At the start of 2015 there will be a major change here in our home. Mike went to the doctor’s yesterday for his routine vascular visit and he pulled in all the key doctors he could for this visit. He wanted to know if his leg was really worth saving?
The bottom line is, the leg is toast. It hasn’t been serving him well for over three years now. I stayed home (wasn’t well enough to travel) but I was grateful for the excuse because I wanted HIM to make the decision and not have someone blame me later for forcing him to decide. They ran a bunch of tests on him and some were severe. His leg is red-hot right now and so swollen. He is resting with it elevated and I just gave him some pain pills.
If the results of these tests come out favorable, then come next Tuesday, Mike will be in the hospital awaiting amputation. They will do a three day prep before the surgery where they will try and get the leg as healthy as possible before the procedure, because face it, with his weight, age diabetes and medical history he is a poor surgical risk. They said to his advantage his mental outlook is bright. He is not depressed about this decision that he had such a long time to make. I think he is a bit excited about becoming a bit “bionic.” Personally, I would have cut my leg off myself a long time ago had it been me in his shoes! But he had to come to the realization that this leg was sucking the very life out of him. I am planning a bon voyage party for the dang thing!
He is “only” supposed to be in the hospital for 6 days, but I know better. He just doesn;t heal- but we shall take this a day at a time. Last night, I wrote a difficult email to his four kids all grown-up and into their own lives. But I wanted to let them know what is coming down the pike for their father.
Please do not contribute snake oil solutions for this problem. We shared this at church and have been flooded with people telling us silver collidial water will cure diabetes, or the peanut butter diet will work. They did pray over us- but as I told them afterward, if God wanted to heal him, He had plenty of time to do so in the three plus years we have been praying for that very thing. For some reason this is happening and it is not up to us to question why it is happening. We just need to take it day-to-day and hope for a brighter tomorrow-
Happy Mew Year Everyone- stay healthy and remember to always hug those you love-
wishing you the best of luck and purrs on this new part of your journey – sometimes it takes a loss to help move forward….
My human hates the way people come up with theses cockamamie suggestions for illnesses – especially after decisions have been carefully weighed and thought out. Purrs to you both – I’m sure this decision is the right one for you.
I’m sorry that the leg couldn’t be saved, but everything possible has been done to save it. Sometimes unorthodox treatments help, but it’s past that stage. Mike may experience some discouragement afterward, but I’m sure he’ll feel better in the long run. That leg has been killing him for too long to keep it. It’s like a parasitic relative who won’t end his visit – it’s time to send it on its way.
Good luck to Mike and you. I’ll be waiting to read about the next chapter of your lives.
I hope his decision brings many, many pain free & restful days. A positive attitude has helped me out of a few dark spots. May it work for him as well! Best wishes to you and Mike in 2015!