A Good Report

I visited the Baylor/All Saints Wound Clinic this morning. I have been going to the HEB Wound Care Clinic, but my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Wagner, wanted me to see Dr. Reaves, a plastic surgeon who works through the Baylor/All Saints clinic. This morning I saw Dr. Motley, who does the work ups for Dr. Reaves (who is presently out for a two week vacation for his 35th wedding anniversary. I think we can allow that! lol) The first words out of his mouth when he looked at the big wound on the bottom of my foot were, "This is a piece of cake!" That's very important because Dr. Sotman, my infectious disease doctor and the one who's been working on it at the HEB Wound Care Clinic, was concerned that they wouldn't know what progress has been made. In fact, they are very happy with what they saw and Dr. Motley says he will use something called "integra" (some sort of artificial tissue...don't ask me, I won't see what it is until next week...:-) and he believes that by the time Dr. Reaves returns we'll be ready for a skin graft to close the wound. He also said the wound vacc was doing well, but by itself it would probably take another two months to fill to the point where we could do skin graft.

In the meantime, I'll still have my trusty wound vacc and will probably keep taking antibiotic infusions as long as the wound is big and open so I won't get any more infection. This report gives me a goal to work towards with a definite end. And that means the freedom to get back to work and to church and just to roam the city to get groceries, etc. I also hope to be able to return to visiting the Hatch in Dallas near White Rock Lake with my friend Cap'n Ron Williams.

The doctor also was very complimentary about my new habits for controlling my diabetes and my blood sugars and being careful what I eat. Without that commitment, all the other things will not work. Evidently, there are many more people who don't take care of their diabetes than those who do. I'm grateful for all your prayers and care for me. Now pray that I can stay the course and that my foot will continue to improve as it has been doing.

I'm still reminded by Jean-Pierre de Caussade: "If we have abandoned ourselves to God, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment." I'm trying to remember to live the sacrament of the present moment - that what is before me in the present moment of every day is the task God has for me. For those of you who've ever seen the newest version of the movie The Four Feathers will understand what it means to say, "Whatever God puts in my way!" :-)

I'll try to post more regular updates as the process moves froward.