Forgive me blog followers, for I have zinned. My last blog entry was over two months ago! It's not for the lack of activity this time. Quite the opposite. With Overload twice a week (at about 5 hours per/with travel), PT three day a week (dropped to two mid Feb at 3 hrs per/with travel), a heavier than usual project load at work (50+ hr a week), bowling, skiing and last but not least, and "ALL THE WONDERFUL" hoopla associated with becoming a grandpa (Wa-hoo!), this old boy has been busy. (How's that for a run-on sentence.) So, when given a choice, make a blog entry or kick back and enjoy a glass of wine I obviously chose the latter.

It's not all about the leg - one of my design projects, for our plant in Mexico,(a blank sheet of paper in Sept.) started production in mid Jan.

Automated parts washer ready to ship.

Overall, progress with the C-leg has been very good. The most significant issue is how fast the stump musculature is shrinking and changing shape. After replacing the urethane stump liner to make it fit tighter, Pat and Paul (Hanger prosthetists) have cut, heated, bent, shimmed, strapped and riveted the hard shell socket to keep it comfortable and secure. But the custom fit is pretty much gone and a C-9 (workman's comp request for funds) is in the works to re-cast my stump and build a new custom fit socket with liner for a stump that has lost more than an inch of girth (again, way before it was exspected).

In spite of fit issues, I have progressed to where I can put my leg on when I get out of bed and take it of when go back to bed (sometimes I choose to wear it less just to be comfortable).

Took a three day engineering trip to our Grenada, Mississippi plant where Rodney tested the "no work restrictions" (another major 1st year goal) and poured it on. I had the C-leg on, no crutches, no hiking poles, for over 16 hrs a day with loads of miles over and around lots of obstacles (did result in a couple of small blisters at the bottom of the stump—no big deal, already healed).

For those of you who are gluttons for punishment, click "read more"for pictures and comments.

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I enjoyed a lovely little Haaser/Kennedy reunion at the compound this weekend as Erin, Dad and myself came to Cleveland for a brief visit. Saturday Jenny, Tyler and a friend came out for an afternoon visit, which was followed by several games of spades and pinochle with G.G. as well as time spent visiting with the Fam. On Sunday Dad and Jenny ventured out to the slopes of Brandywine for Mike's first trip out with an adaptive skiing group known as the Three Trackers of Ohio. As a bonus he also met up with his old ski buddy Buzz! Jenny and Dad can chime in with the particulars, but as I understand, the day was a success! Thanks Three Trackers!!

Dad added some pictures to entries he's made over the past few years..

Look at entries in the Photos category for entries that have been decorated.

Cheers!!

Things are beginning to move a little faster now. Still not fast enough for Mike though! His stump is changing rapidly and already he needs a new liner for proper fit. Too much slippage after a short time of wear and sometimes the slippage can cause some very, ummm, embarrassing sounds! All is being attentively monitored by the Hanger folks and the physical therapists, and Mike is gleefully testing the boundaries.

There have been many new "firsts" lately. Mike greeted me after work by walking out of our office, sans crutches/hiking poles, and with the BIGGEST grin on his face. It was quite a jolt after all these months of seeing him either in the wheelchair, on the crutches or at least having them handy. I'd forgotten how nice a "stand-up" hug can feel! He's practiced navigating the stepladder, a skill needed just to change a light bulb here. He's walking outdoors (with poles or crutches) more and more, and was also happily dancing and groovin' to some music in the living room! He was thrilled when he was able to walk to the fridge, pour a glass of juice and carry it over to the table. It's truly amazing how simple little things have come to mean so much! Life continues to constantly challenge and change for both of us.

Please forgive me for post-dating this nearly a month-and-half after the fact, but Dave and I wanted to wait until all members of our immediate families were properly notified before stories started cropping up in open forums such as this.

11/11/07
One Sunday afternoon I took a drive to visit "The Dad" down in Cincinnati. I had a conference to attend the following day so I don't think he was suspicious of any hidden agenda behind my visit. Meanwhile the whole drive between Angola and Cinci, I'm thinking, how do I tell him he's gonna be a Grandpa soon. Do I jump right in and say 'Hey Gramps!' when I greet him at the door? Do I turn it into an elaborate riddle (we all know how fond of riddles that brain of his is)? As it happens, he gave me a perfect entrance. As I was walking in, I commented on the wine rack he and Bonnie have in their living room (it really is very cool looking). Dad asked me to pick out a bottle for us to share with dinner. Naturally, I responded back with a polite refusal, 'I don't think it's a good idea for me to be drinking right now'. It took him a minute to process the remark. He first assumed that I was abstaining because I was planning to drive to Columbus after dinner (which I actually wound up postponing until the next morning). I simply pointed out that if that were the case, I would merely have one glass of wine instead of two or three. He thought for a second or two more and "DING" the light went on. He gasped, I vigorously nodded and all three of us (Bonnie was also a participant in the conversation) shared a misty-eyed flurry of excitement followed by the usual questions (how long, when is the due date, how are you feeling, etc.) In that moment Dad started to say "stuff like this is what makes..." got a little choked and never finished the sentence. I have a feeling I know what the end of that sentence was, and I couldn't agree more.

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11-29 Thur. The 8:30 Overload session in Columbus showed an increase on the leg press after a several week 280 lb plateau. Made it past three minutes before fatigue, which is the bogie that allows a little more weight next session. Adam has also been putting me on the stretcher (I call it the rack) because both Emily and Dr. No are saying my adductors are still too tight.

12-3 Mon. Emily introduced some interesting new PT balance routines (getting ready to impress Erin with this).

12-5 Wed. Follow-up with Dr. Adkins (wound care) showed no evidence of the hematoma from 11/26. The stump still looks ready for battle.

The first fitting of the clear acrylic test socket with Pat at Hanger, was hard to get on (never did get fully seated), very uncomfortable and wouldn't hold a vacuum seal. Pat said that was actually a pretty good fit for the first shot at it.

12-7 Fri. Overload went well this morning. I spent almost 5 minutes on the rack. My adductor stretch (angular spread between strait legs in a sit position) which started at 62 degrees a couple of weeks ago made it to 86 degrees (the goal is 90).

The weather did not co-operate today. Erin's morning flight got cancelled and therefore, could not make my first "afternoon" PT session. It was noticeably easier to do the balance routines after being up and about all day. Emily also measured adductor stretch (angular spread of the stump from center, lying flat on the PT mat) at 42 degrees (goal is 45) compared to her original 22 degree reading. She still gets blown away by how quickly Overload produces positive results. A few months ago the tight adductors and scar tissue were the primary culprits related to the chronic groin area discomfort which is almost completely gone now.

12-11 Tue. Overload at noon and Hanger at 2:30. The second fitting of the first test socket went much better. The socket was too tall and seated into the groin before the stump made it to the bottom. The shape was much better but not yet good enough to warrant knee mounting hardware.

12-13 Thur. Finished the 9:00am Overload session on the rack and achieved the targeted 90 degree adductor stretch.

The 3:30 Hanger appointment was at their main Wellington facility. Spent the first two hours with Paul as he built the second test socket. Building a socket is a labor intensive and highly skilled craft. It started with a plaster bust of my stump (an inverse duplication of the first test socket on a metal post). Plaster was added to areas that were too tight and a coping saw and course rasp were used to remove material from areas that needed tightening or increased definition. The stump bust was wet sanded smooth; a cut line was added with a permanent felt tipped marker, covered with a sheer tube sock then mounted on a vacuum fixture in the oven room. A sheet of 1/4 inch, clear acrylic was removed from the 400 degree infrared oven which gives it the approximate flexibility of a thin rubber mat. The hot plastic sheet was draped over the bust (saddle style) then the open ends and bottom pinched together manually to achieve a vacuum seal which forces the interior surfaces of hot acrylic to duplicate the external shape of the stump bust. After cooling, the plastic is cut following the cut line, split at the flange created where the plastic sheet was pinched together, removed from the plaster bust and...... bod-a-bing bod-a-boom we had test socket #2. (took a lot of pictures - Click "read more" below.)

After another 1/2 hour of finishing details, Pat commenced the first fitting of the second test socket. He wasn't completely happy with the seal (too much "gapposous" on the upper outside area). But good enough for mounting hardware! Pat kept my left shoe.

12/17 Mon. PT 8:00am, Overload 11:00am, and Hanger 3:00pm.

Broke the 3 minute barrier on every exercise at Overload today (first time that happened in a really long time). The leg press was set-up at 300 lbs and the pull-down at 360 lbs (both new highs).

Pat performed the first fitting of the altered socket #3 (complete with vacuum valve and mounting hardware). It was a little hard to get on but fit great. He attached my C-Leg but it had a size 12 foot (I'm a 10) on the end. OOPS! Pat just chuckled, shrugged and said easily fixed. I stood up and took my first steps with a prosthetic. It felt really weird. Pat was focusing on fit and "hot spots" but noticed my concern. Not to worry - the C-leg processor is not set-up yet. Just put weight on it today to make sure the socket fits correctly. Everything looked perfect. Then we "tried to take it off" again and again. I was sitting in a chair with both hands on the parallel bars and my foot on a stanchion and Pat was on a chair with both feet on the stanchions and both hands on the C-Leg and the damn thing wouldn't budge. So he loosened the flange bolts, pried it open with a screwdriver, scratched his head and said, "It has to go on, stay on, and come off again. We got two out of three - see ya tomorrow".

12/18 "Tomorrow" Hanger 9:00am - second fitting of third test socket. The modifications to the socket were subtle. It was still difficult to get on but when we switched to a liquid based lube it slid on a lot better. Pat mounted a "lab leg" (mine was being fitted with a size 10 foot), I took a couple of laps between the parallel bars and everything went well. So far, so good. I sat down, removed the vacuum valve and after a steady push and couple of wiggles and jiggles of the old stump, off it came. Pat really knows his stuff.

12/21 Fri. The 2:30pm Hanger appointment found Pat ready with my leg, a size 10 foot, a sock and my left shoe mounted to a shiny new carbon fiber re-enforced finished socket with a cute little Chrismas bow stuck to the side. MERRY CHRISMAS! He set-up the C-Leg computer and we went through a well ordered sequence of mechanical and processor calibrations. These setting are only a preliminary starting point. I took my first full dress steps with a very sophisticated piece of hardware that I am sure to become intimately familiar with over the next few months. After 25 minutes and a lot of coaching from Pat, I started to get a feel for the transitions between the "standing" to "swing" phases that constitute walking steps. By 5:00 I was on my way home with a new leg and bag full of manuals and accessories. I was told to keep my walking minimal. Put it on, put weight on it, take a few steps, and look for sore spots. For the first few weeks, I'll need to walk under a lot of supervision. Don't want to develop any bad habits that will prove hard to overcome later when I start to learn the more advanced C-Leg functions.

I was wearing my leg when Bonnie got home at 6:00. That was a bit emotional. By 8:00 I was on my way to Valley View (going to Seth and Brittany's wedding tomorrow). Looking forward to showing the long awaited "new toy" to Marsha, GiGi, and .........

12/24 Mon. PT with Emily went very well. She put me with prosthetic on the high tech gait analyzing equipment right from the get-go to establish baseline data. She had me marching up and down the long hallway from the waiting room to the therapy area. On my case all the way - even out those steps, don't look at feet, keep your hips level, straighten up and suck in those abs.... I have a feeling I'll have to work pretty hard to say a step ahead of Emily (pun intended).

P.S. Bonnie says that "a bit emotional" is a monumental understatement!

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Or perhaps, "the things that make you remember"...

This morning, I was getting dressed (always a good thing to do before going to work), and I pulled out of the dresser drawer a plain lime green T-shirt (Haynes, if you must know). I'm wearing it under my sweater, and on top of that wearing my black vest (I'm perpetually cold as soon as the calendar says November). Now why, you ask, would I be posting something on this blog about my clothing du jour? Well, two of the pieces I'm currently wearing (not the sweater) were part of the "Memphis wardrobe". The T-shirt was bought there, in fact. And it's strange, to pull the T-shirt out of the drawer, and remember that time with a smile... a smile?! Yes, a smile! It has been over 6 months, Dad is fine, and the people in the TICU were really really fabulous, and I got to feed my Dad a mushy turkey sandwich and potato salad.

I've also recently had to visit a doctor's office around here, which happens to be on the 3rd floor of a hospital-type building. I step into the elevator, push the button, and suddenly think to myself, "how much time have I spent in elevators this year?" Dad was on the first floor in the TICU in Memphis.. but that horrid Critical Care Waiting room was.. on the somethingth floor (Something is wrong with the brain-- I can't remember. Here is where Mom would have scrawled "brain damage" in between the lines were this hand-written). He was on the 5th floor in the burn unit at Metro, the 11th(?) floor of the tower while wearing the vacuum bandage, and then on the 7th floor for Acute rehab. That's a lot of time spent in elevators...

Sunday- It seems like my last entry was just yesterday. Ho, it was just yesterday. Things started with last night's shower, when I found two painful little bumps on my graft near the hip bone. They looked like pimples ready to burst. I poked them with a needle and dark red (almost maroon) blood squirted out. The pain subsided immediately. The bleeding stopped and we (got a little help from Bonnie) dressed the spots with tegaderm (a clear cellophane bandage).

Monday- Woke about 4am to find blood oozing thru my compression garment. The bed was a bit of mess. We cleaned it up (got a lot of help from Bonnie). Put on an ABD pad and a clean compression garment and went back to sleep. Got up again at 6am, went to PT and told Emily that I sprang a leak. She marched my butt across the hall where I met Dr. Adkin and his wound care team. He diagnosed it as a hematoma deep in the muscle tissue that had possibly been there a couple of months or more. (see June 4th - She called him a "gubber") He lanced it and coaxed out more until there was clear fluid, then pronounced it "better out than in, keep it clean and it'll be fine". Finished PT and while heading for Overload (Columbus) at 11:00am I got the call from Pat (Prosthetist) to come in for the 2nd casting at 2:00pm in Fairfield. The casting went well - no camera this time. (There's that "dam" again!) Home by 6:00 and flopped. Off on my first working road trip to Mississippi tomarrow. Hope all goes well.

Another month is gone and the recovery is s-t-i-l-l s-t-a-l-l-e-d waiting (kind of like boiling 10 gallons of water with a birthday candle) for a prosthetic. I was prepared for the stump to take a long time to heal enough to accept the prosthetic sleeve. I was not prepared for several months of delays after getting the "all systems go" from the surgical/wound care team. This waiting has been the most lonely and emotionally draining part of the recovery so far.

10/27 Sat. Rained all day, so no three mile hike with the forearm crutches on the bike trail today.

10/28 Sun. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Started my hike at the "old powder plant" as usual. I walked one mile past then back to the paved switch-back path and home. That was a record 5 mile hike. It took a little over 3 hrs. I felt spent, my wrists were sore and I raised a small left palm blister but in all felt pretty good.

10/29-31 PT on Monday with Emily continues to go well with the focus on balance and flexibility. I mentioned the left hand forth digit trigger finger (inflammation of the tendon sheath that locks the finger in a bent position). She thinks that 5 miles on forearm crutches might be too much shock to the wrist and fingers.

Adam (Tuesday's Overload session) used a gymnastic grip hook on all of the machines that require grip. The strength gains are starting to level off across all the machines. I have been fatiguing in less than 3 minutes @ 280 lbs on the leg press for a couple of weeks now. This is not a bad thing. I'm in really good physical condition right now.

Wednesday Erin called and asked if I read the blog guest book lately. I hadn't. There has been so little change that even I'm getting bored with it. So, thanks to Denita (RN that administered a home insurance physical), Joyce (PT Metro) and Matt (partner in crime at work and bowling). My slumping enthusiasm benefits from the pep-talk.

11/5 Mon. A follow-up visit with physiologist, Dr. No (that's what his staff calls him), went well. He seemed to be a little more interested in what Overload is about. My conditioning and mobility on forearm crutches continues to impress. He expressed concern about tight adductor muscles that need more stretching. I'll put both Emily and Adam on it. He also punctuates Emily's assertion to back off the marathon crutch walks. My trigger finger issue is not severe at the moment but if aggravation continues, corrective surgery could be required. He said I should chill. I said "Get me a #*#*ing leg already and I'll stop walking on my hands". Sitting in my wheel chair all day without exercise is no good and moving around on crutches is bad too. I'm stuck balancing between the lesser of two evils. But again this issue is loose change in the grand scheme of things. Dr. No also reinforced the fact that nobody can predict how the grafted stump is going to react to the prosthetic sleeve. He's pretty sure there will be vacuum (that is what keeps the leg from falling off) issues and a waist belt might be necessary until my stump matures a bit more. He cautioned against thinking its all down hill after I get my leg. The appointment with Dr. No pushed me out of Emily's time slot so I had a very pregnant substitute therapist (her name escapes me). She has since delivered - Hope she and son Jack are doing well.

11/17 Sat. Pat (hanger prosthetist) canceled the Monday appointment to cast over the sleeve. The sleeve is manufactured somewhere in the south west and had not arrived as scheduled. We'll make another appointment as soon as he nails down a new delivery date. I feel like the fish that was swimming with a buddy and collided with a concrete wall - DAM!

11/18 Sun. Daughter Ruthie spent the night preceding a Monday morning seminar, in Columbus. She's got a great story but you'll have give her a call and hear it from her.

Thanksgiving in Valley View with GiGi, Marsha, Phyllis and about 40 other friends and relatives was delightful. How appropriate. Got into a debate about religion and politics (the two seem to be inseparable these days) just before I left for home. How inappropriate. Someday I'll learn (maybe). It was so nice to "visit" - it doesn't feel like I live there anymore.

Rumor has it I may be traveling to Mississippi (another first) so stay tuned.

Seem like it's too easy to let weeks go by with out making an entry. The recovery process is still s-l-o-w-l-y moving toward the goal line (that would be walking again).

10/9 Tue. Drove to Cleveland Metro for new compression garments and a follow up visit with Tammy (goddess of wound care) and Amy (the surgeon queen that did the grafting on my stump). Tammy's new out patient unit was opened and quite an improvement over her previous quarters. St. Marsh came along with me and I swear, she, Tammy and Amy in the same room could light bulbs without flipping a switch. The estrogen trio and another wound nurse poked, prodded, kibitzed then confirmed once again that the stump is, indeed, ready for a prosthetic appendage. Before I left Metro, I crutched my way up to the 7th floor, "acute rehab" unit where I spent the last two weeks of my hospital stay. Got to say thanks and show off my new and improved forearm crutch mobility to Amanda (physical therapist) and several of the floor nurses. They were all duly impressed (the last time they saw me, I couldn't wipe my own butt and 75 ft with a walker was a big day).

10/10 Wed. The PT evaluation at Drake Rehab Center went very well. Emily is my new best friend (physical therapist). She's a young bundle of energy (reminds me of Erin) and seems well up to the task of pushing (or reigning me in) thru the prosthetic transition. I'll see her once a week (Monday 8am) until I get my C-Leg then we'll step it up to a more intense three days a week for a few months. The hour long sessions have focused on the stump muscles (forward, back and out - inward "adductors" are a little too strong) along with a couple balance routines and some passive stump stretches.

I'm still doing my Monday/Thursday Overload workouts. Every Monday starts at 7:15am with a 1/2 hour drive to PT, then a two hour drive to Overload in Columbus followed by a 1 1/2 hour drive to work and back home about 6:30pm. This routine will be duplicated on Fridays after the C-leg gets here. Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to throwing myself into it.

10/24 Wed. Received the much awaited call from Brenda (BWC case manager) confirming the funding of the C-leg. Brenda's name hasn't been in the blog much but has been a significant behind the scenes player from the get-go. Within 5 minutes of her call I was on the phone with Pat (Hanger prosthetist) and made a casting appointment for Friday afternoon.

10/26 Fri. The casting was not at all what I expected. It is very similar to a plaster cast for a broken leg. My stump was covered with a cloth stocking. Pat tightly wrapped it with wet plaster strips while manually working the slow hardening but still pliable plaster into the significant features of my stump. The cast was slipped off after it hardened (10 minutes) and that was that. Pat took some pictures and I hope to get them on the blog this week. The cast will be used to make a molded replica of my stump which will be used to make the soft socket liner. Once the liner is delivered we'll make another casting of the stump with the liner on it. That will be used to make the hard shell socket which will contain the knee anchoring mechanics. Pat thinks I'll have my prosthetic by Thanksgiving.