Time to move forward and shake off the bad vibes, I'd say.
On Saturday evening, I had a malfunction in my prosthetic (not Buster....the foot is fine) and I rubbed a blister the size of two silver dollars on the end of my stump. The gel liner was worn on the end and I tore through. Regular readers of this volume will recall that it was an infection that set the wheels in motion for me to lose my right foot in the first place so I had considerable interest in NOT losing any more of it. Being a 3/4 leg man on that side is perfectly all right with me, thank you.
Appointments were made and I went. First to my brand-new doctor. I decided on changing doctors because though I did get excellent care at my other doctor, which was a free clinic for low and no insurance people (like I was when I lost my foot), the had a communication problem with me. Mainly because their front office did not have a good command of the english language. Plus, I came to realize that in the 2 years or so that I've been working I had yet to use the medical insurance I pay for on me. It had mostly been used for my son. Thus I am now a patient of a clinic affiliated with the hospital I was in where I've had my two surgerys in life.
One thing when you pass your 40th year you have an alteration in your health care. No longer do you go to the doctor, get a checkup and leave there either with a Spider Man sticker or a lollipop. Well, my son does but I don't...lucky kid. Anyway, so he can better assess my health needs my new doctor scheduled a battery of tests that I will be undergoing in the next few weeks. When you are a diabetic you have a few more challenges in your health care game plan than non-diabetics do, so I will have to bleed, my eyes will be checked and they are going to check the circulation in my legs, because the lack thereof is what led to the infection that claimed my right foot.
I look at all that I'm going through (or are about to go through) and I think back to when my Dad hit 40. He NEVER saw a doctor and when he hit 54, he had a heart attack. I have often said if anything was going to 'get'me, one of those would. It makes me wonder, if my Dad had gone to a doctor when he hit 40 and got an evaluation that indicated he was on a fast track to blockage in his ticker would he be alive today? It's speculative, I know but here I am, 1 year past being old by my own young man standards and I actually have a burning desire to outlive both of my parents and hopefully this will help keep me from checking out at 60 like my old man did.
On the prosthetic front, my insurance was approved an I am going to get Buster 3.0. Yes. I went to my leg man yesterday to get a replacement liner and they gave me the good news. Next week I will have a new socket fitted and within a week or two hopefully be up on a better wheel than the one I have, which has served me quite well all things considered. I am hoping they will let me customize it to reflect my personality...I have been wanting to put an Oilers crest on it, for example...but that will have to be addressed when I see the prosthetist again, I would imagine.
Hey, some guys go middle age crazy by buying motorcycles and muscle cars (my old man bought a moped...still don't get that), I want my foot to sport my favorite hockey team's logo.
It works, trust me.
I plan on going back to work on Monday and pushing through all of these tests as instructed. what concerns me as though I am already taking what amounts to be a minor pharmacy's worth of medication now how nuch more am I going to have to take when this is all over. It's a forgone conclusion that I am going to have to wear glasses...my eyes were crappy BEFORE I was diagnosed as a diabetic...but right now I'm on two diabetes meds, two blood pressure meds, a water pill, a beta blocker and a cholesterol med. My main goal is not to have to shoot up with insulin anymore. Close friends and family will tell you that before all of this mess I had a dread fear of needles and now they are no big deal but I just don't like the idea of having to do it again.
Admittedly I haven't been the slave to the diabetes diet as I was when I first left the hospital, but the elimination of sugared pop has done wonders for my blood sugar levels. I mean, I was the guy who would load up a 44oz or more cup with Coke (about 3/4 full) and fill the remainder with the pure sugar, cherry flavor syrup or vanilla or lime or whatever suited my fancy. Tasty though that was, it was destroying my pancreas and now I'm popping horse pills to help me control the blood sugar. What is nuts is that before all this I wasn't the greatest when it came to keeping up with things and it's a miracle that I have managed to get back to reasonably good health since the surgery.
In the end, while a big door closed this week, another one is bound to open. I do feel better but I do have moments. They too will pass in time.
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