And my life is wheeling along

Continuation of my left foot saga....My surgery was October 14, was to take about an hour or an hour and a half, After two hours the surgeon talked to my husband telling him the surgery was successful and my foot was fine, They needed to get me stable before he could see me.....seven hours later he was allowed to talk to me. That was a very long time after the operation.

My voice was very scratchy and it was difficult to hear me....much like laryngitis. When I visited the doctor for my first check up I asked about it and found I had to be intubated during surgery. I neglected to inform the doctors I had asthma, ( it only appeared when I had bronchitis and then very mildly. Big mistake on my part. I had breathing problems and needed a tube inserted into my lungs making it possible to breathe. Stabilizing my breathing and heart rate took hours.

Rather than sending me home I was taken to a rehabilitation centre for a few days. I arrived at the centre at 7:00 pm, around 4:00 in the morning I woke being unable to breathe...back to the hospital, where I stayed for four days...It was determined I had acute bronchitis and was having asthmatic attaches.. My foot the origional problem, was in a cast/boot, I was not allowed to put any weight on it for six weeks, I was given a wheelchair as "transportation... All this was a shock and emotionally draining....plus my foot, lungs and throat were painful. Not fun or what I'd expected.

Going home wasn't even discussed, So much for going home the day of the surgery or any time soon. All types of medicines were used to clear up the bronchitis and stop the asthma attacks....the most welcome medications were for pain and sleep! It was days before I was strong enough to start physical therapy.
Even that didn't go smoothly....the therapists wanted me to put "just a little weight " on my foot....each time I told them the doctor said "non-weight baring", we'd argue and I'd refuse. I insisted they read the doctors orders....which they had not bothered to do... There was no more asking me to put weight on my foot.

It seems every thing ends up being complicated and a challenge!! I'm weary! I left to go home after a stay of nearly four weeks.

Being home is a challenge. Our house is old, by American standards, built in 1858. The doors are small, the rooms are small, there is no bathroom on the first floor, where I have to stay, my bed is in the living room, the kitchen is tiny...once I was stuck in there for ten minutes because I couldn't turn my wheel chair around...the kitchen counters are too high for me to reach safely from my wheelchair, outside we have put in a wheelchair ramp but I can't manage using it myself and must rely on someone helping me...someone strong! Apologies, I know I'm whining....you won't have to hear about all the other little problems.

I do have a renewed appreciation and admiration for people confined to a wheelchair for an extended period or for life. EVERYTHING becomes so difficult and too much of the world is denied them because there is no wheelchair access. I don't know how they do it...

GOOD STUFF I received a visit last week from Felice, she arranged our trip to Gaza last year. She brought a young woman from Gaza I'd not met her but we'd emailed often.. It was so great to have contact with Gaza again!! They came from New York, which is about a two or two and one half hour drive. They brought a delicious lunch and satisfying talk especially about Gaza...reminding me how important it is and that I need to become active again.    

Months ago my husband and I had our house painted. We never got around to rehanging pictures....the living room and dining room have looked naked. The bare walls were driving me crazy...they needed to be spruced up with pictures on  he walls. Two talented friends came and hung all the pictures in the living room...all 14 of them. Most were painted by my father, a few by my grandfather and two by a best friend. One small wall is devoted to photographs of the women in my family; mother, grandmother, great grandmother..a beautiful fan that belonged to my favorite grandmother....my parents had it framed as a wedding gift when Ken and I married.

My activities involving "A Child's View from Gaza" were brought back to life by a phone call from Rajie telling me about the progress he'd made on the CD we plan to send galleries and museums with hopes they will show our exhibit. He emailed a copy to me and it is amazing...so powerful,,,it's sad, shocking and dramatic. Hard to believe children created the drawings. The man Rajie has handling the music has done a a terrific job, it's fantastic with the drawings, making the cd pretty much perfect..We are considering putting it up on youtube....we'll have to make some decisions during the next few weeks.

Today I received an email with great news....some of the women I went to the West Bank with are driving down from New York to see me. They will bring lunch, laughs, good conversation and I suspect a bottle or two of wine. They'll be here on December 21. Women of a Certain Age...a group of my favorite people!

It feels so wonderful to have Gaza actively back in my life. It is not without major difficulties and personal loss for me.... Hopefully time will heal wounds...emotional wounds which are more painful than physical ones. It is devastating to find you've hurt people...especially when no intent was remotely involved.. in fact it was not thought of.

The holidays are just around the corner....I am not prepared. I am looking forward to 2011 and ready to put a great deal of 20110 behind me.