Ertl Amputation

Thursday, June 12 2008 -

So now you know what is happening with Carol I can get onto the rest of the story...

When you decide to have a limb amputated and that decision isn't defined by medical necessity it becomes a far more traumatic an event than if it were something caused by medical necessity. Carol and I discussed this for a while before it really became serious. She quickly adopted a laughing "bzzzzzz" noise to signify getting rid of her foot. She described it as the sound an electric knife makes; think about it...

A decision like this isn't made at a specific point and time. Instead it is a long series of self questioning, doubting, deciding, retracting, counter deciding, denial, fear and of course anger. Sitting along side Carol I've seen each of these play-out, and they continue to do so. On good days she likes to say that "maybe I don't need it", then of course it starts to hurt again and that thought vanishes.

We are approximately one week from the procedure date and it is easy to see the strain of waiting in Carol's actions and demeanor. Standing on the sidelines I can only marvel at how well she is dealing with all of it. As if having the foot amputated wasn't enough Carol also had to get rid of her Mazda MX-5 (Miata) which she really loved. Unfortunately it was a standard, and she was fairly upside down the loan. The dealership worked a deal and she got a used Mazda RX-8, but the track record for these cars isn't that good. she's more than a little concerned that it will breakdown. Just to prove her right, the check engine light came on two days after she brought it home and she has to take it to the dealer tomorrow.

In addition to the car, she has issues with her cell phone. It doesn't work at my place, where she will be staying while she recovers. Getting a new phone is a hassle and I don't have a land line. After hours of research and repeated visits to Verizon we finally decided to just swap phones while she is relatively immobile. That way she will be able to make calls and not have to pay the additional cancellation fee that Verizon was going to charge her. Her phone (Verizon) only works if she goes out onto the porch. Not really an option for someone who just had an Ertl amputation on their foot.

Oh wait, we aren't done yet. Carol also has to vacate her second floor apartment. It is a small place above an old Victorian, with a very narrow stairway and no reasonable access for someone recovering from an amputation. In fact this week the driveway was about 3 inches thick with ice making it treacherous with two feel let alone one and a set of crutches. Access, or not, she is still being asked to pay to get out of the lease, which sucks given that her expenses are skyrocketing right now.

So inside of two weeks we have:
New car
New phone
Vacate old apartment
Amputation

That is an incredible amount of change for a two week period. It's amazing she isn't a raving lunatic at this point.