Monday, August 17, 2009

August 17, 2009

Suzanne just returned from her last scheduled physical therapy at the NRH. They are confident that she has the tools and determination to take what she has learned at the NRH to use with a local therapist; the commute will not be missed. There has still been no news on the pending right leg revision, which would address the pain and discomfort on that side. However we have heard rumors that it may be late October.
On a different note, an article just appeared in the Daily Mail (UK) about an elephant, in Thailand, who has received an artificial leg after having stepped on a landmine. The story is here.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

August Update

To update you on the “Walk With Suz” scheduling, the intended date was going to be slated for some time in October of this year. However, this has been pushed to the spring, at the earliest. We had hoped that Suzanne’s healing would have progressed a little more steadily. But due to continual changes in the shape of her right leg, in particular, the fit and function of the prostheses is greatly diminished. As a result she has had a lot of discomfort when standing and walking. The scar tissue on the lower right leg is still not completely healed, from her last operation, August 26th of last year. She has met several times with her prosthetist for adjustments. But they are temporary measures that only last a short time. Her surgeons have tentatively scheduled her for a September revision surgery, but no date has been selected. And it is subject to change based upon the number of urgent care surgeries which take priority. As a result, Suzanne, has been discouraged lately by the lack of progress. But she has begun to put in a few hours per week on the phone for work. The increased responsibility is helping sharpen her mind and distract her from the pain and discomfort of the legs.
In other news, there have been several recent articles highlighting some of the great strides other amputees have made lately.
Also, Suzanne credits much of her recovery to a sepsis drug called Xigris. There is another drug in the works right now. Here are some details: