Day 42 - November 10, 2008

Good Morning!

Went to the plastics doc on Friday. Until now, Mom hasn't been able to bend her legs at the knees (so they're stuck out in front of her, even in the wheelchair) or really move her feet at the ankle very much. This has been a plastics restriction because those movements could tear the grafts loose. As of Friday, she has no restrictions on movement or anything related to her plastic surgery. As far as the surgeon is concerned, these are successful grafts! She now pretty much keeps the skin grafts unwrapped, and she can get them wet, put lotion on them - pretty much everything except soak them in a bath!! So, this is very good news for us! Maneuvering in the wheelchair will be much easier without her feet stuck out straight in front of her. It takes a lot of room to turn a corner like that!!

So, then this weekend, the therapists began working with her on bending her legs. Since she hasn't done this in about 6 weeks, they were very concerned that it would be painful and difficult. With the first attempt, she could bend them almost to 90 degrees. Even when she can't bend them any further, it isn't pain; rather, it is tightness. So, they are thrilled to pieces with that bit of information!!

I know that this might not sound like a very big deal to many of you. Let me tell you, being able to bend those legs is a really big deal as far as her ability to do a lot of things - get in a car, sit in a chair, maneuver in the wheelchair - this is a big deal for her and comfort!! Praise the Lord yet again - more positive steps forward.

The hope is that we'll be able to take her home sometime this week. Please pray for us - going home presents its own set of challenges. We do have it arranged such that she can get a wheelchair in and maneuver through most of the house. For those of you who have been in our home, she obviously won't be down in the basement or in the lower den area of our home. Also means she won't be doing laundry (small victory for her - probably the first time in at least MY lifetime that someone else will be doing the laundry on a regular basis for her!!). But, she can maneuver into her bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. Bathroom maneuverability is still be to be determined, but we have some strategies in case that doesn't work. However, it is just going to be a little different for her in that she probably won't be able to just take off and go outside or zip down the stairs - as I said, it will have its own set of challenges. So, please just keep her and those of us who will be helping her in your prayers.

We don't know much regarding timing of additional surgeries. We go back to the ortho docs next week, so we'll see what they have to say. Hopefully we'll start to get an idea of timing of next steps.

That's all for today! More as we know anything!