One of the most beloved characters that Alice meets along her journey in Through the Looking Glass is Humpty Dumpty. You know how it goes…..
“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
I feel like Humpty at times. It is taking a team of doctors, therapists, and gadgets to put me together again. I feel I am almost there. Not 100%, perhaps more like 60% to 70%*, with a few missing parts from my shell. This is a long way from almost a year ago, when I felt I was in a thousand different pieces; Staring at them all, not having a clue where to begin to get my life back together.
There have been some wonderful things to help me with this progression. The first has been a good friend, one who calls and/or visits weekly. You know who you are. :-) Without this support, there have been some weeks I am not sure how I could have done it. Just having someone to visit with, listen, help keep my mind off of the pain, helps immensely.
The second, my podiatrist; who knew that an ointment could provide such relief to my burning feet. I still have periods of pain, standing still is the absolute worst, but it has helped greatly with the nightly burning pain. She has also prescribed Silver-thera Socks. I often joke I need to attach my bionic legs every night. They are the most attractive socks ever! Not! However, they send micro electrical currents to my legs while I am sleeping (impulses 20 min on, and 40 min off continuously). They take the guess work out of where to attach the electrodes, as you would in a TENs unit. These provide electrical stimulation at the cellular level to nerves, blood vessels, and tissue. It is supposed to increase blood flow to promote healing and to prevent further atrophy. It is a relatively new therapy, and my insurance did cover it. It is not a quick fix, but is considered a long term treatment for neuropathy. Most see improvements after three months of use. At this point, I will try anything to save the muscles in my legs.
The third is Aquatic Physical Therapy. This allows me to exercise without excessive stress to the joints, and work on balance exercises I could otherwise not do outside of the pool. The last month, I feel the biggest progress has been made. I have been going to the therapy pool for two months now, which has helped tremendously in my joint and muscle pain. No, it is not gone, but I have gone from taking pain medications daily, to only once or twice a month. My balance has increased, and I dare to venture out without the use of my cane for short trips. I still need it if I am going to be out for long periods of time walking or standing, because of fatigue and the pain that usually accompanies it.
I still have to pace myself, and try not to overdo it. However, I have been known to push the boundaries too far, only to pay for it later. I still need help with the heavy duties ~ cleaning house, cooking a meal, grocery shopping, gardening, but I am now able to take more responsibility in all of these areas. I feel I am slowly getting my role back as CEO of our family corporation. The pieces of this Humpty Dumpty are slowly coming back together again.
Thanks for reading!
* post note 6/17/11~This was originally posted as 80%. My husband says I over shot my percentage of healing. I guess it really is hard to measure. Some days I do feel 80% when I compare to those first couple of months where I was essentially totally debilitated. I most likely felt really good the day I wrote this post. I think after being so low in my health, my idea of 100% has changed some. It has given it an all new perspective. However, when I look back at the things I used to do--paint my house by myself, exercise daily, was the "fix it" person, essentially was on "go" non-stop. No, I can't do these things, and may not ever be at that level again. When I compare myself to my "former" self, I would have to say it probably really is 60-70%, and on a really, really good day I feel like 80%. I guess it is really hard to put a figure on it. It is all so relative, compared to the pain I once was in. Perhaps I should not have tried to qualify it. Either way, I feel I have made significant progress....:D (if you read my pasts posts, you know I can't do math anymore anyways LOL)
* post note 6/17/11~This was originally posted as 80%. My husband says I over shot my percentage of healing. I guess it really is hard to measure. Some days I do feel 80% when I compare to those first couple of months where I was essentially totally debilitated. I most likely felt really good the day I wrote this post. I think after being so low in my health, my idea of 100% has changed some. It has given it an all new perspective. However, when I look back at the things I used to do--paint my house by myself, exercise daily, was the "fix it" person, essentially was on "go" non-stop. No, I can't do these things, and may not ever be at that level again. When I compare myself to my "former" self, I would have to say it probably really is 60-70%, and on a really, really good day I feel like 80%. I guess it is really hard to put a figure on it. It is all so relative, compared to the pain I once was in. Perhaps I should not have tried to qualify it. Either way, I feel I have made significant progress....:D (if you read my pasts posts, you know I can't do math anymore anyways LOL)
