Months had gone by and my right foot was not healing, the bones were not fusing, trip after trip downtown to the doctor and there was no improvement. It was time for a second opinion and it appeared that no doctor wanted to touch my foot. The surgeon who attempted to put it back together had specialized in hands.
Note to self: you do not place all of your body weight on your hands expecting them to support, balance and move you from place to place. The arch in your foot plays a significant purpose in your ability to stand as well as each of your toes. Bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments have a specific way of working together when properly aligned and functioning; when they are not attached correctly or fused the way God intended, they do not function correctly.
Finally we were sent to a doctor from the Hughston Clinic to see a doctor who was thought to have been able to make some progress with my foot. So off we went to see a new doctor, to start a new series of surgeries, and a new path to recovery. We saw a doctor from the local Hughston Clinic who scheduled me to see another doctor at the Hughston Clinic an hour and a half from my home. This new doctor specialized in my type of injury as rare as it was. So again, we were off to a new doctor.
The new doctor gave me hope and disappointment at the same time. I was scheduled for surgery again with hopes of regaining the ability to walk somewhat one day, however I would never run, jump or do anything of impact ever again. This time it was to undo the damage done by the first surgeon. Once the swelling from the new surgery had subsided, I would go back into surgery to place a large screw through the arch of my foot. This would be the first of several surgeries to replace the damaged bones with metal screws, plates and wires. At one point, the doctor told me I would have been better off if I had lost me foot completely.
The one thing about car accidents when they are not your fault, is waiting on the at fault driver's insurance to pay the bills. This car accident involved four cars and eight people. The cap on the insurance was a total of $100,000.00. Unfortunately, the insurance paid out as doctor bills were released, and because I was still undergoing surgery and not healed, my bills were piling up while the other injuries were being paid from the total sum.
I was still in a wheelchair, still unable to maneuver without help, and it was almost a year later. There were more scars on the top and sides of my foot than I had earned on my knees in all the sports I played as a child (and I always had a bandages on for team pictures!) There were more bills than I would ever be able to pay in a lifetime. What little hope I had of one day leading a normal life was diminishing one day at a time.
The surgery to undo the damage created by the original surgeon went well. The healing took a little longer than expected, but the road to recovery was finally on the right path. It was now time to put the metal pieces in place to start holding the fragments of bones that were left. Bone was taken from my shin to graft in my foot to give something for the metal to hold to. Once again we wait until the surgery has healed. The surgeon said if this one heals well, I can start working on using my foot again.
The surgery worked as well as could be expected for the amount of damage that had been done. I was given a space boot and crutches to walk with and plenty of rehab sessions. I could not wait to get up and moving and then go back to work. However, my job told me I was too much of a risk and I could not come back until I was completely able to walk on my own. So with no guarantee that I would walk again normally, no guarantee that I would have my job again, and no guarantee that life would return to normal. . .the final blow that sent me spiraling into a deep depression.
Here is where I had to learn some hard lessons. I chose to sink and let the circumstances overcome my outlook. But that path led to nowhere. Psalm 30:5 "...Crying may last for the night, but Joy comes in the morning." Obstacles will come and go, but your focus and vision are what made you start your business journey. The same with life, hardships come and go, but focusing on the end result instead of the bumps gets you to the place you are supposed to be. Here is where the tables turn - let's dive in!
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