Today marks one week since my surgery. It seems like it has been a month. Time moves slower on the recliner.
I went into the church office today. It was the first time I have attempted to work in the office since the Achilles rupture happened. I sat in the wheelchair with my leg propped on another chair. I put the keyboard in my lap and sat catty-corner (I wonder what the origin of that phrase is) to the screen. It wasn’t the most comfortable position and I am not sure that I got much accomplished. The simplest of tasks took three times as long. Even returning a book to one of my bookshelves was a challenge.
I still struggle to stand on my right leg for an extended period of time. When my left leg is hanging down, all the blood rushes to my foot. It becomes uncomfortable after a minute or two. I have gotten used to using crutches but I prefer the wheelchair when I have the option. Plus the wheelchair is sort of fun to maneuver. We have a slope down our church hallway outside my office. I took a few runs down it today. It was like a cheap amusement park ride.
Later in the day I rode over with someone to pray for a member of our church. I moved kind of slow but was able to get in and out of the van and in and out of the house without too much difficulty. However, what normally may have been a thirty minute visit turned into a longer one, partially because of my turtle pace.
I am finding that life is moving slower for me right now. I have had to let some things go off my plate (not always easy), walk slower, do less, rest more. Under normal circumstances, I would feel guilty for doing this. After all, there are so many things to do, people to see, tasks to accomplish.
One snapped tendon decelerates life. I wonder if this is the pace I should be at anyway. I wonder how much America’s hyper-culture has impacted me. I wonder how much my own compulsions drive me at a speed that is not healthy. Slowing down is not easy. It sounds good but in reality it is hard to do. It is not the slowing down of laziness–doing nothing. It is the slowing down of life–taking time to talk longer, appreciate more, learn more, reflect more, journal more, pray more, let some things go. Matthew 11:28-30 keeps popping in my head…Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Sometimes God has to cripple us to bless us.
The feel of my left foot is changing. I think the swelling has gone down so I am feeling the cast more and more. The extra space is actually more annoying than relieving. I haven’t experienced any itching yet (the common story told to me from former cast wearers) but I have felt more heat in the cast and general discomfort. At times, I just want to rip the cast off and let my leg/foot feel some air. I guess I am getting claustrophobia of the lower extremity.
Next Wednesday the cast comes off…for a few minutes anyway so that I can get the staples out and a new cast. I am looking forward to the brief respite of freedom for my leg. Are getting staples out painful? I’ll soon find out.
Tomorrow we heading over to PA for a little vacation. It is a trip we already had scheduled on our calendar. It will be the longest car ride I have taken so far. The positioning of my leg will be the biggest challenge. I can sit for awhile but then I want to elevate my leg to get the blood out of my foot. The only option in the front seat is to rest the cast on the dashboard. However, the few times I have done this, I start getting visions of being rear-ended (a real possibility on NJ highways) and having my foot ram through the front windshield. That thought is enough to bring my foot back down to the floorboard fairly quickly.
Lord willing, the boys will enjoy the time away, my wife won’t have too much on her shoulders, and we can all have fun together despite my lame leg.
