For the past 12 days I’ve had the amazing opportunity to spend some time with my mom as she recovers from her foot amputation. After finding out my mom had her foot amputated many people asked if it was because of diabetes. Although my mom does have diabetes this was not the cause of her amputation. It’s a long story and I could probably write a book about it but because I don’t want this post to be about what happened but more of an update about her recovery I will sum it up in a few sentences. About 16 1/2 years ago she had a very traumatic accident involving a ladder and a trip up to the roof. This accident led to a compound fracture, severed artery, and crushed heal. They were able to save her foot but since she has had 16 surgeries on her foot. With increasing levels of pain and not many options left this has led to the amputation of her left foot on February 19th, 2019.

I wished that I could’ve been there when she had the surgery but because of previous commitments I was forced to wait three weeks after. My dad was her nurse for the first two weeks and my older sister was her nurse for the third week. Towards the end of the third week and before my arrival I asked my sister what I should expect. She was very positive and told me that mom was recovering very well and was very independent already. She didn’t have to do much for her. I was skeptical and was expecting that when I came that there would be more to it than that.

I am happy to report that it is as my sister said. Mom is doing so well. Her pain level right after her surgery was pretty bad. When the the Physical Therapist came she could only stand for about 3 seconds before the pain got so bad she had to sit. This is expected, for heavens sake, she just had her foot cut off. She had a lot of support from her church ward. Many meals were brought in.

By the third week she was feeling 10 times better. This is the week my sister was with her. She was able to dress and shower herself and was getting stronger everyday. My sister said it felt more like a vacation for her. My sister cooked and cleaned and helped mom get her clothes for her. It was during this week that mom got her stitches out and a few days later she and my sister were able to sit in the hot tub. My sister said it was tricky getting in. My mom was even able to tag along to walk the dog. Well really the dog pulled her in her wheelchair down the street with my sister holding on for dear life.

While I’ve been here I’ve pretty much have done as my sister did. I cook, clean, we walk the dog, run errands, I helped plant the garden, and we spent a day on the coast enjoying the sound of the waves. Mom is even more independent. She can get her own clothes, she has started using crutches as part of her physical therapy and strength training. She can maneuver her wheelchair in and out of the house. She can go down the driveway by herself but because of the steepness of the driveway can’t get back up it on her own yet. During physical therapy the therapist had her stand for a minute. She did it without trouble and probably could’ve stood there even longer. Her pain level is very low. She has some phantom pain. She said it’s not super painful but more of an annoying weird sensation that she still has a foot and there is something in between her big toes. You know the toes that are no longer there. She has mirror therapy to help with that. It’s about retraining your brain and should get better over time. She has an appointment next week to start fitting her for a prosthesis.

My mom has been an example of strength for me. When the accident originally happened there were many little miracles that happened in order for her to keep her leg. When my mom said she was going to amputate my first reaction was to question the decision. Why when I saw so many miracles to save the foot would the lord allow it to be taken away. My mom’s response that I’ve heard her give multiple times is if she would have had to give up her foot 16 1/2 years ago she would have had a very difficult time with it. It would have been harder mentally and physically to give it up. She has had constant pain for 16 1/2 years . This was the lords way of preparing her to lose her foot.

My mom’s attitude has been amazing with this. Her sense of humor keeps her spirits up. She often jokes that she will change her middle name to Peggy, or Ilene. She also likes to joke that she doesn’t have a foot to stand on. I personally think that it is because of her up beat attitude that she is recovering so well and so quickly. She still has a long road ahead of her. The new prosthesis will have it’s own challenges but I know my mom and she is strong.