Walking Spirit

Well, it's hard to believe that it has already been a week. Jeremy is slowly adjusting to being at home. It takes a lot more work than we had actually imagined. It is frustrating at times for Jeremy when he tries to move around from one place to another but he grins and bears it-despite the pain and the frustration.

We had a quiet Christmas with family and the neighbors. We were just so pleased that Jeremy was home and with us because there were so many times that this seemed as if it would be impossible. His left leg is bothering him a lot and makes him uncomfortable. We were all concerned about the amount of pain that he was having and the fact that his skin did not seem to be healing on that leg-in fact, even the good skin was looking raw and sore. Jeremy had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and discovered that this was because he wasn't doing the dressing on that leg correctly-which is not his fault because that was how he was taught to do it at rehab. The ointment that he was putting all over his leg was only supposed to be applied to the wounded areas. Apparently this ointment when applied to good skin can cause it to break down-which is what was happening. Hopefully this has been resolved now and he will be on the mend soon.

He was told that despite the pain he must do his exercises to get his legs in shape for prosthetics. They told him that he would get over the pain but he would not gain the precious time back-every day is essential to Jeremy walking again. So, no more lounging for him! I'm just kidding-he's actually working much harder than I have ever seen anybody work-the transfers from the wheelchair to the couch alone would probably do me in for the day. Outpatient therapy begins tomorrow.

Overall, Jeremy is doing well. He has managed to pick up a nasty cold somewhere which isn't helping anything. He asked me to remind you that even though he is no longer in the hospital his defenses are still down and he is susceptible to everything. If you have a cold please pick a different time to visit with him or give him a call instead. As always, he appreciates all of your love and support-it makes him feel good to know that there are so many people that care about him. You give him strength.