Thursday, February 18, 2021

One week reflection

 One week. That is all that it has been. Last week, Thursday, Feb. 11th, I was laying in the hospital bed at Clarinda Regional Healthcare, having just had my left knee replaced. It was a grand night. I could move fairly well. The pain killers were working, the leg was still waking up. I could move my leg. I could stand up. I could sit up. I was doing all right. I was thinking, "This isn't so bad. I should be back to leading worship in a week. No problem." Then reality set in.

That brings us to today, Thursday, Feb. 18th. One week later. Yes, I am walking. But when I lay on the bed and try to lift my foot, forget about it. It won't move. Really. It won't come up off the bed. What is up with that? Last Thursday it did. Today, nope. Not happening. No matter how hard I strain, it won't raise itself. Oh, Jordan helped me Wednesday to lift the leg and lower it back to the bed. Without her help, it wouldn't have happened. What is going on? My leg has to heal. It has to relearn what it was doing. It has only been one week since the doctor was playing around in there, grinding, drilling, hammering, cementing and moving things around. That still amazes me that they are able to do that work. I don't remember any of it at all. I praise God for that. Thank God for being knocked out. Thank God for the amnesia drugs. Thank God that the doctors know what they are doing. 

So that brings me to this evening, the 18th. I sit here, let up, trying to get comfortable. Penny keeps giving me pain pills. I think, I don't need one. So I skip it. Wrong! I needed it. Then I have to wait for the pain killers to catch up. OK, so I keep taking them. Yesterday's PT was tough. Jordan did a good job. But it wore me out. It was painful (yes, I took my pain pill beforehand). I came home and slept for and hour or two. I was hurting. But I tried to do the exercises that evening. I did them again today. That is how I know that my foot wouldn't come up off the bed.

I can say that I have been sleeping well this time. Lat time, I slept for about an hour then work up. I did that all night for a couple weeks. Every hour, on the hour, I would wake up. Thankfully, I would go back to sleep after a bit. But this time, I am sleeping much better. I am thankful for that. I sleep during the day. And I sleep at night. Let the body heal! 

I am asked, how is it going. It is going well. Recovery is doing well. Healing is happening. PT is doing what it is supposed to do. I am thankful for it all. But most of all, I am thankful for your prayers and support. I feel blessed to have people from around this nation praying for my health and healing. I feel blessed to know that I am not facing this alone. Each and every one of you is a blessing to me and to Penny. Thank you. Thank you so much for lifting us up. For supporting us. For loving us. For caring for us. Those phone calls or texts have meant a lot. Those little messages mean so much. I give thanks to God for you. 

I am doing well. I would prefer to be up and walking without a walker or cane. I would prefer to be without pain. All of that will come one day. Probably sooner than I think. So Lord, grant me peace in this midst of all that I am facing, peace that passes all human understanding. 

And off I go, lifting my foot. Lowering my foot. My knee crying out. It has only been a week. 

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