The first day I woke up without any pain. My foot actually felt normal…except for the fifteen pound cast on my leg. I quit taking the toradol. I was glad to get off that stuff.
I shaved and brushed my teeth sitting on a chair next to the sink. I took a shower sitting on the little stepstool and then transferring to a chair next to the shower to dry off. Another chair is positioned at the landing of the second floor so that I can sit and transfer to my butt in order to scoot down the stairs. My preferred location downstairs is the recliner in the backroom. My laptop computer is plugged in on a little stand next to me. A stack of books is on the floor. My leg is propped up on a pillow with a PolarCare 500 ice machine (borrowed from a friend of ours) pumping cold water continuously around my foot. The TV remote is next to me in case I want to catch a football game or something else on TV. This becomes my “home” for most of the day.
The reality of the next few months hits me today. The “newness” of the whole affair has worn off and now I realize how tough the next few weeks will be. The simplest of tasks (brushing my teeth, taking a bath, going to the bathroom) are no longer simple.
Thankfully, if I had to schedule this event on my calendar, it happened at the perfect time. My responsibilities at church had become considerably less. My Thursday night class was off for two weeks. My sermon series had ended. Retreats and conferences were past. For two weeks, there was nothing pressing on my calendar. I will at least get through the initial adjustment of the injury and the recovery before I have to get back in the groove of a regular work schedule.
The timing makes me think that God has a specific purpose for this injury/recovery time. It definitely has slowed me down and given me a chance to read, to write, to think. Lord, help me to make the most of this time.
It has been one week since the injury and I had my best sleep since that time.
