On February 18th, my husband, Jim, suddenly became ill and ended up having to have the 4th right toe, part of his bone and part of his foot amputated due to gangrene, a complication brought on by his Type II Diabetes. We were so shocked! He had just been to the doctor the day before and everything looked fine. Around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, he asked me to look at his foot. The pad of his toe looked slightly bruised and was swollen, as was his foot, but he said it didn't hurt and put his shoe on. Around 10pm he said he didn't feel well. I had him test his blood and seeing as he was very dizzy and in much worse condition than he had been as little as an hour before, I took him to the hospital. When I took off his shoes I literally gasped out loud. I never do that. I don't panic over things and nothing grosses me out but this was so unanticipated. His toe was black! Skipping any details that may offend anyone, he ended up with surgery on Monday to remove what we were referring to as the "Zombie Toe" and was released from the hospital on Friday evening.
Since then, we have gone to numerous doctor appointments (general physician, surgeon, infectious disease doc, endochrinologist) and have nurses who come several times a week to perform various tasks. He is on extreme antibiotics via IV and has a wound vac attached to his foot. This vac is remarkable! It takes away growth that would clog the Grand Canyon-sized surgical wound, so that his foot stays open and heals from the inside out. This is very important in preventing a closure that would become infected. The vac was taken off for two weeks and I cleaned and dressed the wound 4 days a week, since the nurse only comes three days. No biggie; like I said, nothing grosses me out and I am happy to be able to help the love of my life! I actually find it kind of fascinating. I bought Jim some snazzy wraps - pink camo, blue with aqua stars and when it's back in stock, he's requested the pink leopard style! Hey, if you have to wear it, you might as well have fun with it! I lovingly call him "9 Pin" and his surgeon said he'd give him a 10% discount on a pedicure - humor really is the best medicine!
So, our weeks consist of 3 visits from the wound nurse, one from the diabetes nurse and one from the IV nurse who draws blood and checks on the line. Then there is the weekly visit to the surgeon and the endochrinologist. One week, we had four doctor's appointments! I just get him in the car and ask him where I'm driving to and head on down the road. I am also learning a lot about the care and feeding of the male species and we're enjoying spending so much time together.
The main reason I wanted to write this is to say thank you to all of you wonderful people who emailed and posted on Face Book, offering prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes. I was stunned at the out-pouring of kindness and concern! Each night, upon my return from the hospital, I'd sign on to find so many gracious, caring people waiting for updates. I would pass the kindness onto Jim and I know that it helped ease his mind and heal his body. Some folks wonder how you can care about a person whom you've never met. I say, you don't have to see a person's face to hold them in your heart. This community is so supportive, it's like having a huge family with members from all over the world! For that, Jim and I will be forever grateful!
Things have quieted down a little bit, with less doctor appointments per week, so I hope to be blogging on a more regular schedule again. I have several ideas for posts to write. I've been keeping up with Face Book and blogging activity as much as possible and should have more time in the near future. Thank you again for being the best group of friends we could ever hope for! Love to all, Leena and Jim
