Gardening on the Moon ( GOTM )

Second Opinions

Written by Jeff
Non-GOTM pictures credited by hover notes – move cursor over image

Once I understood the broken bone in my foot was not healing as intended, my wife and I discussed our options and decided that we needed to get a second opinion from an orthopedic doctor who belonged to a group that treats foot injuries for the Phoenix Suns professional basketball team. It doesn’t get much better than that! I had to wait a week so it would be week six after the break before I got to see him, but it was my best option at this point. Once again, we were off to a doctor’s office. We did feel good that this would be a big step in helping to resolve this health issue. Professional athletes get broken bones all the time. Of course they aren’t 63 years old, but that’s just a minor point (wink!).

There I was taking more x-rays and filling out my health history which was all very good except for osteoporosis brought on by taking thyroid hormone for more than forty years as a result of thyroid cancer surgery. We waited calmly and anxiously to hear what the doctor had to say. When the doctor arrived, he had a high degree of confidence and assurance. As a sports doctor, he has probably seen this type of injury many times. Through our discussion, I began to realize that the regimen I had been following was almost 180-degrees from the care that was now being suggested. Unfortunately, the doctor explained, I missed the “window” for the best bone healing which lapsed during the first seventeen days following the break. Those are the breaks, I guess!

The recommendation…half leg cast, crutches and no weight bearing on the broken foot. Sleeping with the cast would then be an issue, but what could I do? I must confess — at this point that I am a bit of a germaphobe. On a scale of 1-100, I would place myself at 80, but my wife and friends might have a different opinion. The thought of having my cast in bed with me was truly gross. My first big decision was what color cast I desired. In deference to my wife who is my caregiver and understanding partner, I chose her favorite color; purple. The tech came in and began the cast application. It was far different than I expected. I remember the dark ages when it was done with plaster. This was woven fiberglass with an underlayment of soft webroll. It was a nifty job. I stood and the angle was checked and all seemed well and then came my first saving grace…a shoe for the bottom of the cast. So all that dirt and grime that I thought would want to follow me into bed would now be sequestered to the bottom of the shoe; whew!

We were given a doctor’s order for crutches and were led to the door. I hobbled downstairs and waited for the car. We used our cell phone from the car to find a place that had crutches for sale. We are relatively new to the area so we were limited in our geographic knowledge. After listening to a couple of robo-answering machines for ten minutes, we finally located a medical equipment vendor relatively close to where we were and the major thing was that we knew how to get there.

Welcome to My New Reality

My wife went in to get the crutches and had a good idea of picking up a shower stool as well. I didn’t realize at the time what a sharp move that would be; a life saver in some respects. We arrived home, got the car in the garage and thus the real adventure began. I realized I was in trouble after my first couple of steps. I had been on crutches three times before this, but with knee injuries and without a heavy cast. The weight of the cast was an element I hadn’t factored in to the equation and for me it was heavy. Lugging my bad right foot around so that it doesn’t touch the floor and managing the weight was going to be a challenge indeed.

When under doctor’s orders not to bear weight on one foot, the pressure of all the body’s weight is then shifted to arms and one leg. I didn’t realize how much strength this takes to move around with any degree of dexterity and when the additional weight of the cast is added, balance becomes even more of an issue. After one day, my deltoids and biceps knew there was a life-change going on. What I really needed was a walker with a seat so I could use it to “scoot” around using the seat to rest my knee.

I made a call to my insurance company. They were very happy to give me the go ahead for a regular walker, but once I explained that I needed a wheeled walker with a seat, that was something very special and had to be ordered and then negotiated with the doctor’s office. I made a call to the doctor’s office and was told that it might be up to ten days before someone got back to me. After calling on three successive days, someone finally did get back to me. Unfortunately, there was an intervening weekend.

On the bright side, my wife had a co-worker who had just the type of walker I needed so we were able to borrow that and didn’t have to go through the hassle of ordering one through the insurance merry-go-round. When I did get to speak to the doctor’s office, I asked them to provide an order for a wheel chair rental and the shower stool (so I could get reimbursed). I felt good to have made the connection, but then I remembered that I forgot to mention I needed a right leg extension so I quickly called back. It took a while, but I was able to get the order changed. Of course the office acted like it was a big deal. Well, it was a big deal to me!

HINT: If you need to rent a wheel chair that you will be taking out of the house, make sure to request a light-weight model. It makes a big difference when lifting it in and out of a car. Of course they charge more for it, but I think you will find it worth the cost differential. (to be continued…)

A Broken Bone in the Desert – Part I

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post