After a few torturous days in the hospital (the hospital staff dropped a lead plate on my newly operated foot a couple times trying to get the "right" x-ray), I was able to go home. I was home maybe a couple days when Lily, who was six years old at the time, notices my toes and says, "Mommy, your toes look like blueberries". I looked and thought, you know what, she's right, they do.
I was being cared for by a home health care nurse who also noticed my toes but chalked it up to "post-op swelling and bruising". Michael, not willing to accept that answer, called the doctor's office and they said to come in the next day and he will "take a look".
I'm so grateful for Lily. She literally saved my life!
The next day I make it to the doctor's office. He unwraps my foot and is horrified at what he sees and immediately has me rushed to the hospital. He fears it's MRSA! I was admitted and soon after had my next surgery to remove necrotic flesh and have a wound vac put on the open wounds. Yup, my foot was basically dying. Bloodflow was pinched off by one of the pins by the big toe and my foot began to die, Crazy right?! Well, at least it was not MRSA.
(Side note: That wound vac was the worst though. It would sound an alarm when it lost suction and keep us up at night. It was an absolute nightmare.)
A multitude of hospitalizations, ambulance rides to hyperbaric oxygen treatments and surgeries (8 in fact) followed, to control the staph infection spreading through my foot and leg because of the gapping wounds on my foot. Little by little I lost toes and parts of my foot. I thank God he stayed off the infection through the many different IV antibiotic, keeping me from losing my entire leg from the knee down.
Towards the end there before they moved me to HUP in the city, I had a piece of pig's skin sewed onto my foot to cover the wound because I didn't have enough skin for them to surgically cover it. The city doctor put a skin graft over the wound thankfully! It was an ordeal to say the least.
I wish I could tell you there was a happy ending but there was not.
We tried to sue the doctor, but the lawyers couldn't definitively say it was his fault because of other events at the hospital that lead up to me ending up the way I did. So no lawsuit and no Social Security disability benefits either because I was not willing to take prescription drugs (narcotics) for pain or "just say" I was on narcotics (which I was encouraged to do), to get benefits. So no big pay out for all my trouble haha.
So what good came out of this you ask. Well, I grew closer to God. I spent more time in his Word and praying than I ever had before. Also, I was invited to my church's Mother's ministry to tell my sob story which was wonderful really because it was through this ministry, I made lifelong friends.
And because I was not able to go back to work, I was right where I needed to be when it became necessary to homeschool Brooke. And then the Lord lead me to also homeschool Noah and Lily.
My life completely changed and you know what, it was for the better. I've experienced things like watching my kids grasp a concept for the first time and spending one on one time with them.
In addition, because we were reduced to one income, we got to see God come through in a miraculous way in regard to our finances. Honestly, we are better off today than we were because we had to learn to live on less. We cut out a lot of nonsense! It hasn't been easy but we have never gone without.
I thought going into this surgery, I would end up with this nice, straight foot and would be able to wear cute shoes and not have to deal with pain anymore. But God did so much more than make me "pretty" on the outside. He grew me and my family on the inside. His multifaceted plan, proved to me that He is good all the time. He is faithful and He is in control, even when it seemed like things were spinning way out of control!
I lost some of my foot, my job and my idea of how my life should look like. BUT, I gained perspective, a deeper understanding of my purpose in life and successfully homeschooled two kids.
I'm so sad that my homeschool adventure is coming to a close.
I'm a little bit scared but also excited to see what else the Lord has planned.
Ten years ago I had no idea what was going on. Why God was allowing this terrible event to happen. Looking back now though, I see it was His will all along.
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