Monday, April 28, 2008

The Lawsuit

In our wonderful country of Canada our car insurance only pays for damages to the vehicle and any medical costs to the unfortunate victim. Any costs for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life must be done through the courts. I really wrestled with this in the beginning. You hear so many people suing others for petty things. Even though I continued to struggle with it, I did contact a lawyer who was able to explain a lot to me.
I was not suing the driver personally. His insurance would pay whatever damages were awarded.
It seems that the threshold for 'pain and suffering' is very high in Canada. We have to prove that there is a significant loss to a vital part of our body. Do I qualify? If the award is $100,000. or less, the government takes 30% off the top. Anything over $100,000. the government doesn't take anything.
As time went by, and as my impediment grew obvious, the struggle was not such a struggle. Damn straight I deserve something for pain and suffering. It has been a long six months. I am sure I will be left with some pain for the rest of my life.
I had a meeting with my lawyer today to update him on the progress etc. He will gather reports from all concerned. He wants me to have an xray on my 1 year anniversary to see if arthritis is developing. The question remains (and is a little doubtful), do I qualify for having significant loss of a vital part of my body. I think I do.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

6 MONTHS




Yesterday was 6 months since the accident. Boy have I come a long, long way. In hind sight it has been a very difficult 6 months. A lot of struggling, but constant progress. I have been pretty convinced that my healing is complete and the progress in the past month has been very minimal. Here is what I am left with;
Pain in the morning - 3
Pain through the day - 2
Pain in the evening - 3
Shoes are a large problem. Most don't fit, most of what is left hurts and the few left from that, well, are few.
Swelling is a large problem. By the end of the day my foot is always swollen but if I have to be on my feet too much after that they are horribly swollen.
I can't walk up stairs properly because I can't round my foot completely. I can't walk down stairs for the same reason. I sort of go sideways. At night time, going down stairs is agony on my knees and my feet. I look like a 90 yr. old woman
I can't run.
I can't go for long walks because of swelling, my hips hurt and my legs ache. Hopefully if I keep trying it is just a matter of getting in better shape.
Which reminds me that I have also gained about 10 pounds because of impeded activity.
But I can live to see another day and as you can see from the pictures from six months ago you understand that whatever challenges I have left from this accident are nothing compared to what it could have been.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Petrisor Grad

I saw Dr. Petrisor this morning. He took some xrays and is very happy with the results. He says the swelling could very well take a year to be under control. The flexibility in my toes is being hampered by the tendons being all tied up in scar tissue. It will get progressively better with exercise. I don't have to wear my orthotics anymore, my arch is strong enough. He also said that if I need to have the screws out I can call him but if they aren't bothering me they can stay in, HORRAY.
I've pretty much come as far as the medical field can take me, now we'll just have to wait and see how much better it gets. That's OK with me. It could have been so much worse. I was sitting in the waiting room with a young guy who walked backwards off a roof in September. He thought he had two more steps to go, and down he went feet first. He basically exploded his feet. They put him back together and today he was walking. My injury just didn't seem so bad after talking to him. He had a kick ass attitude just like me, that will take him far.
Today is a good day.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Update

Swelling is a big issue. Just when I thought it wasn't so bad it has been difficult all week. Unless I am wearing running shoes. If I stand to do dishes, or anything my foot swells, if I wear any shoes other than runners my foot swell instantly. If I push on my foot with my finger, it leaves a finger print for about 10 minutes. It's weird. Shoes are also a problem. My foot is a funny shape and won't fit into 90% of my shoes.
I have been able to walk down a flight of stairs without holding the railing though. It still hurts to round my foot properly when I walk but I have more confidence in my stability.
I will have a meeting with Dr. Petrisor on Monday morning so I will know more then. I can't wait. I have a feeling this is as good as it will get. It's been almost 6 months. The accident could have been so much worse, so if this is it I will accept it but it would be nice to be able to wear any shoes again.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

This week...

Not much has changed this week. I think the swelling is less of an issue unless I wear anything but running shoes. My arch was almost cramping today. There is a pain at the bottom of my big toe. Physio warned me that there would be different aches and pains as everything moved around and settled. I hope that's all that it is. I still limp because it hurts to completely round my foot when I walk. I try and I can do it if I am thinking about it but without thinking I will limp instead. I need to concentrate on teaching myself to walk through it.