Blessed. We are all blessed more than we could imagine! Don't misunderstand, my friends - blessed doesn't mean that we will never face struggles. It means that even when struggles come, we have faith and hope that things will improve. Most of us have a support system that loves us and would help us with any need that may arise!
I think about this a lot as I think back to what my family has been through the beginning of 2018. My husband, Craig, suffers from type II Diabetes. Last August, he noticed a sore on his right foot that wouldn't heal. His mom, who was a retired nurse, came to visit. She looked at the sore and knew that Craig needed to be seen by a doctor. His general practitioner, after seeing him, referred him to the Wound Center. This began his twice a week visits to this Wound Center to have the sore cleaned and the dressing changed. Dr. Hilsman decided that Drew would do better with his foot casted, and it did work pretty well for Craig. He also has a bone deformity in both feet called Charco Foot, and so this boot allowed him to walk and getting around as he had been before
Around October, Dr. Hilsman had Craig speak with Dr. LePage a surgeon who specializes in amputations because they just didn't see his foot healing to where he would be able to have use of it before he developed the diabetic ulcer. Craig put off the decision to amputate, saying that he wouldn't do anything until after Christmas. In January, he was encouraged again to talk with the surgeon and again he put off the surgery. All this time, the doctors and staff at the Wound Center were very fearful that Craig would develop sepsis due to the infection from his foot getting in his blood stream, but they continued to clean and treat the spot of the infection twice every week.
In March, Mikayla and I went to New York City with her high school chorus. We had an amazing time, making memories to last a lifetime. We are so grateful that Craig did not become septic while we were so far away from him. We are blessed.
The Sunday at the end of our Spring Break, Craig was not feeling well. When the kids and I went to school on Monday, he went for his first appointment of the week at the Wound Center. While there, it was determined that he needed to be admitted to the hospital with infection. He was admitted into the heart center at our local hospital. I left school to be with him, and when I got to the hospital, I could tell that he was very sick and not just suffering from the stomach virus that so many had over Spring Break. When Dr. LePage's nurse, Ali, came in to talk with us on Tuesday afternoon, Craig and I made the decision that he would go through with the amputation. She explained just how sick Craig really was, and that without the amputation, he could die. I told Craig in that moment that if I was ever to be the one to have to make this decision - as Ali explained that had Craig not had a doctor's appointment on Monday, we would have likely found him unresponsive on the floor when we arrived home from school - he would be waking up with one less foot. I think he needed to hear me say that to know that he was going to be okay, no matter what.
Craig and I both were surprised to hear her say they had an availability for surgery that Thursday afternoon. So, Craig was admitted into the hospital on Monday, April 9th and on Thursday, April 12th he had a below the knee amputation BKA on his right leg. Y'all we have been SO very blessed through all of this. Our family and friends are absolutely incredible and there wasn't one thing we had a need for that wasn't met. The day after Craig's surgery, less than 24 hours later, he was up "walking" - hopping with a walker - with a physical therapist. I was just amazed - that's the only way I know to describe it. God worked a miracle in Craig's life, and it was incredibly amazing to be right there watching it all. On Tuesday, April 17th - Craig's birthday - Craig was moved to a local inpatient rehabilitation center where he received intense physical therapy and occupational therapy daily. He spent nine days in this rehabilitation institute and then we brought him home on Thursday, April 26th. Drew and Mikayla had worked with Mimi and Papa to make him some welcome home posters and they had gotten some balloons. Our friends, Matt and Kelly Phillips had bought the lumber and had arranged for Jeremy Johnson and his partner to build a ramp to code so that we could get Craig into our house.
When I tell you we are blessed, we are blessed, my friends! God has provided us with everything we have needed along this journey. We had friends and family providing food for us during this time, so that I didn't have to worry about cooking and I could spend every bit of my time focused on Craig and getting him better! We had family and friends praying for us and for that I will be forever grateful! We are blessed!
On Memorial Day, we lost Craig's mom to liver cancer. She had battled so incredibly hard for the past three years. We were so sad that we would no longer have Nana here on this Earth with us, but we know we will see her again one day. Again, we were blessed by family and friends who prayed for us, provided for us, and helped us through this difficult time. We still miss her, and with the holidays coming up, we know it will be hard. With God and our incredible support system, we will make it through.
We are blessed, y'all, all of us! We've all faced some huge struggles in our lives - some struggles are harder than others, but they are still struggles nonetheless. When those hard times come, focus on the Lord, lean on your support system, and remember I am blessed - this won't last forever.
