It all started on December 10, 2014 when at 8:00 in the morning I was taken back for surgery. The plan was to fuse my ankle to help with some of the pain. My doctor took a piece of bone from my hip and put it in my foot along with a plate and seven screws. I was admitted for surgery Wednesday morning and then went home Saturday evening. For the next 6 weeks I was wheelchair bound. That drove me nuts. But what I didn't realize was that I would be wheelchair bound for a lot longer than just 6 weeks.
So, the 6 weeks passed and I went to the doctor on January 22, 2015 to have the cast taken off. When they took it off, the back of my foot along the incision line there was all this black goop yuck. That was not a good sign. My doctor sent me off for an x-ray to make sure everything internally was fine. He looked at the x-rays and everything looked fine internally. Doctor's orders were to do wet-to-dry dressings in hope that the dead tissue would adhere to the gauze when it was wet and then when we peeled it off once it dried, it would de-breed the wound. I wasn't too worried about it after all, my doctor said I could finally walk!!! We went home and did that for about 2 1/2 weeks.
Then on February 9, 2015 Mom was doing the normal routine dressing change when the foot started to smell and the part that was supposed to be healing started to turn white and was all mushy and gross. We took a picture of it (of which I will not post on here for the sake of my friends with weak stomachs) and sent it to my doctor, he called and said that he wanted to see me right away Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning Daddy took me up to Shriner's and my doctor decided that the best thing to do was to surgically de-breed it and put a wound vac on it until it healed. On February 10, 2015, Mom, Daddy, Jimmy and I headed up to the hospital for surgery #18. Around 9:00 they took me back to do the surgery. When I came out, I was hooked up to this little machine about the size of a large print Bible with a tube that came from the back of my foot. The tissue had died all the way to the bone and hardware, which is about 4 centimeters deep. A couple days later we found out that there was an infection in the foot so I was put on antibiotics until it was healed all the way.
I was hooked to the wound vac 24/7 for almost two months when they decided that the hardware that they had put in my foot was the culprit and it needed to come out. So, on April 8, 2015, I had surgery #19 to have the hardware taken out of my foot. When they took the hardware out in surgery, the bone was all slimy with infection so they had to take part of the bone that they had put in there out and they had to scrape the rest of the bones to make sure they got all the infection out. Then, I was hooked back up to the wound vac but...this time I could put about 30 pounds of pressure on it!!! Enough to hobble around with crutches. It was amazing to see how fast my foot shrunk back down to normal size after the hardware was out and the infection was cleaned up. I was very excited to get home as I had plans with friends for the following Monday night but, then the cultures came back. The antibiotic that I needed to take to get rid of the infection had to be either given through an IV or it was $200 a pill and....of course it was the weekend so there was no way to get it approved through insurance. So....I couldn't go home Sunday. Monday morning my doctor did rounds and then I got ready to go home. Around 9:00 in the morning, Daddy called to tell us that insurance had approved the meds and he had them in his hand so we could come home!!!! (I hadn't moved as fast as I did getting ready to leave since before surgery!) Mom and I packed up, I took my IV out and we went home. It was so nice to be home. We went to the dentist and then home to rest before I went up to camp to hang out with some friends.
Then about 2 weeks later, on April 24, 2015, I went to the doctor again to get the stitches pulled out and have a wound vac change. The depth of the wound in my foot had gone from 4 centimeters to 2 centimeters in a little under 2 weeks! But, the best part was when my doctor said that I could put full-weight on my foot. There is no way to describe in words how happy I was. After not being able to walk since December, it was wonderful (and felt a little weird) to put weight on my foot again.
I will just say, the last 138 days have probably been roughest I have been through and I wouldn't of been able to make it through without the help of God and all my wonderful friends and family. I just want to thank you for all the phone calls, texts, messages (facebook, skype, google+), presents, prayers, chocolate, and all the notes that I have received. I am one blessed girl to have so many friends and family that have been with me (whether physically or in spirit) through this whole process.
Tonight in church we sang "Till the Storm Passes By":
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place.
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try,
For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by"
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies.
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore;
In that land where the tempest, never comes, Lord, may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
When we sang this song tonight, the third verse really hit me: "Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try, For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by." Oftentimes over the last 138 days I have asked "Why me?" or "Why can't my foot just heal so I can be up and move around and live like a normal 17 year old?" I don't know now why God has brought me through this and is continuing to send me through it but I believe that one day He will show me exactly why. It might not be in the next few weeks, months, it might be years from now. But one day, He will show me why He sent me through this trial. Although I am not completely out of the storm yet, God will sustain me and bring me through the rest of this trial. And I want to thank all of you that have prayed and have been so loving and kind to me and my family through this.
Love your sister in Christ,
Ruby James
