A Life Changing Day

When I was six years old I had my tonsils taken out. It was the week before Thanksgiving and it was just supposed to be a simple procedure. Little did I know that "simple procedure" would leave me with an injury that would affect me for the rest of my life.

When I went in and they were getting me ready for the surgery I had a pre-op shot. I can still remember getting it. I went in, had my tonsils taken out and back to my room seemingly with no problems.

Later as I started waking up I needed to go to the bathroom. My Dad got me up, set me down on the floor to walk to the bathroom and at my first step I promptly fell. I couldn't walk. My left leg was fine, but my right leg would not work.

I don't remember much about what happened after that for the next couple of days. I just know my Dad had to carry me everywhere. After a couple of days I was able to walk some, but with a noticeable limp.

We learned that when the nurse gave me the shot, rather than giving it to me in the fleshy part of my butt, she gave it to me on the side hitting the main nerve that goes all the way down the leg. When she did that it killed the nerve all the way down. It was like my leg was asleep, but this time it would never wake up.

My parents talked to the hospital administrator about it. They talked about sueing the hospital because it was very evident I would have to have some type of special care for many years. They were also worried because my mom was pregnant with my sister and due in just a couple of months. The administrator told them if they did file a lawsuit against the hospital my mom would not be allowed into any hospital in the state of Texas and would have to go out of state to have the baby delivered. They also found out a few days later that all of my records had been destroyed at the order of the same administrator.

So, they were now on their own. I can remember visit after visit to different doctors to try and get my leg fixed. My Dad would walk with me to school every day because I could not even open the door to the school at Sunset Elementary in Dumas. I remember my grandmother sitting and holding me and crying.

After that it was a series of things which were supposed to make it better. First, cowboy boots. I had to wear cowboy boots ALL the time. They were supposed to help support my foot. See, when I walked my foot dropped. I could not flex my foot upward as I walked. I still can't. This caused me to trip and fall, stumble, etc. So I wore cowboy boots all the time. With pants, dresses, everything. Today that would be ok. Back in the mid 60s it wasn't. It was embarrassing.

Next was a brace. If I thought the cowboy boots were bad, the brace was worse. That was when I started wearing pants all the time. That way the brace was covered up and not as noticeable. But kids still saw it and I still got teased. I got teased and picked on a lot because I walked "funny".

About this time someone told my Mom about a chiropractor in Lubbock that could help me. We started weekly trips to Lubbock for adjustments. They were painful and caused horrible headaches. After a few weeks we stopped going. It was just too painful.

I don't remember any other treatments. One doctor said that surgery could be done to take  part of the ligaments and reattach them in a different spot and that would take care of my limp. I don't know why that wasn't done, but it was probably just as well.

When in my mid-teens my parents stopped looking for a cure and we just left it alone. I still had a limp. It was pretty obvious to anyone watching me walk and I got asked about it a lot. Or made fun of for it.

In the last few years as I have aged this injury has come back to haunt me and cause other problems. My back is crooked because my right leg is a touch shorter than my left and my right foot is smaller. Also because of the way I walk I have just about worn out my left knee. I still have an unusual gait to my walk and I have to be careful about tripping or stubbing my toes. I also have to be careful about the kind of shoes I wear.

Then today I went to a podiatrist because of severe pain in my right foot. And guess what? Yep, all because of that "simple procedure" and a shot that I got almost 50 years ago. So now I am dealing with that. It has caused problems with my foot because it doesn't flex like it should when I walk. So now in addition to cortisone shots, I have to do stretching exercises.

I have tried to not let it limit what I do. My husband and I did search and rescue for several years with our dogs and that entailed a LOT of walking while we trained. I also love to hike at our place in the mountains. I always have a lot of pain after doing any of these, but I can't see just sitting around.

I have learned a few things from this. First, there is no such thing as a simple procedure. Also, my Dad reminded me of my heavenly Father. My Dad picked me up and carried me when I could not walk. He opened doors I couldn't open. He took care of me. Would I rather have a leg that was whole and worked? Sure I would. But this is what I have. I just have to trust God that he knows best and that He still loves me.