Well On The Road To Recovery!

Wednesday was a huge day for me and my broken ankle!

This was my first post-op visit with my surgeon. We arrived at his office and I had to have my original cast/splint removed. This was a very tender procedure, the cotton was stuck to my leg because of the stuff they cleaned my leg with, on top of that my leg was greenish yellow. The cleaning process was rubbing alcohol. Very cold and it felt GREAT!

After the cleaning it was time to remove my staples. The final count was 6 staples on the inside of my ankle and 15 on the outside. I'm not going to lie to you the staple removing was painful. I felt like I was getting stung by bee's - I hate that feeling!

After the staples I was on my was to x-ray. That was not too bad just uncomfortable. Why is it the x-ray tech always want you to put your self in positions that if you could manage to get into you would not need an x-ray???? One of the deep questions of life!

Next was the meeting with my Doctor. I was shown my x-rays and was told that my leg was healing so well that the breaks were hard to locate. My Doctor had to actually point them out to me. Part of the reason for this was the great work of my Doctor and lots of screws, pins and a plate. Two big screws in the large leg bone and a plate with six smaller screws and pins. See the photos and if you click on them I think they will enlarge.

Bottom line was that I was NOT given a plaster cast but a WALKING BOOT. Thereby proving that my healing is moving forward and by my next visit in January I'm to be walking without and assistance of my walker or crutches. Oh, Yea, I can drive! I feel almost human again.

Stay Tuned!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Live From Clear Lake

Things are getting better here, I think!

Last Friday I got to have a play date with couple of friends. One called and asked if I could go to "Denny's" for coffee if he would pick me up. Lynn said YES & Praise The Lord! I'm thinking she was just glad to get rid of me for a while. I had a great time out on the town (at Denny's?!) and returned around noon. I was worn out but did have fun!

I have been able to get to some of the kids home basketball games. They are doing very well.

Sunday found me preaching at our church. The set-up was a bit different with me sitting in a chair with a table in front of me. It was a bit weird at the beginning but became very comfortable; it was kind of like a fireside chat. And NO I did not flip out of my chair while preaching as some had postulated!

I have my first post-op Doctors visit on Wednesday, I'll keep you posted as to what the next few weeks will hold.

Until then,

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Not So Quick Update - Shotgun #1

Well, by now most of you already know that I fell last Tuesday (12/4/2007) while deer hunting and broke both bones in my leg just above my ankle. That is the short version, here are the details:


I arrived at the farm where I hunt just before 9 AM after I drove a bus route and proceeded to put on the many layers of clothing needed to sustain warmth while sitting in a tree stand. That being accomplished I started to walk toward my stand. I got about 20 yards from my car when my right foot slipped on the ice. Trying to maintain my balance I torqued my body to the right and felt my left ankle literally explode!

Falling to the ground with a loaded firearm is not for the faint of heart! You must protect the gun and keep it pointed in a safe direction. After hitting the ground, pushing the gun away and taking inventory of any other physical damage I realized that other than my ankle I was in good shape. And yes, I know that round is a shape!

My next thought was that I needed two things: help & warmth. I always carry my cell phone with my when hunting so I called Lynn and told her to call 911 and get me some help because I was in serious trouble. Next I began crawling on my right side the 20 yards back toward my car where I knew the engine would still be warm and I could try to ease under the front end of the car for warmth.

After what seemed like forever, Philip arrived. He heard Lynn talking to me and jumped into our van and drove out to help me. He took care of my gun and other hunting equipment, making sure that it was stored properly, but most importantly he was there for me to talk to, that helped me to remain calm!

Mason City Fire Rescue arrived and began to get me ready for transport. Once on the gurney, the medics started walking toward the rescue unit. One of the medics said "Is the truck moving?" The answer was yes! Having parked on an incline, on pure ice, as we approached the truck it was slowly sliding away from us down the hill! Quickly securing the unit and loading me in we were on our way to the hospital in Mason City.

At the hospital it was determined that I was going to need surgery to properly set and repair my leg/ankle. I as of yet have no details as to the number of plates, screws & pins used to fix me up, hopefully I'll know more after my appointment with my surgeon in a couple of weeks.

That is the basic story ... but if you know me, there are a number of funny parts that I left out or this post would be just too long. I'll post more stories in the very near future!

Thanks for all of your notes and prayers!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Quick Update - Shotgun #1

Saturday was the beginning of the first shotgun deer season in Iowa. I hit the deer stand at about 6 AM and it began snowing/sleeting/freezing rain at about 6:43.

By 9 AM I was covered in 2 inches of "Wintery Mix" and quite miserable! I had not seen one deer in 3 hours and with the weather turning very bad I chose to head in ands wait to see what the afternoon might bring.

The afternoon brought even more "Wintery Mix" with the addition of rain and heavy icing. No way was I heading back out.

More to come........

I Remain,
Pastor Steve