I have taken many things for granted in my lifetime. There are a few things about which this is no longer true. These are gifts, and I am reveling in them...
The feel of the floor against my bare feet -- especially the left one;
A hot bubble bath;
Rubbing lotion into the dry, papery skin on my left leg;
Flexing and bending my ankles. (And being able to trace the letters of the alphabet with my left foot, per the doctor's orders, even though I can't read what I "wrote"...I must be right-footed!)
Now for the revelation part:
God, as they say, works in mysterious ways. We are not meant to understand His ways, and I'm sure that I don't need to understand. But yesterday, I think I was given just a glimpse into His workings...
After just two weeks and two days, I have been unburdened of the Big Blue Cast that encased (and encumbered) my left leg. This unburdening came about, I feel, because of a misreading of my file. I had been told that that cast and I would be constant companions for at least four weeks, with the need to check it in three weeks, due to the fact that I have been taking prednisone. (Prednisone affects bones, can cause osteoporosis, and interfere with healing of broken bones.)
But after just one week, I became worried that the burning sensation I was feeling might mean that something was not healing properly. When I called, I was told that my cast might be too loose. I had to admit that it was comfortably roomy, so the Physician's Assistant who'd returned my call told me to come in the following day to have it replaced.
I imagine that he then made a note in my file for that day which said,"Remove cast."
That was last Friday. I went in as directed, and my original cast was replaced with a tighter-fitting one. Less comfortable on my leg, but the burning sensation did stop.
The three-week appointment I had for my re-check was one week later -- yesterday. (It wasn't a full three weeks, but that's what I was given.) The day my cast was replaced, I was told that no x-ray would be taken until the following week. Yesterday.
My Awesome Husband Greg went with me for that appointment...
Cast Maker Guy called me back and ordered me up on the table so he could remove the cast. Surprised, I said, "Oh, you're removing the cast before you do an x-ray?" He checked the file in his hands and said, "Oh, we're not doing an x-ray today. It says 'remove cast.' MAHG and I looked at each other. I said "Great!" (And Awesome Greg went out to the car to retrieve in the Big Clunky Stabilizing Boot I'd been issued the night of the break. Feeling confident as I was that my healing was proceeding remarkably well, I had insisted on bringing it with us.)
MAHG watched with ghoulish interest while CMG cut my BBC off with a gigantic circular saw. (Not really -- I just wanted to say that.)
The cast off, CMG then left the room for a minute. And here's what I imagine happened:
He glanced at my file again, and realized that he had been looking at the note that the P.A. had made the prior week after my phone call -- the one that said "Remove cast." It would probably have been on top of the page that said "Re-check in three weeks." Upon reading further, he realized that he was supposed to take an x-ray. That's why he came back into our room and said, "Okay -- I guess we will take a picture now."
The x-ray showed that healing was well under way, if not complete. Things looked great, according to the Doctor who finally came in. The mystery of the how to properly work the Big Clunky Stabilizing Boot was explained to me, and I was told I no longer needed crutches -- Not even one of them!
I think I was supposed to have an x-ray and remain in the BBC for another week. I give credit for the fact that I'm free to God, who never give us anything we can't handle. He could see, of course, that I wasn't handling the Big Blue Cast very well...That, in fact, I was sick and tired of it. So he intervened.
God also gets credit for leading me (through my Amazing Sister Melissa) to some wonderful homeopathic remedies, which I am positive speeded my healing, making that extra week unneceessary. And I love that fun little thing He did, having Cast Maker Guy read my file wrong, demonstrating that even mistakes can be the work of God sometimes!
I am thrilled with -- and grateful for -- the outcome. I'm to go back in two more weeks, at which time I am sure I will be completely released from the need for even the BCSB.
Meanwhile, I will continue to revel in simple pleasures that I once took for granted...and in the way that God answers our prayers!
