14th Anniversary

I cant believe it has been 14 years as of yesterday. I woke up yesterday remembering my fall. I can still see it as clear as the day it happened. I am still as grateful as I was when it all happened. The pain is still incredible bit not everyday. I am still with my pain management doc. I hate that I have been on opiads for 14 years, but if I want quality of life it's a must. But I am thankful we have reduced the fentynal from 100mcg to 37.5 mcg and 10mg percocet 4x per day. I would love to find alternatives for it all. God is so good and I bless his name for my broken feet!

Happy Feet Day 2021! 13 years ago...

 Today is Happy Feet Day at the Rhodes house! Today marks the 13th anniversary of my accident. We celebrate this day each year to give special thanks to our great God because I was told I would not be able to walk again. I had destroyed my calcaneus bones in both feet. The best I could have hoped for was using a walker the rest of my life. Wow! I can remember that phone call from the leading Ortho surgeon in Arkansas. I was all alone in my hospital room that morning. It was a dark day. I had an 18-month-old son and a wife who was trying to hold it all together for me. I just cried out to God asking for His grace. He delivered above and beyond anything I could have imagined. I still walk funny but I can walk. I live with excruciating pain on a daily basis but I have a pain management regiment that helps. Each day when my feet hit the floor and the pain racks my body I am reminded of how wonderful God is and that His grace is sufficient for all of my needs and pain. So this day we celebrate the greatness of the almighty God...the one and only true God. May may crooked walk and my pain bring Him the glory and honor He deserves! A special THANKS to my amazing wife who never left my side....who also suffered greatly during my long hospital stay, 1.5 years recovery and to this day when I am doubled over in pain. She is a rock I can lean on. I love

u Robbie!

1 week out from surgery

The pain is getting better, but my foot continues to remind me that it has been cut on!  LOL

My next doctor's appointment is Tuesday.  I believe I will still be non-weight bearing for another week.

I know part of what I am about to say has to do with the China Virus (coronavirus) or we have become so self-centered that we can't see beyond our own lives..... but I am reminded again on a very personal level that it is MY responsibility to call those who are shut-in, sick, or are unable to leave their home.  Shut-ins are lonely.  Their family is not calling them.  Their friends are not calling them.  God forgive me for not doing what I should be doing to help shut-ins!

Russ

Post Op Doc Visit

I met with my surgeon the day after my surgery.  He took off my temporary cast and did an x-ray.  All hardware except for 1/2 of a small screw was taken out.  He couldn't reach the screw without causing more damage so he left it.  He is very pleased with the outcome and with the incision, except for bleeding that has not stopped.  So he put another temporary cast on and asked me to come back in 1 week.

I was up most of the night with pain.  I didn't sleep well.  Hopefully, tonight will be better. 

So for now, no driving.  We are pretty much stuck at home anyway due to the coronavirus issue.

God is good!

R

Repair Surgery Day

I went to Dr. Lorio about 2 months ago to have him look at a bump that had come upon the back of my right heel.  It was bothering me as it rubbed against the back of my shoe.  He scanned it and said that it was a calcium buildup, but he was more concerned about the pain I was dealing with.  The pain has been increasing over the past 4 months.  He saw metal rubbing against bone.  My right calcaneal bone had to be reconstructed with some kind of bone putty 11 years ago.  During the past 11 years, it had flattened out some causing the hardware he put in to begin rubbing against the bone.  His solution was another surgery to remove as much hardware as possible.

So today is the day!  Another surgery.  This time outpatient....so that is a huge blessing.

God has this.  He is faithful.  I am his.  I have been through much worse.

To God be the glory!

Russ

11th Anniversary Happy Feet Day!

Time really does fly when you are having fun raising a family.  It is crazy to think it has been 11 years since my accident.

I took the time to listen to my rehab song, "In Christ Alone" by Michael English.  https://youtu.be/AwBjEcDYVQM

Went back through my notes, blog, and diary from that period just to remember the greatness of God and to find people who came to our aid so that I could call them this morning and tell them thank you once again.

I called Dave Hughey, my Pastor, who came to visit me in the hospital many times.  It wasn't just a 5 minute "hello, goodbye" visit.  He would pull up a chair and ask, "how are you really doing?"  I gained a new friend and huge respect for this man.

I called Cheryl Arnold, the business manager at my wife's clinic.  At the time, Saline Memorial Hospital didn't have public wifi.  I was dying without internet access.  She pulled some strings and got me access to the employee wifi.  A Godsend!

And finally, I called Troy Cheatham.  He too was battling some major health issues that came upon him quickly without warning.  He gave me some stark advice during this time, advice that I needed to hear.  He gave me his rehab Bible verse and I used it to get well!

As always, we will be going to Branson to celebrate Happy Feet Day (next weekend).  It is a great time to look back at all the wonderful things God has done in our lives.  Crushed heals, constant pain, and days when walking is just excruciating....yet there is pure joy, peace, hope, and love for my Savior, Jesus!  To Him be all glory, honor, and praise!

Until the day I get to heaven and my feet are completely made new, we will celebrate Happy Feet Day!

10th Anniversary

Wow!  Happy Feet Day #10!!

I can't believe it has been 10 years!  As I look back on this blog, I am reminded of how wonderful God has been to me.  I can't think of anything else to say as it has already been said.

I am STILL thankful I feel.  I am STILL thankful I have crushed heels.  I am STILL thankful for each day's pain.  I am STILL thankful I can walk unassisted.  I am STILL THANKFUL!  I have seen a side of God that I would have never seen had it not been for my accident.

Robbie and I were lying in bed last night reminiscing.  She was in tears.  This is a rare thing for Robbie as she does not cry for anything.  She was remembering the utter loneliness she experienced while I was in the hospital.  I have to remember that I was not the only one who was hurt.....she was hurting too!  She was the best caregiver I could have ever had.  She was a trooper all the way and for that......I am eternally grateful!

As time continues to pass, fewer and fewer people take the time to say Happy Feet Day as they have forgotten.  Even some in my family forget.  And that is OK.  Life goes on.  This is why my wife and my boys celebrate Happy Feet Day.  Not for me, but for the wonderfulness of God!  So despite the fact that few remember, the ones that count do remember!

Thanks for sharing in our celebration!

Russ

9th Anniversary

Today is happy feet day.  I am reminded of how wonderful my God is.  Thank you God for the limp...the scars....the pain.....they remind me of your faithfulness.

Happy Feet Day 2015

Happy Feet Day 2015

It is hard to believe that 7 years have come and gone since my accident.  My family and I have reserved this day as a celebration of the goodness and greatness of God.  He has sustained me and will continue to do so for eternity!  I am so thankful for these past 7 years!  I am so thankful for my accident and how it has changed me in so many ways!

Last Sunday, my Pastor preached on 2 Cor 1:3-11.  These verses say what I have been living since the day I fell:

"3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,so also you share in our comfort.

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

The only reason for my accident was to bring glory to my God.  By doing so others will be comforted!  That is very exciting to me!

Happy Feet Day 2013

It's the 5th Anniversary of my accident today!!  I am filled with all kinds of emotions, but most of all, I am so thankful to my gracious God who continues to give me grace!

Each year, I look back over this blog, re-living the events of 5 years ago.  God is so good!

I saw a Pain Management Doctor on Wednesday of this week.  I believe I am on a new path to pain management.  I didn't like the direction I was going.  I didn't like the medications I had to take just to walk some days.  I am very excited for this new approach to controlling and managing my pain.

I thought I was going to get on here and write a long post because this is my 5th anniversary.  I should have more to say, but for some reason I don't.  LOL

I am sitting here, watching my 6 year old draw on paper, my 2 year old is taking a nap and quietly, I am praising God in my heart for all He has given me.

To God be the glory for GREAT things He has done....in my life!  I am forever grateful!  I love all of you!

We are off to Branson this evening for a quiet weekend of fun and reflection!