May 9th, 2014 - Broke the fibula in my left leg

I guess this would be as good as any time to give a short explanation of how I fell off of the front porch.

On May 21st, 2007, I woke up to go to work and found myself with absolutely no warning, paralyzed from the waist down.  It took 6 months to be properly diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis.

Transverse Myelitis is very rare,  and I was extremely blessed and grateful that I was able to learn to walk again.  It took me almost 18 months to do so and talk about an unexpected journey. 

Once I was properly diagnosed I Googled what I had and the first thing that popped up on my computer monitor was,
                                                   "Very Rare Disease"

It's really hard to explain with clarity all the emotions that I felt at that moment.  Terrified doesn't even come close and trying to be informed so I knew what sort of recovery I might expect I read everything the internet had to offer.

4 - 5 people per a million get it yearly and there are roughly 33,000 documented cases in the United States compared to the 14 million people globally who are diagnosed with cancer yearly.

There are several internet sites available for information and basically they all say,

"Transverse Myelitis (TM) is a rare inflammatory disease causing injury to the spinal cord with varying degrees of weakness, sensory alterations, and autonomic dysfunction (the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary activity, such as the heart, breathing, the digestive system, and reflexes)." 

There are several Facebook support groups and possible recovery is divided into 3rds.

1/3 of the inflicted have no recovery at all

1/3 has some recovery

and the final 3rd

has a complete recovery which is very rare

It's really a life changer to say the least.  I kept a journal the whole time that I was paralyzed and I am no longer able to work.  I really didn't want to mention all of this in Emmett's blog but since I broke my fibula I guess I need to give some sort of explanation.  On a good note, Emmett will have the benefit of a stay at home mom.

From T8 - T7 down I have nerve damage which affects my balance.  If I walk from a carpeted room to a wooden floor, my feet don't recognize the difference.  I can walk in snow barefooted and won't feel the cold.

I did not feel the end of the porch and down I went.  I immediately knew I broke something but I wasn't really sure what.  I was hoping I might be wrong and that perhaps I had a really bad sprain but by the next morning my foot was swollen and starting to turn purple.

 

 

The night that I actually broke my fibula, Mark put a large ice pack that covered my entire lower leg and Emmett fell asleep in my lap for several hours.

 

 

 



The doctor in the Emergency Room was sort of surprised that though the x-rays clearly showed a nice clean break, I wasn't crying or asking for pain medication.   I need to wait for the swelling to go down before I get a hard cast.

I was very concerned about how my little misstep would affect the housebreaking progress of Emmett, who turned 6 weeks old on the day I went to the Emergency Room.

My thoughts were all scattered trying to figure out the best possible conclusion and a new game plan was established!

I had Mark move Emmett's crate back into the den where I will be sleeping the next 4 - 6 weeks in my recliner.  I had been working with Emmett on coming and going on the back step out into the backyard.

At night he sleeps in his crate, he wakes up twice a night to go potty, eats some dry kibble, drinks water then wants to play for awhile.  The minute I hear him crying I open up the back door, then his crate and Emmett follows me outside.  It actually works really well.

 

It's amazing how much faster he is now compared to when we first brought him home.  He's a vocal little guy with all sorts of interesting little noises and all of them different. 

Emmett had his first visitors and got to meet his Aunt Amy and cousin Maggie on Mother's Day on their return trip back to Nashville after visiting Mark and Amy's mom, Carolyn who lives in South Huntsville.

 

 

I awakened to a wonderful surprise at 4 AM with Emmett crying to be let out.  First he went directly to the door, down the steps out into the backyard and went potty.  When he came in, he showed interest in some dry kibble and ate everything I put out for him. 

 

To say the least it was a  very proud mommy moment that got even better when he brought me the tennis ball to play.  He actually picked it up, in his mouth!  The ball looks huge compared to Emmett's head but he was strutting around extremely proud of himself.