A potpourri of topics...

Abby's Artwork...
My 11-year-old niece, Abby, has added three more drawings to her blog so if you have some time, you may want to check them out. Just click on the following link: Abby's Artwork blog.

Six months ago from yesterday...
On April 6th, Dr. William DeCarbo, from Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center in Westerville, Ohio, did surgery on my right foot; first cutting and flattening the nodules on the bottom of my foot and then putting a halo on it to straighten my ankle to a normal 90° angle.

Time flies, well, most of the time...
On the most part, the recuperation time went by pretty fast, which in some ways was a good thing since I was non-weight bearing for 70 days and spent the time in bed. Thank goodness I had my computer, TV, and a window to look outside, to pass the time. On the other hand, spring and summer went by way too fast. But then again, they always go by too quickly, but winter drags on and on and on. I'm not sure why it is that way, because the days are longer in summer and shorter in winter, therefore you would think the opposite would be true. But it probably has more to do with the cold and snowy weather conditions and the fact that me and a lot of other people just don't get out like we do in the spring and summer and that makes time go by more slowly. For those who have to go out in the wintertime, I would venture to guess that time goes by even slower than those of us who don't have to go out in it.

Walking still improving...
Even though I'm still using the walking boot to get around, I managed to walk another mile yesterday and today. I didn't use the stop watch to time myself, but I just used my wrist watch and looked at the time before and after. Yesterday I left at about 10:32 and returned at around 11:27 so I cut my previous 59 minutes and 24 seconds time by about 5 minutes. I took my time yesterday, so today I wanted to see if I could step it up a little and I did improve. Today I left at 11:14 and returned at 12:03. That comes to 49 minutes and some odd seconds, but I'll round it off to 50 minutes.

Ever so grateful...
I want to point out once again that I am so incredibly grateful to God for still being able to walk. Considering that from November 1977 to May 1979, I could only stand for a few seconds at a time, being able to put one foot in front of the other, 31 years later, is a blessing from God, which I do not take for granted. God has been so good to me.

My new right shoe...
I will probably get my new right shoe in about two weeks and it will probably take two more weeks after that to get used to it after wearing the walking boot the past four months. If all goes as planned, I would like to try and do another walking video before the colder weather sets in - hopefully by mid-November. I just hope the snow doesn't start flying until around Christmastime.

Lovely to look at...
In the meantime, I hope you get a chance to enjoy the beautiful autumn leaves the next few weeks, because all too soon they will be gone. Oh, how I look forward to spring again!

Artistic ability runs in the family...

Ever since I was a little kid, I always admired my sister, Ruth, for her amazing ability to draw. Ruth graduated from high school in 1975 and I did in 1979. When Ruth had her school books sitting around, I still remember being very sneaky, and yes, nosy, looking through her art class book of drawings time after time. I'm the first one to admit that I couldn't even draw a simple stick figure without it looking crooked on the page, so I was awestruck with her natural ability.

My Grandpa "Gus" Bensman, was also very talented when it came to drawing animals, so we always figured that Ruth inherited her talent from him.

Then my niece, Abby, came along and the talent was handed down. Abby's mom, Barb, also liked to draw when she was growing up, so Abby received a double dose of artistic ability. Abby is only 11, as of May 4th, and this past summer she decided she wanted to have a blog so I helped her set one up. Below is the link to it:

Abby's Artwork Blog

Abby is taking art classes after school so she will continually include a variety of drawings to her collection. If you bookmark her website, you can check out her art gallery of drawings every week or so. Enjoy!

Reached another goal...

1.0454 & 59:24. Do you give up what those numbers mean? Well, the first number is a little over a mile and the second set of numbers is how long it took me to walk that far; 59 minutes and 24 seconds. I'm happy with those numbers considering I'm still using the walking boot. My goal was to get under 1 hour, which I just barely made so once I get my new shoe and my foot doesn't hurt as much, I'm hoping to cut my time by at least 5 minutes.

In case you're wondering how I came to that exact mile calculation, I used the Gmaps Pedometer website. After figuring out where and how much I was going to walk at the church parking lot across the street from my home, I simply zoomed into North Star, did a lot of clicking and came up with the answer. It's a pretty cool website in case you ever want to check it out.

Click here to check out Gmaps Pedometer

Yesterday (Sunday) I actually did 2 - 1/2 mile walks instead of doing the full mile at one stretch, and my total time was 50:56. Today I was really struggling with the last four of ten laps so from now on I'm just going to do the 2 - 1/2 miles and play it safe as far as the foot pain is concerned.

I've got to get some more things done so I better get to them.

THANK YOU!

Over the past five months, I have come a long ways, even though some days have been frustrating. I would like to thank my family and friends who sent me encouraging emails or left a message at my blog concerning my improved walking. I truly appreciate the uplifting comments, but I cannot take credit for doing as well as I am, because as my blog title suggests, "Walking With God By My Side", I could not have done anything without God's grace and His encouragement to keep believing that I will get better and stronger. God gets all the Glory!

I am richly blessed to have a wonderful family and I treasure them dearly, because they have helped me in so many ways. Besides God and my faith helping me, my Dad, Alvin; Mom, Joann; brothers, Bob, Russ and Rick; sister, Ruth; in-laws Gary and Barb; niece, Abby; and nephews, David, Alex and Max; have all helped me a lot when I needed them over the years. Thank you all so much!

Since Dad was the oldest of five brothers and one sister and Mom grew up as the youngest of five sisters and one brother, I had a lot of aunts, uncles ans cousins, who have always been genuinely kind and caring. Since I am not very outgoing, it's difficult for me to approach people. When it came to family gatherings, I have always appreciated it when my aunts, uncles and cousins would visit with me. In fact, one of my favorite things to do when I was a child, was visiting my relatives, but since my early teens, getting out became more difficult, so that is why I became more shy and reclusive.

I also didn't have a lot of friends over the years, however, with the friends I do have, they have been very supportive and caring.

I am fortunate to have Dianne, a friend and neighbor, who has been helping me since November 2005 via Carestar's home health care waiver program. Dianne is an early bird, getting up as early as 4:30 AM, so by the time she comes in at 7:00 AM, I'm usually still tired and not in a real chipper mood, especially if I've had a restless night. On three of the five days that Dianne helps me four hours, she prepares food in the kitchen, so I can sleep. After an hour or two of resting, I'm ready to get cleaned up and dressed for the day.

I also really enjoy visiting with Mary Ann and Diana, who have taken the time out of their busy schedules to stop by and visit me every few weeks while I've been recuperating.

I've known Mary Ann since the mid 80's when Mom and I had the health food co-op. We enjoy talking about our faith and a variety of other subjects and the time goes by too quickly when we're together. Mary Ann is a lot of fun to be around, because we laugh a lot when we're together. Hopefully, next summer when I'm able to get around better, we would like to get out and do some "fun" things together. Mary Ann's, Dad, Alfons, who is 94, and stepmother, Lois, who is 88, also live next door to me.

I met Diana for the first time around November 2009 when she helped me as an aide from Comprehensive Health Network in Greenville. Diana actually knew me many years earlier from Darke County Right to Life when I helped with the newsletter. We never met back then, but she still remembered me. Diana also makes me laugh a lot and has helped me get out of some bad moods. She knows when I'm in a funk, because she'll scowl and grumble at me, which always makes me smile and laugh. As a nurses aide for many years, Diana has been gifted with a true passion for helping others and also enjoys sharing her faith in God.

Our parish priest, Father David Zink, is an outstanding and joyful man of God to be around and has been an absolute blessing in my life with his weekly visits of bringing me Holy Communion. The qualities which Father Zink exhibits include, kindness, gentleness, understanding, a deep knowledge of our Catholic faith and knowing more about the Saints than anyone I have ever met. He also has an amazing singing voice, his sense of humor is refreshing and I really like to hear him laugh. He's very busy taking care of two parishes; St. Louis in North Star and St. Nicholas in Osgood, so I don't get a chance to spend a lot of time with him, but when he does visit, I enjoy them a lot.

Even though North Star is fairly small with a population of about 400, every time I take a walk, someone always says hello. My neighbors are very kind-hearted and care for each other a lot. It's a wonderful community to live in and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to raise a family.

Other people in my life who have really boosted my morale and encouraged me the past two years have been the following:

My foot surgeons, Dr. Thomas Lee and Dr. William DeCarbo, from Orthopedic Foot & Ankle, have used their expert medical knowledge and amazing surgical skills, to give me back my ability to walk more normal, and for that I am very grateful.

Vicki Binkley, my case manager from Carestar, has worked diligently on my behalf, making sure I have all my medical needs met.

The nurses from Comprehensive Health Network: Glenna, Lil, Linda, Melissa, Charlotte, Lynn, Stephanie, Gail, Joan, Sharon, Kathy and Tracy, have all been very professional, kind and caring when it came to changing the foot dressings and helping me deal with other stressful health problems related to my recovery.

Teresa and Shawn were two other aides who also helped me from Comprehensive Health Network.

Since I was not able to walk from April 6th to late June, Spirit Medical Transport from Greenville, took me to Dr. DeCarbo's appointments in Westerville, as well as transporting me home from the hospital. The EMT's were very professional and caring and always treated me with the utmost kindness and respect.

To anyone whom I did not mention, just know that I also appreciate your thoughtfulness. Thank you, again!!!

My walking stride has improved...

On April 6th, almost five months ago, I had the right halo foot surgery. On the most part, the time went by fairly fast, at least it seems like it went by faster than it did with the left foot surgery, probably because the three surgeries for the left foot occurred from August 2008 to January 2009. Since some of my recovery time was during the winter months, I wasn't able to get out and walk like I did this time. I don't know about you, but winter days always seem to go slower than they do in the summer.

On July 27th, I produced a video of myself walking outside with the song, The Climb by Miley Cyrus. At the time, I took smaller steps and used the crutches with every step. Over the past seven weeks, my stride has gradually improved, but I still need the crutches, because my foot hurts a lot. I think most of the pain is caused by the walking boot, because it restricts my foot from moving and puts more stress on some of the muscles and tendons. Hopefully, after I get the new shoe, my foot will have more mobility and feel much better.

Below is a second video of me walking outside, and this time I am able to walk a little faster and my stride is also longer. I chose One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks as the background music.

The video clip from July 20th, was videotaped by my niece, Abby. Dianne, my home health aide, videotaped the rest on September 3rd. It was by sheer coincidence that I wore the same outfit, even though they were videotaped 45 days apart. I actually have more than two outfits.

After I get used to walking in the new shoe, I'm going to produce the third and last video. I have already decided the song for it so you'll have to stay tuned to find out what it is.

Getting cast made for new shoe...

On Tuesday, August 17th, I went to Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Lima to have my newly re-constructed right foot fit for a new custom-made shoe. To most people, getting new shoes probably isn't a big deal, but it's a very big deal for me, because my custom-made shoes are the only shoes I have and wear.

It's actually hard for me to believe that I walked on the front part of my foot for nearly 36 years, because having the rheumatoid arthritis, I was not able to flatten my foot. Then on April 6th, four and a half months ago, I had re-constructive surgery to return my ankle to a normal 90° angle as well as having the bones cut and flattened on the bottom. I've been wearing a walking boot since June 4th, and I started walking with it on June 15th, so I'm really anxious to wear a shoe again.

Because I did not bear weight on my heel for over three decades, I had what is called disuse osteoporosis, making the heel bone weak and porous and causing the halo wires to pull away from my heel, which also caused some skin damage. I am so incredibly grateful that my foot is looking and doing as well as it is. I have to give Dr. William DeCarbo, my surgeon, a lot of credit for being so patient, supportive and positive the past four months.

I'm also very grateful that Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics are able to make me shoes that enable me to walk more comfortably. They do an incredible job before and after I get the shoes, making sure I am a happy and very satisfied customer.

Below are some pictures which were taken that day. I rarely get to spend much time with my niece, Abby, so she came along and was my photographer for the day.

This is John Druckemiller, the Orthotist
who casted my left foot as well as this
right one. He's very friendly, he likes
to ride a motorcycle and is an
auctioneer on the side.

John is molding the fiberglass wrap to
my foot, making sure to get every detail.

The yellow strip is used to help cut off
the cast once it completely dried. He
just cuts down on it with a special tool,
removes it, slightly pulls the cast apart
and then quickly removes it from my foot.

This is the final result of my right foot
casting for my new custom-made shoe.

This X-ray was taken June 14th, nine
weeks and six days after I had the halo
surgery and two weeks and six days
after the halo was removed. When the
halo wire pulled away from my heel,
(caused by disuse osteoporosis) the
heel bone became slightly pointy. The
new custom-made shoe will have an
insert allowing my heel to rest inside
a hole, off-loading any pressure.
Hopefully, the insert will work so
I do not need surgery to have the
pointy bone shaved down.

X marks the spot for the pointy heel bone in
my new shoe where it will be off-loaded so I
don't put direct pressure on it when I walk.

After going to Hanger's, Abby, Dianne, who is my home health aide, and I, went to Staples in Sidney, where Abby helped me spend a gift card, which I got at Christmas. Abby's quite the artist, so she got an easel and easel pad. Finally, we stopped by MacDonald's for lunch. It was quite a busy day and the first time since the fall of 2009 that I had a chance to do something extra fun. Yoohoo!!!

TIMBER!!!

On Monday, August 9th, our neighbors across the street had an evergreen tree cut down. Opal Subler, who is a grand lady of 100, and her son, Dick, who is 78, have lived in the home since 1948. Sadly, Opal's husband Alfred died in 1994.

I don't know if the tree was planted the same year as when the house was built, but I do remember when I was a child and Christmas lights were hung on it, as well as another evergreen tree which was on the east side of the house. The reason the tree needed to be cut was because it was dying.

Opal's youngest daughter of four, Dianne, who has been a long time friend and helps me Monday through Friday via the home health waiver program as an aide, did me the favor of taking pictures throughout the morning as the tree was cut down.

Opal's other son, Bruce, stops by on his
way to coffee break to talk to the tree
trimmer soon after they started.

The guy with the chain saw continues
to move up the tree as he gradually
reaches the top.

And then he cuts down the logs for firewood.

This tree that was standing for close to
60 years, took less than two hours
to be cut down to a stump.

Pursuing goals...

The Climb...
The first time I heard this song by Miley Cyrus, I felt that it was a personal anthem for me to not give up on myself. Over the past few weeks as I have been walking again, I have been slowly and steadily getting stronger. I am extremely grateful for the progress I have been making, but I have a long ways to go and as the song says:

There's always gonna be another mountain.
I'm always gonna wanna make it move.
Always gonna be an uphill battle.
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose.

Ain't about how fast I get there.
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side.
It's the climb.

Below is a video of me walking this morning with The Climb playing in the background.

Click here to see my walking video on YouTube.

I Can Only Imagine...

In 2001, MercyMe came out with the song, I Can Only Imagine, a very inspirational song about meeting Jesus in heaven. In 2006, I produced a music video, using pictures which I found on the internet.

I Can Only Imagine
by MercyMe

Cats playing to music...

I hope you enjoy watching the following six cat videos as much as I enjoyed making them. They were actually made about four years ago so the cats are a tad bit older now.

The white cat, which we appropriately named Betty (after Betty White) and the brown one, named Patches, are still hanging around the neighborhood along with their Mama, who is black and white with the white paws, also known as a Tuxedo.

The cats were never really ours, we just adopted them when pregnant Mama showed up on our doorstep one cold November day back in 2005 and we felt sorry for her and gave her a warm place to stay while she delivered her six kittens. Unfortunately, four of the six kittens died and Betty and Patches were the only ones that survived. A few months later, Mama had another litter of six, which are also seen in video "In the Mood" by the Glenn Miller Band, but we ended up giving those all away. Since we didn't want Mama, Betty or Patches (all females) to get pregnant again, we took them to a vet and had them fixed.

Note: No cats were harmed in the process of filming these videos. They are just being playful when they wrestle with each other. In the video, Maple Leaf Rag, the cats are playing with a stuffed mouse.

 Yakety Axe by Clay Atkins

Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin

In The Mood by Glenn Miller Band

Elephant Walk by Henry Mancini

Kittens On The Keys by Frank Mills

Orange Blossom Special by Bill Monroe Orchestra

An eye for detail...

Yesterday, my 11-year-old niece, Abby, came over for a visit. To be honest, I can not draw worth a darn, and well, Abby is pretty much the complete opposite. She wanted to draw something, so I looked around the room and I saw the little stuffed tiger that I received from the Versailles nursing home a couple years ago. I guess it's their mascot, since Versailles is the home of the Tigers, so they give all their patients this little stuffed animal as a going-away gift. Within about five minutes, Abby drew the tiger. We took a picture of the original so you can see for yourself how Abby truly has an eyes for detail...

2010 Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Fitness Challenge...

And the winner is...
From January 4th to March 31st, Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center in Westerville (where I have been going the last two years for my foot surgeries) had a fitness challenge. My surgeon, Dr. William "Will, not Bill" DeCarbo (who put the halo on the left foot and also did the right forefoot surgery and put the halo on it) is the the prestigious winner. I assumed Dr. DeCarbo had placed his trophy in his family living room where the picture below was taken, but when I asked him where it was, he said it was in a back office room.

Final OFAC 2010 fitness challenge post....WINNER!!!!!!!!

Week 12 challenge, part I complete!

Week 7 Challenge...a glimpse into the winning contestants lunch: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, banana, protein shake, water.
345 calories, 43g proteins, 37.9g carbs, 3g fat!!!

Week 9 challenge complete!!!!!
Criss cross, double jumps...BRING IT!!!

A competitive spirit...
From all outward appearances, I thought Dr. DeCarbo was in really good shape before he started the fitness challenge, but I've got a feeling that as the contest suggests, he likes to physically challenge himself and maybe, just maybe, he likes to egg on his colleagues a tad bit too. At least his sense of humor points in that direction.

Congratulations, Dr. DeCarbo...
It was a tremendous "feat" which he accomplished over the course of 12 weeks, but when it comes right down to it, I'm sure he will also agree being healthy and strong is the best reward possible!

Making progress…

Walking again…
Seventy days after I had my left foot surgery on April 6th, I stood up for the first time on June 15th and walked with the help of two elbow crutches. I only walked about five minutes that first day and I was really tired, but I have now managed to increase it to about 45 minutes a day since I’m doing 3-15 minute walks in which I’ve been walking from my bed to the kitchen sink and back to my bed. For about a week now, I’ve also been walking outside – starting at 15 minutes and now I’m up to 30 minutes; walking just a little bit more each day helps my stamina.

Slow, but sure…
I’m the first one to admit that I’m really slow, because in that same 45 minutes a six-minute-miler could literally run laps around me by going seven and a half miles, but it’s a small victory for me and I’m very gratefully for the progress.

Doin’ the boot scootin’ boogie…
Prior to walking outside, I sat in my wheelchair and scooted down the sidewalks by keeping the right foot elevated on a leg rest and pushing with my left foot. I was outside three different times for about an hour and a half each day, but I decided to stop doing it when I felt like I was bitten by chiggers the third time.

Removing layers of dead skin…
The nurses from Comprehensive Health Network were able to remove all of the dead skin and dried up blood from the bottom of my foot, which was a good sign that new skin was forming under the surface. See the before picture below from June 9th and the after from July 16th.



Back to Westerville for another appointment...
On Monday, July 12th when I went back to see Dr. DeCarbo, he removed the black necrosis skin, which was on the inside of my right foot. The area was about ¾ by ½ inch and fortunately it was numb and didn’t hurt at all when it was cut away, because the Achilles tendon had already been cut allowing the halo to return the ankle to a 90° angle.

Before and after…
Below are some pictures showing how my foot looked on Wednesday, June 9th and how it looked on Friday, July 16th – five weeks and two days later. Once again, Dr. DeCarbo removed a lot of the black "necrosis" dead skin, so it’s quite a big improvement and proof that the body does heel when given time and the best possible care, which I definitely received from Dr. DeCarbo and the nurses from Comprehensive Health Network.


My next goal…
Right now my goal is to walk with a new shoe and to not use any crutches inside and only use one crutch outside. Ideally, that would be by late October, however, before these things can happen, the skin located inside and outside of my heel needs to completely heal, the heal bone has to be able to withstand weight without hurting and my toes need to be straightened, which will probably be another six weeks of not being able to walk. Definitely by Christmas, I will receive my best gift ever with my foot being completely healed and walking a lot better!!!

Nature shots...

Swan Lake & Over the Rainbow...
Glenna, a nurse from Comprehensive Health Network, emailed the following pictures to me. The swans have taken residents on a wetland which is located near her home and the rainbow was also taken near her home on Thursday, June 15th.




Shares her love for dogs...
Glenna is not only an excellent nurse and enjoys nature, but she also helps foster dogs for the Animal Protection League of Mercer County, usually taking care of one at a time, occasionally two. She has fostered 31 dogs since 2007 and has three dogs of her own. Now that's a lot of dog food to buy!

Getting back on my feet one day at a time…

Setting goals…
After walking on the front part of my feet since around 1973, the goal of having foot surgeries was to get them back to a 90° angle so they would be flat to the floor again. One down, one to go…

My left foot…
With the left foot, I had three separate surgeries. On August 4, 2008, Dr. Thomas Lee from Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center, then in Columbus, did the first surgery at Grant Medical Center's Bone & Joint Center in Columbus. Dr. Lee did four things: 1) the metatarsals heads were cut and flattened, 2) a bunion was removed, 3) the toes were straightened, and 4) the big toe was fused. On October 24, 2008, Dr. Lee’s associate, Dr. William DeCarbo, whom Dr. Lee said was a wiz with external fixators, a.k.a. “halo”, did the second surgery by putting a halo on it. After 73 days, Dr. DeCarbo surgically removed it on January 5, 2009. After I was able to walk on the left foot for several months, people asked me how I felt about it and I would always say, “I love my left foot." After walking like a ballerina since 1973, it’s so nice to be flat-footed again.”

My right foot…
On Tuesday, April 6th, I had the right foot surgery, which was also done by Dr. William DeCarbo, from Orthopedic Foot & Ankle, now in Westerville. He also did the surgery at Grant Medical Center's Bone & Joint Center in Columbus. Once again, the metatarsals heads were cut and flattened and he also put the halo on, which had two wires going the forefoot, two wires went through the heal and four wires went above the ankle. Dr. DeCarbo did not straighten the toes, because the wires from the halo would have been in the way since wires are also put down through the toes. I came home from the hospital on Thursday, April 8th.

This was taken on May 5th, almost a
month after I had the surgery. Since the
angle of the bottom U-ring is slanted
quite a bit, I now believe the two wires
in the heal had already torn through it,
but I had no clue at the time.

Straightening the foot by turning the halo struts…
From April 18th to May 22nd, my brother Rick turned the halo struts to gradually straighten my ankle. On Monday, May 24th, I returned to Dr. DeCarbo’s office, at which point he took X-rays and then pointed out that the two wires which went through the heal had cut through it and the wires were only being held in place by skin. Since I had been standing on the front part of my foot for over 30 years, Dr. DeCarbo said that my heel bone had become porous over time, better known as osteoporosis. Last year when Dr. DeCarbo put the halo on the left foot, he was concerned that the wire might break through the heal, but since it didn’t, we were hoping that the right foot would also stay intact. Dr. DeCarbo had intended to leave the halo on four more weeks (June 22nd) so the ankle could maintain the 90° position, but he had no other choice to remove the halo the next day, Tuesday, May 25th, because the skin was also starting to break down. I was in the hospital from May 24th to May 27th and a half cast with thick, fluffy dressing was put on, which was changed once before I left to go home.

Friday, June 4th office appointment…
Dr. DeCarbo removed the half cast to reveal what I would describe as an open, slightly indented wound on both sides of my heal. One of the assistance, Mark (by the way, he's a super nice guy), put on antibiotic cream, gauze and an ace bandage and when I came home, I put on a walking boot (which I still had from the left foot surgery) to keep the ankle at the 90° angle. For nine days, nurses from Comprehensive Health Network came to put antibiotic cream on my foot and once again wrapped it with the gauze and an ace bandage. The last day was Sunday, June 13th and then I went back to Dr. DeCarbo’s the next day.

A wide view of my foot with the ankle
much straighter at the desired 90° angle,
but the skin surrounding the heal was
torn in the process. This picture and the
next close-up were taken on June 9th.
Since soap to clean the skin was out of
the question, only saline was used so that
is why there is so much surgical debris
on it. The black areas are necrosis, or
dead skin tissue. Eventually Dr. DeCarbo
will have to debride the necrosis so
new skin can grow back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The outside and sole of the right foot,
also taken on June 9th. The white stuff is
the debris from the half cast I had on earlier.

Monday, June 14th appointment…
I was hoping Dr. DeCarbo would remove the black dead skin tissue (also known as necrosis), because I thought it would hasten the healing process, but he said the skin needed to cover the rest of the open wounds first so he said I would have to continue with getting the dressings changed another four weeks and I wouldn’t return to his office until Monday, July 12th. Thanks to the Comprehensive Health Network nurses, who change the dressing every day, my heel has gradually gotten better. On Tuesday, June 15th, I did walk from my bedroom to the kitchen sink, (about 90 feet), but it totally wore me out. I used both crutches, took really short steps and it took me about 5 minutes. Today, June 18th, is day 74 since I had the first surgery on April 6th, so I hope to walk a lot better and longer by the time I go back on July 12th. Dr. DeCarbo reminded me again that as much as I want to walk, it’s going to hurt for awhile because the heal bone is going to be tender.

The above and below pictures are the same
one, but once again, one is the wide
view and the other is a close-up. They
were taken on June 17th, eight days
after the other pictures were taken from
June 9th. There's not a significant
improvement, but Dr. DeCarbo was "very
happy". The dressings will continue to be
changed every day until July 11th, the
day before I go back to Orthopedic Foot
And Ankle on June 12th.

Dr-Wacka-Do, uh, I mean, Do-Wacka-Do...
From Wikipedia, the Official Internet Encyclopedia, they write: Do-Wacka-Do is a song, released in 1965, by American country music artist Roger Miller. The expression "do-wacka-do" is a funny way of saying "do-like-I-do". The song expresses envy in a humorous way. The lyrics are written like a letter to a friend or possibly a former friend ("I hear tell you're doing well, good things have come to you...") with whom the singer would like to trade places ("I wish I had your good luck charm, and you hadda do-wacka-do, wacka-do, wacka-do, wacka-do, wacka-do").

Below is the song link at YouTube if you would like to hear it:

Roger Miller singing, “Do-Wacka-Do”

Allow me to clarify…
The only reason I bring up this song is because it reminds me of Dr. DeCarbo. First and foremost, he’s a top-notch doctor and surgeon and he’s always been very caring, considerate and professional with me. On the other hand, the relationship with his colleagues is well, let’s say … a little off-beat. When I first witnessed his wise-cracking sense of humor to the X-ray techs, Mark and Judith and Blair and Jill, who changed my dressings, I was a bit put off by it. After two visits, I told him he should be nice, because he was always nice to me and he is a professional after all.

And the survey says…
Then I got an email survey from the hospital asking me to rate, on a scale from 1–10, everything from the hospital setting, the nurses, other hospital workers, and yes, my physician. Once again, I gave Dr. DeCarbo a 10 for the way he treated me, but I did comment that it made me uncomfortable the way he treated his office staff.

Breaking the news…
When I saw Dr. DeCarbo on June 4th, I told him that I had filled out the email survey and he was surprised. Ten days later when I saw him on June 14th, I recorded the visit, like I had done in many previous visits and he told Jason and Brian, the EMT’s from Spirit Medical Transport who took me: “So, you know, like since kindergarten, I’ve never been in trouble, right? I got written up by her to the hospital.”

The office staff changes…
With my last appointment on June 14th, it became very clear that the office staff are also making fun of Dr. DeCarbo, which as far as I could tell makes everyone happy, especially Dr. DeCarbo, because even though he likes to tease his co-workers, he also likes to receive it. Like I said, Dr-Wacka-Do!!!

A footnote on Dr. DeCarbo... (yes, that was a very bad pun)
One of my favorite things to do on the internet besides emailing and playing games, is Googling a wide variety of topics. After having the second halo surgery, I decided to Google the doctor in question and found out he has a Facebook & Twitter page. Apparently, besides having that Wacka-Do sense of humor, he is very competitive, particularly with the recent Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Fitness Challenge. It was a three month contest (January 4th - March 31st) encouraging doctors, staff and patients to get back in shape after the holidays. Even after going to the website, I still do not know who won, so I'll have to ask the next time I go back on July 12th and report back.

January 28, 2005 - Abby's 4th Show

I didn't realize that Abby did three videos in a row, November 2004, December 2004 and January 2005 and then almost five years later went by before I finally did the latest on December 31, 2009. Way too much time went by that I wish I would have video taped her more often. I'm going to try to make it a point to do more video taping at least twice a year from now on.

Now, from January 28, 2005, in a two-parter, I proudly re-introduce my only niece, Abigail Lyn Bensman!

I made a music video with still shots from the above two-part video. I used one of Abby's and my favorite songs , I'm Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves.

Abby's 3rd Show - December 2004

Abby was on Christmas vacation from kindergarten when she did this video so that is why she showed some of the decorations she made. My friend and home health care aide, Dianne, helped record after her shift was over because that way Rick could be in the video too. The video recording that Abby was referring to, which her dad did, was the school Christmas program.

Abby's 2nd Show from November 2004

Yikes, the last time I blogged was February 14th, almost two months ago. I thought about entering a post much sooner, but I got kind of sidetracked with trying to back-up my hard drive so I could switch over to another system software. I have Apple's Panther right now, but since YouTube has upgraded their website and does not support Panther anymore, I purchased the Tiger version, which is right after Panther. (Two more versions also came out - Leopard and Snow Leopard.) You would think that upgrading would be an easy decision, but some of the software I have now will no longer work with the latest version so that's why I went with Tiger. I am still able to watch things on YouTube, but it's very slow, with the action not matching the words.

My niece Abby did her second show November 2004 when she was five. I won't elaborate on it too much, just to say that it's fun to watch her back then and to see how much she's grown over the years. She's enjoyed drawing since she was able to hold a writing utensil in her hand, but I also think she has a real knack for being in front of the camera. Who knows, maybe she'll be an artist and actress when she gets older.

The Very First Abby Show...

My niece, Abby, who will be 11 on May 4th, did "The Abby Show" in December, which was posted at this blog on January 16th. This actually wasn't Abby's first show, because when she was five, she had her debut in front of the camera in October 2004. I found that first show on a back-up DVD and showed it to Abby again and we both decided to post it at the blog.

Since the camera was set up to do the opposite of what Abby and I were looking at in the camera viewer, it was playing tricks on both of us so that's why Abby was having a difficult time trying to stay in the middle of the camera. She's really funny and cute so I hope you enjoy watching "The Very First Abby Show."

Winter Wonderland...

This morning we were pleasantly surprised to see the trees covered with a delicate layer of snow. Winter isn't my favorite time of the year since it's so cold and I'm not able to get out, but when God adds his special touch to our landscape in such a breathtaking way, you just gotta love it!

The photo below is in the church lot of the St. Louis Catholic Church, located across the street from our home.

As soon as the sun stuck around for a couple hours, the trees lost their beautiful appeal so I was glad to get the picture. Thanks to Dianne, a friend and home health care provider, for taking the picture. She took two other ones, one was over-shadowed by our house and another one was of an older evergreen that has seen it's better days. The above picture was the best, so enjoy. I certainly am!

The Old Fisherman

I really love inspirational stories and here is one that a friend emailed me. I also looked it up on Google and found it at another web site. It was written by Mary Bartels Bray, reprinted from Guideposts, June 1965.

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my eight-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face ... lopsided from swelling, red and raw. Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning."

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. No one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face ... I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments..."

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me. "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning."

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him for a few minutes. It didn't take long time to see that this old man had an over-sized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn't tell it by way of complaint. In fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast. But just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair."

He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind."

I told him he was welcome to come again.

On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

During the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery ... fish and oysters packed in a box with fresh young spinach or kale ... every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!"

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness' would have been easier to bear. I know our family will always be grateful to have known him. From him, we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse. As she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all ... a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket.

I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!" My friend changed my mind.

"I ran short of pots," she explained," and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, until I can put it out in the garden."

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining such a scene in heaven. "Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body."

All this happened long ago ... and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.

"In God We Trust"

Every once in awhile I get an email which promises a miracle will happen in my life if I send it to others. I usually like what the messages contain, but since it’s just like a chain letter, it always bothers me and I know I’m not the only one.

Below is one such email that has a very uplifting and inspirational message, but because it had that chain mail ending, I deleted that part.

Since God is a part of our exchange of money, it makes mw wonder why some people, who don’t believe in God and want Him removed from our schools and the government, are so judgmental, when I’m sure even the non-believers don’t have a problem with getting paid when they have worked hard for their “money”.

“In God We Trust”

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. It will give you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so she was enjoying herself immensely.

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped and a few cigarette butts.  Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"Look at it." He said. "Read what it says."

She read the words " United States of America "

"No, not that; read further."

"One cent?"

"No, keep reading."

"In God We Trust?"

"Yes!"

"And?"

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust is in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him and I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient.

Author Unknown

More thought for the day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring.

He sends you a sunrise every morning.

Face it, friend - God is crazy about you!

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way..

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. 

Back to my personal blog…

As I was reading the above inspirational story, I remembered something I had heard throughout my life so I did a Google search using a few words and found exactly what I was looking for – an Irish prayer/blessing.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

Mystery of the lost remote control…

If I had $1.00 for every time I lost something, I would be at least $500 richer by now. It’s not only frustrating trying to find the missing item, but I also have a really difficult time concentrating on doing other things.

After trying to find the remote control for our camcorder for over three weeks, I finally gave up, I searched the internet and discovered that it was available at eBay. Since my brother, Russ has bid and purchased everything from two vehicles, a snow blower and the saxophone for Abby, I asked him to go ahead and “Buy it now!!!” for me and I would reimburse him later.

I really wanted the remote control again, because it not only makes filming easier since you can zoom in and out with it, but setting up the camcorder with the menu settings is done by using the remote.

We haven’t used the camcorder for at least a year, but I thought the remote was in the house some where. On the other hand, we took it to a family reunion, so it may have been left behind. Then I figured, it was a “lost cause” to try and find it if it may not even be in the house.

Two days after Russ bought the remote control, I was lying in bed doing my morning bed exercises when I thought maybe it was in a box that was in the back utility room. Eureka, I was right! How it got there is a story all in itself.

In August 2008 when I had the first foot surgery, I stayed at the nursing home to have therapy and when I was ready to leave, they gave me some really nice boxes to pack my things in. When I got home, I was non-weight bearing for about five more months so my three wonderful brothers moved my office desk and chair into my bedroom and my bed was moved into my office so I could use my computer, watch TV and look out the window while I continued to recuperate.

I also purchased an over-the-bed hospital table so some of the small items that were originally on my desk, such as note pads, pens, books, mail and yes, remote controls, could set on the table. After I was able to walk again in January 2009 and the room furnishings were switched back, all of the small items that were on the hospital table were packed away in one of the nursing home storage boxes. I’m actually surprised that I even thought about the box, but like I said, when I lose something, I can’t stop thinking about it until I have found it and this time I had to rewind my memory back to a year ago. That’s actually pretty amazing for me to recall something that far back considering most of the time I can’t remember what I had for lunch and dinner the day before!!!

Trying to remember someone’s name is also frustrating, because I’m in the same predicament when I lose something; having a tough time focusing on other things.

For instance, one night several years ago before going to bed, I was trying to remember the names of my cousin, Nancy’s kids.  At the time Nancy and her husband Steve only had five kids, but now they have seven – so it’s surprising that I would even remember the incident, but it’s always stuck out in my mind. I got the first four kids right; Frank, Samantha, Chad, Maria and then I went blank. For about an hour, as I lay in bed, I went through the alphabet at least ten times, trying to remember her son's name by saying each letter. I finally gave up and the next morning I looked up his name in a family history book and believe it not, but his name started with an A. It was Adam.

Does your memory fail you at times and do you use tricks like going through the alphabet to try and remember things? If you do, then welcome to the club!

To be continued… the story of my life!

The Abby Show...

On December 31st, during Christmas vacation, my 10-year-old niece, Abby, came over and did a little performance in our living room. She wanted to do something for awhile, but with school and other family activities, this was the first chance we could find time to do it.

Abby created the ideas all on her own, and if I do say so myself, she did a really good job. The entire show was over 16 minutes, so I broke it down into three smaller shows for faster uploading. We used a Canon camcorder and I edited it with iMovie on my eMac.

The song for the opening credits includes one of Abby's favorites, Fireflies sung by Owl City. You can watch the music video here at Yahoo Music. You may want to pause the play button for about 30 seconds in order to give the video a chance to buffer and then click on play again.

The sponsors for Abby show were gifts which she received for Christmas and she wanted to share them with everyone. They include the Philips GoGear 4GB Vibe Mp3 Video Player, Project Runway Projector and the book, Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.

I hope you enjoy watching Abby's show as much as Abby, Rick and I enjoyed being a part of producing it.

Listen to your favorite songs for free...

I really enjoy music and over the past few years, country music has been one of my favorites. The two prerequisites that I have for a song is that it has an inspirational message or an upbeat tempo, and sometimes, if I'm lucky, it has both.

There's a website called Free Napster where you can listen to songs for free. Just click on the links below and go down the list to find the song that I have chosen. Or if you'd like to hear your own personal favorites, type the artists name in the search box, which is located at the upper left top of the page, and then click Go.

Martina McBride - Anyway

Shania Twain - From This Moment On

Billy Currington - That Changes Everything

Josh Turner - Long Black Train

Jimmy Wayne - I Love You This Much

Rascal Flatts - My Wish

The way I look at it, or I should say, hear it, music is a special gift that soothes the soul when life can get too hectic and we need to unwind and relax.

So listen to the music that you enjoy the most at Free Napster.

The Interview with God...

A friend sent me an email with a website link to watch the following video.

The Interview With GOD

The video has beautiful, soothing music playing in the background, amazing pictures of nature in all it's glory and powerful words that really makes you think about God's infinite wisdom.

I've watched it three times trying to absorb the messages, but since the video doesn't allow you to rewind and review what was just shown on the screen, I decided to type the transcript. I would encourage you to watch the video, because it's a wonderful production, but if you would also like to read the words at your own pace, they are as follows. When it comes right down to it, knowing that God loves us and is always there for us, is all that really matters in life.

THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD

I dreamed I had an INTERVIEW WITH GOD.

“So you would like to interview me?” GOD asked.

“If you have the time,” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity… what questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered…

“That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money… and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.“

“That they live as if they will never die and die as though they had never lived.”

GOD’S hand took mine and we were silent for awhile.

And then I asked, “As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves me loved.”

“To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply do not yet know how to express or show their feelings.”

‘To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.”

“Thank you for your time,” I said humbly. “Is there anything else you’d like your children to know?”

GOD smiled and said…

“Just know that I am here.”

“Always.”

Happy New Year!!!

If you're like me, you have no idea where 2009 went. I didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted - hopefully 2010 will be more productive. I seriously hope I can stick to the following resolutions longer than a week.

Here's my resolutions for 2010!

1. Be more optimistic and take one day at a time instead of always worrying about what the future might hold.
2. Stop procrastinating and make to-do-lists to help me get more things accomplished.
3. Do bed exercises every morning and try to stay in shape with walking throughout the day.
4. Gain some weight - hopefully 11 pounds by mid-March so I weigh at least 120 prior to having the right foot surgery.
5. Try to eat and maintain my weight after having the foot surgery.
6. Eat the foods I like, but still try to eat as much organic as possible. Since eating grains hasn't caused any arthritis flare-ups the past few months, I now know I can tolerate them. I still want to eat healthy snacks, but I'm not going to deny myself from eating them, even if they contain gluten grains. It's about time I relax and enjoy foods again. I'm tired of the Phase 1 diet, alkaline diet and food combining diet. I just want to enjoy food again as it was meant to be!!!
7. Thank God every day for giving me a terrific life and thank my family, especially my mom, for being so incredibly generous with their time and efforts with helping me every day. They have been so encouraging and supportive and I'm really fortunate to have them in my life!!!
8. I also really appreciate my friends, who have been my second family, also giving me the encouragement and support I needed when I was struggling to keep walking when I didn't think I could.
   

I'm sure there are more resolutions I could make, but for now, those are the basics so I'll stop and leave it at that.

A friend sent me an email with the following New Year's website to click on. It's really cute and will definitely bring a smile to your face so I hope you like it as much as I did. Happy New Year!!!

Teddy Bear wishes you a Happy New Year!!!