So it has been a while since I have written an update for you guys. Sorry about that; things have been a lil busy between surgery a couple weeks ago and my visits to the various clinics and therapy appointments.
Without further a due, my rehab has been moving forward at a rate much faster than most of the staff here or I anticipated. I have now been on my “new” leg for a little over 8 weeks and with the exception of my left stride being a few inches shorter than my right, my walk isn't much different than what it was before, even without the ability to feel the ground with my left foot. Balance training is going well. Today as part of that training I practiced tossing two (2) 12lb medicine balls around in a circle with X-SFmed and another guy from 20th Group who is here visiting me for a couple weeks. By the end of it both of them had used their face to catch the ball; they really should work on their reflexes. In addition to balance training my Occupational Therapist has been working on some scar tissue massage on my right medial thigh and groin. This isn't going as well, or maybe I should say as painless as the balance training. For those of you not fortunate enough to grit through a session, it is a deep tissue massage used to free up adhesions along scar and suture lines and allow muscles to move more freely in the affected areas – it isn't very pleasant at all but after it's all said and done it will be worth it.
On Sunday myself and two other 20th Group guys headed down to the National Mall where I walked from the Washington Monument to the WW-II Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial and back along the Korean and WW-I memorial. It was great being out and being able to walk where I want, within reason. By the end of the afternoon I was tired. Thursday I will be upgrading my leg to a CarbonFiber socket (the portion that suctions onto my residual limb), a mechanical knee, and ankle with better range of motion for rucking. With the change to the CF socket I will be changing from a semi-bionic knee (
http://genium.ottobock.com/uploads/t...l-standing.jpg) to a Total Knee (
http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13447) so I can eventually be fitted for a BIOM bionic ankle (
http://www.iwalkpro.com/) to assist with the mechanics of walking and rucking. Usually the phys therapists only want guys to change up one piece at a time and I will in essence change the socket, knee, and ankle all at once thus changing everything we have worked on up to this point. She is certain with my progress thus far, coupled with my abnormal sense of balance that I won't have an issue progressing quickly to match the new setup's potential. Keep your fingers crossed. Along with this change we are confident my bone scan will have a favorable outcome and I will receive my carbon-fiber “C-leg” for running by the end of April. Everyone involved was hoping this would have happened sooner but with Walter Reed being the self-licking ice-cream cone that it is, nothing happens here quickly.
Friday I have surgery to repair a ruptured eardrum from the blast - this should be my last scheduled trip to the OR for another 6-7 months. The surgeries I will have left are mostly to increase range of motion after the grafts have remodeled as much as they will in a year's time frame.
I have come a long way since 28 Oct 2012 and I would like to thank everyone here who has lifted me up in prayer or thought about me, sent money or gift cards, stopped by to say hi, or sent emails, letters, or private messages. While I haven't had time to say thank you to everyone individually I assure you that I am forever grateful for your support and friendship. I am especially thankful for x_SFMed taking time away from his wife and life to help a Brother in need and for LibraryLady who sent him to me without question. All of you guys/gals are directly responsible for making it possible for me to focus on the task at hand; I wouldn't be where I am today without you all...
