All good things come with a price.  That has been the theme of these past few days.  Good things – a price paid.

My spartan is on the downhill slope of his radiation treatments.  Number 18 went in the books today which means only twelve are left.  Downhill slope.  The price?  His foot is becoming more tender each day.  He’s got a few blisters beginning to form and sensations have returned that had disappeared for a bit.  There is also some swelling.  The radiation team is remarkable.  Our hats off to these women who are always upbeat, caring and accommodating to his needs.  Kelly’s static time is 12:40 every day but several times has needed to change due to work or trips to the prosthecist.  Each time they have managed to schedule him within 10 minutes of the requested time.  Blessings come in so many forms…a few minutes here or there…a blessing to us.

On to the new “foot”.  We made a trip to Arkansas two weeks ago for the first fitting…Plan A.  True to form, (why mess up a perfect record!) Plan A did not work.  It did not take long to figure that out so we came on home and waited.  We headed back on Monday to see Plan B.  Kind of hard to tell what it looks like because of being all black but…If you look at the red, white and blue layers, that is where the remaining part of the foot fits.  The front portion is flexible (somewhat).  All together it helps with his balance and the gait while walking.  The rod going up the leg is carbon fiber which holds the straps which keep everything where it’s supposed to be.  This will be used for everyday walking and light activity.  Exercise and “heavy duty stuff” will be coming soon.  First things first….

Initially it seemed this was going to be great with a few little tweaks.  Kelly was taking a few running steps up and down the hall.  He even did a burpee with the additional “I’m a star” move, that was for you Heather 🙂  However, a problem developed.  There was too much friction and a pretty good blister formed.  The skin was much more tender than we had realized. Between that blister and the radiation issues, Kelly is now back on both crutches and the scooter for a while.  Francois still thinks Plan B has a lot of potential but for now we are having to step back and let things heal.

Step back…not my Spartans favorite thing.  But…sometimes that is the option you accept for the correct long term solution.  So, Plan C has been added.  We’ve made the decision not to return to the prosthecist until radiation is complete, and the foot is completely healed.  Not the easiest plan for my spartan to accept but these bodies we have are pretty remarkable and we need to accept time is needed to heal.

Lately Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 has been on my mind. A time for everything…

There is a time for everything. and a season for every activity under the heavens.

a time to be born and time to die

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and  a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and time to mend,

a time to be silent and time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

The time we find ourselves in now is two fold.  A time of waiting and a time of blessings.  Waiting for healing to take place so we can move forward with the prosthetic.  Blessed by family who loves us, friends who care for us, professionals who exhibit kindness, a prosthecist who loves a challenge and innumerable prayers on our behalf!  God’s plan is quite remarkable.  You wait on His timing – You are blessed by His family.  That’s a pretty good plan in my book.  Love and blessings to each of you.

Listen to His Voice,

Lee Ann

ps…if you missed his “burpee moment”, you can find it on my facebook page (just a preview of what will be happening!)