It's been a tough few days for our culinary girl. After getting a second antibiotic for a kidney infection (the first one didn't help at all), she finally began feeling better. So yesterday she and her dad took off for Heavenfest...sort of a Christian Rock version of Woodstock...up in Longmont. They signed up ages ago to be security volunteers which meant they did a LOT of walking/standing on uneven ground. As if that wasn't hard enough for Amy, she also discovered that her left ankle was discolored and hot and extremely painful. Several times throughout the day she iced her feet/ankles, but still she couldn't walk last night without a lot of help. Today the swelling and discoloration is somewhat diminished, but it's not entirely gone. It kind of goes right along with the CRPS diagnosis she received after the initial surgery on her feet in 2007. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/complex-regional-pain-syndrome/DS00265) In the past 3 years since that diagnosis she's seen 2 orthopedic surgeons, her PCM, 3 pain mgmt Dr's, a wound care Dr, a medical psychologist, a physical therapist, and a pedorthist (for orthotics.) Not one of the specialists she's seen has a handle on the complete diagnosis/treatment for the past 3 years. We've been passed around quite a bit. After watching Amy use crutches today (and a wheelchair at the grocery), Brian and I decided it's time to see a team at the Mayo Clinic if we're able to get her in. Fitting a trip in around her school schedule will be a challenge. She moves into her dorm on 21 August, so if we can't do it before then we'll try either her Thanksgiving or Christmas break. The hard part is that if she misses even 2 days of class, she has to withdraw. And she still has one class from last school year to make up that she missed after her lymph node surgery. It will take every bit of prayer and determination she has to make it thru each day.
Please keep Amy in your prayers. She still faces each day with a smile and isn't ready to call it quits. But her culinary dreams are changing as she tries to adapt to the pain she faces daily. Being able to finish her degree next May is the goal for now. She'll be a Resident Assistant this school year, also. We're not sure how she'll be able to do her internship next spring, but that's a bridge we'll just have to cross later.
We're trying really hard to help her find a silver lining in all of this. For now we're just clinging to the idea that while this does, indeed, suck, there are always people who have it so much worse. Amy can laugh and smile and walk (usually) and sing and do many other things that others can't. One day at a time for now...that's what we'll think about. Baby steps.
1 comment:
I know this is something you guys may have considered..but why not try a natural doctor? Like holistic. They are a lot easier to find in your area than they are down here. But holistic methods have really helped me with my scoliosis. Tell Amy we love her hope she will get better. Love, ~Anna~
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