The Best Laid Plans

The idea behind an early October surgery was that I would not have to deal with snow while hobbling around on crutches. This appears to have been an invalid assumption.

Recently, I had been sleeping quite well. Until tonight. I woke up around 2am, and it's now almost 6am. I was in pain (same old incision soreness) so I took the prescription-strength ibuprofen and a percocet. That mostly took care of the pain, but I'm still wide awake. Since tomorrow isn't a work day, I seriously considered going for the oxycontin, and just completely checking out. I've been working hard at this, getting exercise and being extremely vigilant with the wound care, but I feel like I'm making no progress.

I'm not ready to say that I regret this, since I am only 3 weeks post-op. And, in theory, I should be better off in the long run. But these last few weeks have been no picnic, and someone less stubborn than myself would probably be in dire straits. I'm pretty sure that I'll continue to have some level of pain until the stitches come out in 2 weeks. Getting them out will probably be as much fun as a root canal, and I'm sure it'll be sore for some time after that.

It doesn't help that working with CIGNA and the Cleveland Clinic is like working with the DMV. CIGNA seems to be utterly unable to comprehend that I went back to work earlier than I had originally estimated. And the Cleveland Clinic never responds to my emails any more. I requested a transition to an intermittent leave, so that I can basically work whenever I'm feeling up to it. My employer is completely fine with that, but I apparently blew CIGNA's mind with that one. I understand that these people need to have all sorts of documentation in order to prevent fraudulent claims, but I think there should be an express lane for someone like me.

My wife taught me never to complain exclusively. Always think of at least one thing you're thankful for. Well, the cat (Hiro) is back. Despite his walking on me at various times during the night, it's nice having him around. I have also established a dialogue with a professor at Clarkson University who is engaged in bionics research. Apparently he is very keen on getting me into his lab to help them develop terrain-adaptive ankles. As both a software engineer and a BK amputee, this sort of thing is fascinating to me. (Although, honestly, the reason there hasn't been much energy spent on developing BK bionics is because the existing carbon-fiber prosthetics are so good. Unlike losing a hand, which is extremely disruptive, a BKA is generally considered not to be particularly disabling. Unless the only parking spot available is a handicapped spot -- then I consider it to be very disabling!!!)

I am also grateful to my wife for putting up with this whole ordeal, and for not allowing me to sit on the couch and eat bon bons all day.

I guess I should also mention that I'm grateful for insurance. See my previous post. I cannot imagine facing a bill like that without insurance. I know it looks like that's my situation, but actually the claim is under review, and my out-of-pocket expense should be considerably less than what's shown.