying for John and myself. What an encouragement and blessing to know that people from all over the world are praying for you. 

The last place I want to touch on is the Burn Council. This non-profit works with  St. Joseph Hospital to help family members of patients in the Burn Unit. They offer in-house lodging for family members of patients that will be spending an unknown amount of time in the Unit. I was able to stay there for a month and not have to worry about where I would be staying at night. It is fully equipped with 4 bedrooms with a keypad on each room, a common bathroom, a kitchen, washer, dryer, and a full living room. Also it has a computer incase you  don't have a way to keep in contact with people. I stayed there for a full month! It was beyond a blessing. They also left another room open for John's parents for when they came out and stayed with me. 

Its amazing to me that God has taken such good care of us. He has beyond provided for us and shown us time and again that He loves us even when we are our most unloveable. He has continued to make sure that we are taken care of and showing us His love daily. He has used His people to show us that nothing is impossible and we should never doubt that He has our best interest at heart. 

I would also like to give a little personal update about John and myself. We are doing extremely well! His phantom pain is subsiding for the most part, which is a huge blessing! He has been wearing his new prosthetic leg for about a month and a half and he is getting around with no problems!! He absolutely amazes me every single day! We have talked at length about me working and we both feel that returning to work isn't something I should be doing. He still needs a driver because of his prosthetic. So I am his chauffeur for work and any doctor appointments or prosthetic appointments. Please continue to pray for us as he learns to drive with his prothesis. I am sure that he will excel with little to no problems, but prayer doesn't hurt anything! 

Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support for us! We cannot begin to express our love for you all! We hope that our life is an example of God's love! If anyone ever needs to talk or needs some encouragement please feel free to message me.

I would love to help or be of some encouragement. If nothing else I will be able to tell you that with complete certainty that God loves you!

Questions & Answers

       

Questions & Answers

This week we decided to answer some questions that you all may have about having a prosthetic or using one. We had some very good questions come in and we are very happy to answer them for you as best we can. 

The first question we had was: "Will John be able to run and goof off like he used to?"

The answer to that is absolutely yes. While things may be more complicated and take a little longer to master John will most definitely be able to run and play. He actually has been able to jog for short distances already. The most important thing about him learning to jog and run is not over working his residual limb. Basically he needs to build his tolerance on the limb so he can jog/run farther. At the moment the limb will become sore very quickly, but it is awesome to see progress! 

The next question we had was: Will the prosthesis change as you get more mobile and will you need different types of feet in order to run climb etc.?

The answer to this question is yes. The foot that John has right now enables him to walk and run. The only issue with the running is that the foot is not specifically designed for long distance running. So this foot will not serve him best for that specific need. Eventually we will work with our practitioner to get a running blade. As far as other activities such as lawn care, driving, ramps, small hills etc... John is able to accomplish those with his foot he has now. 

The next question we had was: "What has been the hardest part about adjusting to life with a prosthetic?" 

This question was directed to John and his answer was learning to drive and having to wear shorts basically all the time. The reason driving is difficult is because you don't have the movement/control of your ankle to use the gas pedal or brakes. This means all movement is done with the knee. It is basically learning to drive a completely knew way. The shorts are obviously an inconvenience at the current moment because it is winter and also it is nice to have a variety of options. You may be wondering, "Why are you wearing shorts?". The answer to that is because there are so many adjustments needing to be made during the day. This requires access to the entire thigh area and is easier done in shorts than pants. Wearing pants requires finding a bathroom and basically disrobing to make adjustments, which isn't as practical. We are in the process of getting some pants altered with zippers so John can wear jeans if he wants. 

Another question asked was: "How often does the prosthetic come up in the typical married couple teasing each other?"

This question is a little difficult to answer because I believe every couple is completely different and each amputee is different. There is some teasing that does occur between John and myself. Also just some things that I think are pretty funny getting used to. Like walking into the living room and just seeing a leg freestanding. It takes you completely off guard and freaks you out, because no one expects to just see a leg standing somewhere. John and myself try to keep a pretty positive and upbeat attitude about the whole process. I must stress the issue that I try to be very conscious about Johns feelings, because this is in fact him losing his leg and it isn't always fun and upbeat. 

The last question was asked while were out and about the other day and an elderly gentleman approached us. He proceeded to ask how John felt about the mechanical look of his leg and if he liked the appearance of it. He then stated, "The reason I'm asking is because I am an amputee myself and I have preferred the more natural looking prosthesis." He showed us his leg and why he liked the look of it. It seemed to help him mentally with the way his brain perceived his leg and with the coping process of limb loss. All that to say we were more than happy to meet another amputee and chat for a while. 

The main reason I bring this up is because we would love to answer anyones questions. If you see us out and about don't be afraid to ask a question about John's leg. We would be happy to chat with you anytime. 

The last thing I want to add on here is John had an appointment on Friday and it went extremely well! They basically told John he doesn't need to come back in unless he starts having issues. They were very pleased with his progress. They also want him to come back to meet some other people because they believe John will be an encouragement to others with the progress he has made. 

Also don't forget John's benefit this Saturday. If you can make it out that would be great! The information for the benefit is on my Facebook page! 

Thank you so much for your love and prayers! 

Our Family has Grown by One Foot!

As silly as the title is our family truly has grown by one foot! John had his second fitting on Monday which went really well! His parents were able to be with us so it was a very emotional experience! Seeing him walk for the first time, there are no words to describe that feeling! 

Monday was the final fitting before they made the prosthetic in carbon fiber. We finished up Monday and they said they would have the socket finished by Friday. The waiting was the hardest part!! But eventually Friday came around! We were very excited to go back in and pick up John's final leg! 

The Foot and leg system that John is using is the Proflex by Össur. It is an incredible foot that isn't even out on the market yet. We were also told that we are lucky to be workman comp because you aren't eligible for this particular foot unless you are a veteran or workman comp. 

The wearing schedule for the new leg is very strict because they don't want John getting any blisters or sores. This is very common with a new amputee who isn't used to wearing their prosthetic yet. The schedules is as follows: 

Day one- 1 hour in the morning & 1 hour in the afternoon 

Day two- 2 hours in the morning & 2 hours in the afternoon

Day three- 3 hours in the morning & 3 hours in the afternoon

Day four- 4 hours in the morning & 4 hours in the afternoon

Then you continue on with the 4 hour schedule until your next appointment. Our next appointment is on February 12th. 

John has been such a trooper using his new leg! Yesterday we went shooting with Joel, Amy, Caleb, and Paul. John did exceptionally well on his shooting if I do say so myself.  It was a blast getting to spend time with his family! 

Also something I would like to mention. John's work is putting on a benefit for him. Its going to be held at Casey's Bowling Alley in La Porte. It will be on February 20th the cost is 20 dollars a person. I don't have the times yet but I will update everyone with that information when I have it. We would be very pleased if people came to the benefit. Honestly this would be a wonderful time to see people we haven't had a chance to visit or otherwise wouldn't get the chance. This would also be a great opportunity to see John in action! 

Once again Thank You all for your continued support and prayers! They mean the absolute world to John and I and we wouldn't be here without them!

A Work in Progress

This week has been very eventful! We had an appointment with our prosthetist to get fitted for the first prosthetic limb.

 The fitting process is very interesting. First you put on the liner and then they put stickers on the liner which are used for the scanning process. They then scan the leg and it transfers into the computer. They then make the plastic trial socket. 

John tried on the trial socket and did some weight bearing  on the limb. It was a very exciting process! He did really well on putting most of his weight on his residual limb. They had to make several adjustments to the socket and we have another appointment coming up on Monday for the next fitting.

We are very excited about this next step in the process and being one step closer to the final product! Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! We have been so blessed to be able to share this whole process with you all and we can't wait to learn more with you! 

Back To Work

It has been a little while since our last update. This is mostly because it has been a waiting game. John will be heading back to work tomorrow. His company has a desk job waiting for him and he is so ready to get back to work! We had an appointment on Monday with the orthopedic surgeon to check on the limb and see how it is healing and shrinking. He seemed to be very pleased with Johns progress. 

Even though it has reduced, John is still having phantom pain so they have changed his medicine they have also prescribed him a TENS unit. This device essentially uses electrical pulse stimulation to (hopefully) help with the undesired sensation. 

John has an appointment this Thursday the 14th with the prosthetist. They will be starting the process of fitting him with his prosthesis. We are both very eager for this appointment! I will be doing another blog later this week with all the information we receive after that appointment. 

In other news, we were able to go this week and do some shooting at the range with John's family! His Christmas gift this year was a shotgun so obviously we had to go try it out! We have decided this needs to become a very regular thing for us because we enjoyed it so much!! 

As always we love you all and deeply appreciate that you allow us to share our life.

Thanks to all for prayers and God Bless you!

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

       It has been nearly three months since John's accident and we have grown so much closer together.

    This year we are so grateful for everything that God has given to us. We celebrated Christmas with a whole new appreciation for the ones we love and cherish.

Having John home this Christmas season has been the biggest blessing I have ever personally received. It is more than anything I could have ever asked for. 

We have been able to spend time with most of our family members this year and what a blessing that has been! We are looking forward to a new and exiting 2016 and all the surprises in store! We have a lot of new things ahead this coming year! We are looking forward to sharing the progress and enjoying the journey with you all! 

Photo Credit to: Reflections of Silver Photography ( Diana Lipford)

We would love to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please be safe in  your travels and we will keep you all in our prayers!