Not much to blog about.
I have been letting my stump heal as much as possible. Yesterday I put the silicone liner on my stump. It took a long time, and any time I forced it on, it hurt.
Today I am pain free, and when the phantom pain acts up, it is more of "phantom uncomfortable" than "phantom pain". It did wake me up a few times last night, but there was no real pain.
I have been practicing standing up from the wheel chair.
Anytime I try to get up from being down, it is more about balance than strength. I tell my friends thats if I fall, to never try to help me up. Just protect me from any damage, and keep others from "helping" me up. Balancing as I get up is hard, and if someone pulls or touches me, then my balance is thrown off. It is best for them to stand strong, and let me "climb" up them.
Getting up from a chair, or wheel chair, is difficult without hanging on to something to help keep my balance. With my foot in front of the chair, my center of gravity is far to the rear of my foot, and so I can't get my weight forward enough to be able to stand unless I pull forward on something. That is why I have grab bars bolted onto the walls in the bathroom.
With the pain being less in my stump, it means I can push down and rearward on the chair seat hard with the stump while getting up. This means I do not need a grab bar to pull forward. Creating pressure with the stump, also makes me much more stable while getting up and down.
So today I have been practicing getting up and down from the wheel chair without gripping anything. It takes a lot of stump pressure, and good balance. This will make my life easier, as I can get up from the wheelchair with something in my hands, like taking dishes to the sink.
Next I want to work on getting up from the floor, without using the cane.
My solar system is working well. I just did the math on all the log files from my power monitor. My total electricity usage averages out to be 34.7 KWH/ day for the last 3 months. At R1.65 a KWH, thats R171.90 a month. (or $11.85 a month).
--
Sunday, 31 July 2016
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
July 26 2016 - Back in Pretoria
16:00
It has been a cold and rainy day. High was 12C (53F). It is currently hailing.
I am SOOO much a hot and dry kind of guy!
After my latest fall and the resulting hurt back, I have been using way to many drugs. While sitting in the wheel chair in George, feeling sorry for myself, and wanting to take pills for my back,...and pills for my stump,...and pills for my PLP, it is very easy to just take lots of pills, and let the body sort out what it needs.
I have been thinking a lot about how some guys on the internet are playing with open source hardware prosthesis. They are not trying to make a leg or arm replacement, they are trying to do better than that.
One guy has BBK (Bilateral Below Knee) amputations. That is both legs amputated below the knee. He is a semi-pro rock climber. His prosthesis have multiple shapes on the prosthetic foot for jamming in crevices, and standing on tiny ledges. He also made both legs much longer so he can reach far away stepping points. He now has climbed some routes that are humanly impossible.
On the TV show Bionic Builders they have a lower leg prosthesis that has a strong spring in the pylon to allow the user to dunk a basketball.
Maybe trying to mimic a knee is a small step. Why not do much more?
They have prosthetic hands with led lights in the fingertips, and sharp knives that come out of the fingers.
--
I had planned on driving back to Pretoria from George, but a friend had a son that wanted a ride from George to Pretoria on Monday, so I came back a day early, but then he could drive the whole way. I could take pills that may not be best while driving.
My "chauffeur" was an interesting guy. He gave me a good feeling about the world future. I have met so many young people that are useless, and a waste of air. (I consider anyone under 50 to be young.) Talking to a good person, that is also young, was a pleasure.
About a third of the way into the drive back, we ran into snow. Snow in the Karoo desert.
It has been a cold and rainy day. High was 12C (53F). It is currently hailing.
I am SOOO much a hot and dry kind of guy!
After my latest fall and the resulting hurt back, I have been using way to many drugs. While sitting in the wheel chair in George, feeling sorry for myself, and wanting to take pills for my back,...and pills for my stump,...and pills for my PLP, it is very easy to just take lots of pills, and let the body sort out what it needs.
I have been thinking a lot about how some guys on the internet are playing with open source hardware prosthesis. They are not trying to make a leg or arm replacement, they are trying to do better than that.
One guy has BBK (Bilateral Below Knee) amputations. That is both legs amputated below the knee. He is a semi-pro rock climber. His prosthesis have multiple shapes on the prosthetic foot for jamming in crevices, and standing on tiny ledges. He also made both legs much longer so he can reach far away stepping points. He now has climbed some routes that are humanly impossible.
On the TV show Bionic Builders they have a lower leg prosthesis that has a strong spring in the pylon to allow the user to dunk a basketball.
Maybe trying to mimic a knee is a small step. Why not do much more?
They have prosthetic hands with led lights in the fingertips, and sharp knives that come out of the fingers.
--
I had planned on driving back to Pretoria from George, but a friend had a son that wanted a ride from George to Pretoria on Monday, so I came back a day early, but then he could drive the whole way. I could take pills that may not be best while driving.
My "chauffeur" was an interesting guy. He gave me a good feeling about the world future. I have met so many young people that are useless, and a waste of air. (I consider anyone under 50 to be young.) Talking to a good person, that is also young, was a pleasure.
About a third of the way into the drive back, we ran into snow. Snow in the Karoo desert.
Fortunately I talked my chauffeur out of throwing a snowball at me. I held the Padkos (Road Food) that Maddie had made us for the trip, as hostage. Included in the Padkos was some excellent meatballs that he wouldn't want to give up.
The trip took about 4 hours less than when I drove it last. But then, I stopped to nap lots. My driver just drove straight through with only stops for fuel.
I miss Maddie. I'm sure she is busy getting ready for her trip to Ireland. I am not sure when we will be together again. Maybe in September. As usual, everything depends on the prosthesis guy, and the Oncologist. Not only do I feel I have little say in my future, but sometimes I feel that I am not even consulted.
One thing I do think about is whether I want to try to get the prosthesis working again. I am relatively pain free right now, and the risk of hurting the stump and increasing the PLP just doesn't seem like it is worth the price. Absence of pain is a wonderful thing. But walking with a prosthetic leg is also a good thing.
What do I do?
--
Sunday, 24 July 2016
July 24 2016 - Leaving George
Just some quick thoughts.
I still am having lots of back pain, but it is getting better. I'm also having stump pain, and PLP.
I have been doing the TENS on my stump and back before bed. It is so hard to tell if it helps or not.
Tomorrow morning I leave Maddie :-( and head back to Pretoria.
My back is a worry for me. Sitting in the car for 13 hours will not be easy.
A niece of Maddie, has her son visiting her here in George, and he has to be in Pretoria for work on Tuesday morning. He already bought a ticket for last week, but wanted to stay a few more days, so he will go up with me. He has offered to drive the whole way, so I will be able to drug up if needed.
I should be back in my home by 21:00 on Monday night.
Maddie gets to prepare for her 3 weeks in Ireland and get some precious "ME" time, with out having to babysit her crippled, druggy boyfriend :-) She will spend most of August in Ireland with her one daughter. I'm jealous of Ireland.
My next month should be boring. I need to try to get a prosthetic socket working on my sore stump. I also have an Oncologist appointment on the 10th of August.
I may have to throw money at the backyard of my Pretoria house to allow better wheelchair access.
I so miss my stateside friends.
--
I still am having lots of back pain, but it is getting better. I'm also having stump pain, and PLP.
I have been doing the TENS on my stump and back before bed. It is so hard to tell if it helps or not.
Tomorrow morning I leave Maddie :-( and head back to Pretoria.
My back is a worry for me. Sitting in the car for 13 hours will not be easy.
A niece of Maddie, has her son visiting her here in George, and he has to be in Pretoria for work on Tuesday morning. He already bought a ticket for last week, but wanted to stay a few more days, so he will go up with me. He has offered to drive the whole way, so I will be able to drug up if needed.
I should be back in my home by 21:00 on Monday night.
Maddie gets to prepare for her 3 weeks in Ireland and get some precious "ME" time, with out having to babysit her crippled, druggy boyfriend :-) She will spend most of August in Ireland with her one daughter. I'm jealous of Ireland.
My next month should be boring. I need to try to get a prosthetic socket working on my sore stump. I also have an Oncologist appointment on the 10th of August.
I may have to throw money at the backyard of my Pretoria house to allow better wheelchair access.
I so miss my stateside friends.
--
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
July 19 2016 - Comforted by an old pain.
05:00
I am sitting in the wheel chair, in the kitchen, eating a hot dog omelet.
My back was screaming for relief while in bed, so I decided to just get up, and drug up. Muscle relaxers, pain pills, and anti-inflamatories. Some of these pills eat my stomach, so food is important.
I don't like eating when I don't need nourishment. I don't want food to be entertainment. I don't want food to be ulcer prevention.
I have no stump pain, no phantom pain, just old, familiar, back pain.
Like being lost, in a strange place, then seeing someone you know, but don't really like, right next to you. Your not quite happy to see them, but some how comforted by their presence. The enemy you know.
I laid in bed and did the full set of back exercises and stretches. I haven't done them for a long time. My mind has been distracted with cancer and loosing a leg.
I'm not alone now. Millions and millions of people have back pain. I'm back in the flock.
--
06:50
OK I feel the pills doing their job. Maybe I can get an hour nap before Maddie wakes up.
--
Monday, 18 July 2016
July 18 2016 - Another fall, and another pain.
10:30
From a chilly George.
It is a beautiful, clear day out side.
Maddie is hanging laundry.
I am drugged up and stupid.
Yesterday I wanted to make coffee and help Maddie get ready for church. We set the alarm for 7, but at 6 I had to pee. So I decided to crutch to the toilet. The light switch is up on the wall, and with crutches is a pain in the ass, and I didn't want to wake Maddie, so I crutched in the dark.
I made it up the steps to the dressing room. While crutching to the bathroom I went to move the crutches forward to put weight on them before moving my good foot forward. But it was like the crutches never got to the ground. I felt like I was falling forward down steps, and the crutches were only hitting air.
Then the back of my head hit the closet doors, and I landed hard on my tailbone. Shock and back pain. I cried out and woke Maddie. I had been falling backwards while thinking I was falling forward.
The pain in my lower back was intense. I just laid there moaning. Thankfully Maddie did not try and move me. She did good. Laying on my back on the floor just happens to be the best thing for lower back pain, and I was in that position already. Maddie brought some blankets, and a pillow, and left me alone. About an hour later she wanted to get me back down the stairs to the bedroom, but first up into the wheelchair. She brought a strong kitchen chair, and I was able to crawl up it into the wheel chair, but sitting hurt my back to much, and I fell/crawled back onto the floor.
Maddie brought my pills, and quickly made an omelet, and I took pain, anti-inflamatories, and muscle relaxers. I ate the omelet laying on the dressing room floor.
I then dragged myself down the stairs, and again using the kitchen chair, was able to get into bed. It was late afternoon before I could move and sit up. I took my drug cocktail every 4 hours.
Today I am able to sit in the wheelchair, but I must sit still, and sit straight up.
I dread thinking about driving back to Pretoria in a weeks time.
Shame, Maddie wants to go to the Botanical gardens, and maybe a movie. I want to be safe in bed or the wheelchair. I read about some amputee veteran from Afganistan that had lots of falls on crutches and with his prosthetic leg. He says he has the choice of a semi normal life with his prosthesis, or a zero pain life by staying in his wheel chair. He chose the wheel chair, with occasional use of the prosthesis.
There is much advantage to a low pain, no falling lifestyle. My desire for a pain free existence is becoming more important than a traveling, socializing, or going out of the house.
I am becoming a hermit.
--
From a chilly George.
It is a beautiful, clear day out side.
Maddie is hanging laundry.
I am drugged up and stupid.
Yesterday I wanted to make coffee and help Maddie get ready for church. We set the alarm for 7, but at 6 I had to pee. So I decided to crutch to the toilet. The light switch is up on the wall, and with crutches is a pain in the ass, and I didn't want to wake Maddie, so I crutched in the dark.
I made it up the steps to the dressing room. While crutching to the bathroom I went to move the crutches forward to put weight on them before moving my good foot forward. But it was like the crutches never got to the ground. I felt like I was falling forward down steps, and the crutches were only hitting air.
Then the back of my head hit the closet doors, and I landed hard on my tailbone. Shock and back pain. I cried out and woke Maddie. I had been falling backwards while thinking I was falling forward.
The pain in my lower back was intense. I just laid there moaning. Thankfully Maddie did not try and move me. She did good. Laying on my back on the floor just happens to be the best thing for lower back pain, and I was in that position already. Maddie brought some blankets, and a pillow, and left me alone. About an hour later she wanted to get me back down the stairs to the bedroom, but first up into the wheelchair. She brought a strong kitchen chair, and I was able to crawl up it into the wheel chair, but sitting hurt my back to much, and I fell/crawled back onto the floor.
Maddie brought my pills, and quickly made an omelet, and I took pain, anti-inflamatories, and muscle relaxers. I ate the omelet laying on the dressing room floor.
I then dragged myself down the stairs, and again using the kitchen chair, was able to get into bed. It was late afternoon before I could move and sit up. I took my drug cocktail every 4 hours.
Today I am able to sit in the wheelchair, but I must sit still, and sit straight up.
I dread thinking about driving back to Pretoria in a weeks time.
Shame, Maddie wants to go to the Botanical gardens, and maybe a movie. I want to be safe in bed or the wheelchair. I read about some amputee veteran from Afganistan that had lots of falls on crutches and with his prosthetic leg. He says he has the choice of a semi normal life with his prosthesis, or a zero pain life by staying in his wheel chair. He chose the wheel chair, with occasional use of the prosthesis.
There is much advantage to a low pain, no falling lifestyle. My desire for a pain free existence is becoming more important than a traveling, socializing, or going out of the house.
I am becoming a hermit.
--
Friday, 15 July 2016
July 14 201 - Stump trouble, and a visit to Maddie
I am in George visiting Maddie for about 10 days.
Last week I was supposed to go for an Oncologist visit. She called me the morning before, and said that she was cancelling my appointment, and could I come on the 29th of August. That was on the 5th of July. I can't believe the next available date was 7 weeks later. So...I did not make an appointment. That will teach her. If I die before then, that would show her. I can't be made to wait 7 weeks. I'll just die, so there! I have a feeling that it wouldn't bother her at all if i died before the next available appointment date.
On Tuesday I spent many hours at the prosthetic place. Bradley was busy, so I was attended to by a cute Serbian lady. She did everything right, and had a new socket that was hopefully going to allow me to be able to walk, while the torn muscle in my stump has time to heal.
This socket also was not using a silicone liner, but had direct contact between the socket, and my skin on the stump. We got the socket on, but the skin was stuck to the socket. e couldn't get the socket off. it would not slide on the skin.
This socket was able to take the full weight of walking. I was pleased with how the alignment of the leg made it very easy to walk.
We finally got the socket off after 20 minutes of pouring soap down inside the socket to release the skin to socket grip. We then washed out the socket.
She went to correct a small place that was hurting me, and returned. We again put on the socket. It felt good, and would take my full weight without any pain. She asked me to go to the parallel bars to re check the alignment. I used the crutches just in case of a problem, and when I went to swing my leg forward on the second step, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the stump. I collapsed and fell, But the Serbian lady caught me. It hurt so bad I had tears.
It hurt exactly where it hurt a month earlier, when I initially hurt the stump. About at the end of the femur, where it comes into contact with the folded over muscles from the amputation.
We all agreed that I should just go visit Maddie, and be totally in the wheel chair for a few weeks, and try to let the wound heal.
I drove down yesterday from Pretoria To George. About 1300km (800 miles) I stopped a few times to nap, and the whole drive took me 19 hours.
--
July 16
I am a terrible blogger.
Very little happening in George. The licence plates on the cars registered here all start with CAW---. That stands for "Cold And Wet"....How very true.
All we do is sit around staying warm, and watching TV...It is great :-)
My stump is getting better, but it really must have took some strain, as it still is painful.
later
--
Last week I was supposed to go for an Oncologist visit. She called me the morning before, and said that she was cancelling my appointment, and could I come on the 29th of August. That was on the 5th of July. I can't believe the next available date was 7 weeks later. So...I did not make an appointment. That will teach her. If I die before then, that would show her. I can't be made to wait 7 weeks. I'll just die, so there! I have a feeling that it wouldn't bother her at all if i died before the next available appointment date.
On Tuesday I spent many hours at the prosthetic place. Bradley was busy, so I was attended to by a cute Serbian lady. She did everything right, and had a new socket that was hopefully going to allow me to be able to walk, while the torn muscle in my stump has time to heal.
This socket also was not using a silicone liner, but had direct contact between the socket, and my skin on the stump. We got the socket on, but the skin was stuck to the socket. e couldn't get the socket off. it would not slide on the skin.
This socket was able to take the full weight of walking. I was pleased with how the alignment of the leg made it very easy to walk.
We finally got the socket off after 20 minutes of pouring soap down inside the socket to release the skin to socket grip. We then washed out the socket.
She went to correct a small place that was hurting me, and returned. We again put on the socket. It felt good, and would take my full weight without any pain. She asked me to go to the parallel bars to re check the alignment. I used the crutches just in case of a problem, and when I went to swing my leg forward on the second step, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the stump. I collapsed and fell, But the Serbian lady caught me. It hurt so bad I had tears.
It hurt exactly where it hurt a month earlier, when I initially hurt the stump. About at the end of the femur, where it comes into contact with the folded over muscles from the amputation.
We all agreed that I should just go visit Maddie, and be totally in the wheel chair for a few weeks, and try to let the wound heal.
I drove down yesterday from Pretoria To George. About 1300km (800 miles) I stopped a few times to nap, and the whole drive took me 19 hours.
--
July 16
I am a terrible blogger.
Very little happening in George. The licence plates on the cars registered here all start with CAW---. That stands for "Cold And Wet"....How very true.
All we do is sit around staying warm, and watching TV...It is great :-)
My stump is getting better, but it really must have took some strain, as it still is painful.
later
--
Saturday, 9 July 2016
July 9 2016 - A beautiful cold day.
10:00 Saturday Morning...
I am not made for the cold. It is 12C (53F) inside my house.
Three and a half weeks ago my stump hurt itself inside. I have been in a wheel chair since. Some times braving the use of crutches for shopping.
The injury fits all the symptoms of a muscle from the amputation having healed to the femur, that suddenly tore away from the bone. The result is similar to a torn muscle.
Now over 3 weeks later it is healing, and I have less pain, but I still can not get the silicone liner on the stump. And my current prosthetic leg socket requires that I use a silicone liner.
The pain is deep inside the stump. It is made much worse when the skin of the stump is pulled in the direction of my hip or groin. This is the exact action needed to put the silicone liner on, or when pushing the stump into the socket.
My prosthetist (Bradley) has been trying to build/invent a socket that does not require a liner, and does not require pushing, to get the socket on.
This is very time and labor intensive for Bradley, his assistants, and for me. Every new idea has to be implemented on a socket with mold making, silicone shapes, and plastic castings. A few days ago Bradley took another plaster mold of my stump. I had been wearing a compression sock on the stump for days to make the stump as small as possible. Wearing the compression sock is not painful, but getting it on, is a long slow process if I avoid pain.
A small, low volume stump is much better than a stump that has water, muscle, or fat in it.
Check out the size of the thigh socket on this Para-Olympian runner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Reinertsen
--
Proprioception is the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation of a limb.
This is important when walking with a prosthesis, because there is no normal nerve feedback regarding the position of the foot or leg. I find it essential to know when the heel is down, and the knee is locked.
When you have been sitting funny for a long time, and try to stand up, finding out that your leg or foot is numb (asleep), you immediately sit back down. You can not walk if you can not tell if your leg can support you, or even where your foot is. I have this "numbness" permanent in my prosthetic leg. What paralyzes you, is normal for people wearing a prosthetic leg.
The closer the prosthetic leg is to the skeleton, the greater the sensitivity, and feedback from the prosthesis to the brain. Many people choose to have the prosthesis attached physically to the end of femur.
This is called Osseointegration.
Wikipedia says:
What are the advantages of Osseointegration?
No socket – therefore, no sweating or skin irritations caused by the socket
No pain, pressure or discomfort caused by the socket,
Easy to don and doff the prosthesis.
Excellent suspension.
No restriction of hip movement.
Comfort in the sitting position.
Osseoperception – a more natural sensation of the prosthetic limb
Increase of bone and muscle mass
What are the disadvantages?
Long rehabilitation process: in total, it may take up to 18 months for the entire process to be complete
Risk of infection
Risk of fractures and loosening of the implant
No high-impact activities permitted, such as running or jumping
Swimming in public facilities is not recommended
Daily care of the abutment skin area is required
It is not for everyone, and hopefully not for me. The reason I have been learning about it, is that often it is used by amputees that are unable to wear a socket.
--
OK... back to my 5 hour visit to the prosthetic shop/factory yesterday.
Bradley had a long tube shaped piece of very slick parachute cloth that is put over my bare stump. The end of it goes through the small hole at the bottom of the socket. This hole is for the vacuum valve. I put my stump down inside the slick cloth coated socket, and then Bradley would pull out the cloth through the hole.
This means my stump is "pulled into" the socket, and not pushed into it. It gave me zero pain.
After pulling the cloth out, my stump was way down into the socket, and my dry skin was sort of stuck to the silicone inside of the socket.
The way I currently don the socket is to lubricate the silicone liner with a glycerin mix, and push the stump down inside the socket, called a "wet" doning. Bradley was trying a "dry" doning with no lubricant of any kind.
But my stump wasn't far enough into the socket. I was not able to force the stump in any farther because of the dry skin against the silicon was forming a non slip surface. Getting the socket off was a battle. It was really stuck to the skin. Fortunately pulling my stump is not painful, and with one assistant holding me tight and pulling, and Bradley and another assistant pulling the socket, we were able to get the socket off.
We tried many ways of getting the stump farther into the socket. All failed.
We got desperate, and cut a slot in the outer hard shell of the socket. $$$ This expanded the shell, and I was able to get farther into the socket, but still not enough.
Then we also cut the inner silicone liner of the socket. $$$ This allowed me to get the stump in to the proper depth, but made the socket very weak. But now we know the exact amount necessary to expand the socket to make it work by measuring the gap in the cut. Next week they will build another, slightly larger socket, and we will try the cloth through the hole trick, and dry doning with the larger socket.
Hopefully I'll end up with a tight socket that doesn't cause me any pain to wear, or to put on.
I was supposed to be in George with Maddie last week, and then again this week, and now even next week is not going to happen.
Planing a life is futile, when that life has to include a prosthesis and cancer.
--
I am not made for the cold. It is 12C (53F) inside my house.
Three and a half weeks ago my stump hurt itself inside. I have been in a wheel chair since. Some times braving the use of crutches for shopping.
The injury fits all the symptoms of a muscle from the amputation having healed to the femur, that suddenly tore away from the bone. The result is similar to a torn muscle.
Now over 3 weeks later it is healing, and I have less pain, but I still can not get the silicone liner on the stump. And my current prosthetic leg socket requires that I use a silicone liner.
The pain is deep inside the stump. It is made much worse when the skin of the stump is pulled in the direction of my hip or groin. This is the exact action needed to put the silicone liner on, or when pushing the stump into the socket.
My prosthetist (Bradley) has been trying to build/invent a socket that does not require a liner, and does not require pushing, to get the socket on.
This is very time and labor intensive for Bradley, his assistants, and for me. Every new idea has to be implemented on a socket with mold making, silicone shapes, and plastic castings. A few days ago Bradley took another plaster mold of my stump. I had been wearing a compression sock on the stump for days to make the stump as small as possible. Wearing the compression sock is not painful, but getting it on, is a long slow process if I avoid pain.
A small, low volume stump is much better than a stump that has water, muscle, or fat in it.
Check out the size of the thigh socket on this Para-Olympian runner.
 |
| This lady is Sarah Reinertsen. |
--
Proprioception is the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation of a limb.
This is important when walking with a prosthesis, because there is no normal nerve feedback regarding the position of the foot or leg. I find it essential to know when the heel is down, and the knee is locked.
When you have been sitting funny for a long time, and try to stand up, finding out that your leg or foot is numb (asleep), you immediately sit back down. You can not walk if you can not tell if your leg can support you, or even where your foot is. I have this "numbness" permanent in my prosthetic leg. What paralyzes you, is normal for people wearing a prosthetic leg.
The closer the prosthetic leg is to the skeleton, the greater the sensitivity, and feedback from the prosthesis to the brain. Many people choose to have the prosthesis attached physically to the end of femur.
This is called Osseointegration.
What are the advantages of Osseointegration?
No socket – therefore, no sweating or skin irritations caused by the socket
No pain, pressure or discomfort caused by the socket,
Easy to don and doff the prosthesis.
Excellent suspension.
No restriction of hip movement.
Comfort in the sitting position.
Osseoperception – a more natural sensation of the prosthetic limb
Increase of bone and muscle mass
What are the disadvantages?
Long rehabilitation process: in total, it may take up to 18 months for the entire process to be complete
Risk of infection
Risk of fractures and loosening of the implant
No high-impact activities permitted, such as running or jumping
Swimming in public facilities is not recommended
Daily care of the abutment skin area is required
It is not for everyone, and hopefully not for me. The reason I have been learning about it, is that often it is used by amputees that are unable to wear a socket.
--
OK... back to my 5 hour visit to the prosthetic shop/factory yesterday.
Bradley had a long tube shaped piece of very slick parachute cloth that is put over my bare stump. The end of it goes through the small hole at the bottom of the socket. This hole is for the vacuum valve. I put my stump down inside the slick cloth coated socket, and then Bradley would pull out the cloth through the hole.
This means my stump is "pulled into" the socket, and not pushed into it. It gave me zero pain.
After pulling the cloth out, my stump was way down into the socket, and my dry skin was sort of stuck to the silicone inside of the socket.
The way I currently don the socket is to lubricate the silicone liner with a glycerin mix, and push the stump down inside the socket, called a "wet" doning. Bradley was trying a "dry" doning with no lubricant of any kind.
But my stump wasn't far enough into the socket. I was not able to force the stump in any farther because of the dry skin against the silicon was forming a non slip surface. Getting the socket off was a battle. It was really stuck to the skin. Fortunately pulling my stump is not painful, and with one assistant holding me tight and pulling, and Bradley and another assistant pulling the socket, we were able to get the socket off.
We tried many ways of getting the stump farther into the socket. All failed.
We got desperate, and cut a slot in the outer hard shell of the socket. $$$ This expanded the shell, and I was able to get farther into the socket, but still not enough.
Then we also cut the inner silicone liner of the socket. $$$ This allowed me to get the stump in to the proper depth, but made the socket very weak. But now we know the exact amount necessary to expand the socket to make it work by measuring the gap in the cut. Next week they will build another, slightly larger socket, and we will try the cloth through the hole trick, and dry doning with the larger socket.
Hopefully I'll end up with a tight socket that doesn't cause me any pain to wear, or to put on.
I was supposed to be in George with Maddie last week, and then again this week, and now even next week is not going to happen.
Planing a life is futile, when that life has to include a prosthesis and cancer.
--
Saturday, 2 July 2016
2 July 2016 - Cold on a Saturday morning
01:30
A blog at this time of the night is never a good thing. I can not believe I am having such bad PLP. I thought that was a thing of the past. Not so.
I wore the silicone liner for a few hours yesterday evening. That extra compression on the stump may be the cause.
I have not been able to get the silicone liner on for weeks now. Today I found that if I press the stump down hard onto the wheel chair cushion, I can get the liner on with only a little pain. Too bad I can't do the same with the socket.
Plan "A", had me being in George with Maddie by early next week. Now I have blood tests on Tuesday, and Oncologist on Wednesday.
My prosthesis guy called, and wants to try to design a different socket on Wednesday also. He will probably make another mold then, and I'll get the new socket on Thursday. I think there is still to much pain for me to be able to judge the value of another socket. I still have 2 sockets, and both cause lots of pain. Both were good sockets in their time. The stump shrunk to much for the one, and the second one was much better, and I was able to walk, and even do the park runs.
I removed the latest socket with the Texas flag and the holes, and installed the old, big one onto the knee. I did this myself at home. This socket was too big 3 weeks ago, and now my stump has swollen up so much over the last few weeks, that socket is now to small. I would have to push lots to get the stump in it now, and any pushing is painful. I am such a wimp!
As I am feeling sorry for myself right now, I have decided to make and consume a hot dog, jalapeno omelet.
I don't know why, but jalapenos always cheer me up.
Feeling sorry for myself, makes me feel sorry for myself.
Feeling sorry for myself is recursive.
Have you ever seen a sad three legged dog? Not me. They still just want love and someone to play with. I could learn lots from dogs.
A baby bird that falls out of the nest doesn't feel sorry for itself. Even as it gets eaten by a cat. I could learn lots from baby birds.
--
02:20
Great omelet.
Lots of jalapenos. Now I have hiccups.
It has been cold the last few days. There is a cold front coming through, and tonight will be just above freezing. Most South African houses don't have any form of insulation. At least I have solar panels, so once the sun is up I can cheaply run a small heater.
Day before yesterday I drug a ladder from the shed, and got up to the attic. I put a desktop fan up there blowing down through a hole on a board that fits in the trap door. This blows hot attic air down into the bedroom. It also blows dust and small attic trivia. The attic got up to 28C yesterday while the outside temperature never got above 18C. I also built it a trap door held up with magnets to try and keep the night time heat in.
Climbing the ladder with only one leg is not for the faint hearted. Falling could be the start of some real problems. But then again it could also be the end of most of my problems. So I figured 50/50, and up I went.
The biggest difficulty was my good leg getting tired. There is no place to sit and rest on a ladder. So I would climb up, work for a bit, then down to the wheel chair for a rest, then back up again. 5 times to get everything done.
Yesterday was a laundry day. I managed to get all the clean, wet clothes out of the washing machine, and into the laundry basket. While I was in the wheel chair, with the basket on my lap, navigating around the house toward the back yard, the basket mysteriously fell off my lap. Clothes stops/pegs/pins and laundry all over the ground. So I started picking things up and fell forward out of the wheel chair. It takes some doing to fall out of a wheel chair. I can add that to my "Been there, Done that." list.
As I was laying on my "clean" clothes on the ground, I figured this was a good time to pick stuff up and refill the laundry basket, then clumsily got back into the wheel chair.
Back inside to rinse the laundry in the machine again. I figured the dirt wasn't really "dirty" like the stink from my armpits is, so I didn't bother with soap this time.
I found a bungee cord that I used to use for holding stuff on the back of a motorcycle, and once the laundry basket was again on my lap, I secured it there with the bungee cord. A few hours later I brought in all the still damp laundry.
I'm sure my many friends had a busy productive day doing many things. I just did laundry.
This PLP is not getting less. It used to go away whenever I was busy. Not this time. I think I am going to drug up with pain killers, read a bit, and then probably sleep till past noon.
I had a friend once that always slept late. He used to say that if you get out of bed before noon, then you just wasted half the day. :-)
03:17
---
A blog at this time of the night is never a good thing. I can not believe I am having such bad PLP. I thought that was a thing of the past. Not so.
I wore the silicone liner for a few hours yesterday evening. That extra compression on the stump may be the cause.
I have not been able to get the silicone liner on for weeks now. Today I found that if I press the stump down hard onto the wheel chair cushion, I can get the liner on with only a little pain. Too bad I can't do the same with the socket.
Plan "A", had me being in George with Maddie by early next week. Now I have blood tests on Tuesday, and Oncologist on Wednesday.
My prosthesis guy called, and wants to try to design a different socket on Wednesday also. He will probably make another mold then, and I'll get the new socket on Thursday. I think there is still to much pain for me to be able to judge the value of another socket. I still have 2 sockets, and both cause lots of pain. Both were good sockets in their time. The stump shrunk to much for the one, and the second one was much better, and I was able to walk, and even do the park runs.
I removed the latest socket with the Texas flag and the holes, and installed the old, big one onto the knee. I did this myself at home. This socket was too big 3 weeks ago, and now my stump has swollen up so much over the last few weeks, that socket is now to small. I would have to push lots to get the stump in it now, and any pushing is painful. I am such a wimp!
As I am feeling sorry for myself right now, I have decided to make and consume a hot dog, jalapeno omelet.
I don't know why, but jalapenos always cheer me up.
Feeling sorry for myself, makes me feel sorry for myself.
Feeling sorry for myself is recursive.
Have you ever seen a sad three legged dog? Not me. They still just want love and someone to play with. I could learn lots from dogs.
A baby bird that falls out of the nest doesn't feel sorry for itself. Even as it gets eaten by a cat. I could learn lots from baby birds.
--
02:20
Great omelet.
It has been cold the last few days. There is a cold front coming through, and tonight will be just above freezing. Most South African houses don't have any form of insulation. At least I have solar panels, so once the sun is up I can cheaply run a small heater.
Day before yesterday I drug a ladder from the shed, and got up to the attic. I put a desktop fan up there blowing down through a hole on a board that fits in the trap door. This blows hot attic air down into the bedroom. It also blows dust and small attic trivia. The attic got up to 28C yesterday while the outside temperature never got above 18C. I also built it a trap door held up with magnets to try and keep the night time heat in.
The biggest difficulty was my good leg getting tired. There is no place to sit and rest on a ladder. So I would climb up, work for a bit, then down to the wheel chair for a rest, then back up again. 5 times to get everything done.
Yesterday was a laundry day. I managed to get all the clean, wet clothes out of the washing machine, and into the laundry basket. While I was in the wheel chair, with the basket on my lap, navigating around the house toward the back yard, the basket mysteriously fell off my lap. Clothes stops/pegs/pins and laundry all over the ground. So I started picking things up and fell forward out of the wheel chair. It takes some doing to fall out of a wheel chair. I can add that to my "Been there, Done that." list.
As I was laying on my "clean" clothes on the ground, I figured this was a good time to pick stuff up and refill the laundry basket, then clumsily got back into the wheel chair.
Back inside to rinse the laundry in the machine again. I figured the dirt wasn't really "dirty" like the stink from my armpits is, so I didn't bother with soap this time.
I found a bungee cord that I used to use for holding stuff on the back of a motorcycle, and once the laundry basket was again on my lap, I secured it there with the bungee cord. A few hours later I brought in all the still damp laundry.
I'm sure my many friends had a busy productive day doing many things. I just did laundry.
This PLP is not getting less. It used to go away whenever I was busy. Not this time. I think I am going to drug up with pain killers, read a bit, and then probably sleep till past noon.
I had a friend once that always slept late. He used to say that if you get out of bed before noon, then you just wasted half the day. :-)
03:17
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