The Legless Lizard

Apologies for not blogging more and sooner! The new normal for our lives has become quite busy and I've neglected the blog momentarily.  I will upload more pics and footage soon. A quick update so far..... TONIGHT is the night for us to Thank you to Everyone.  Thank you concert at the Hawkesbury Hotel from 5pm, free entertainment and nibblies. Matt is on his 2nd leg (or 2nd socket I'm not sure of the 'correct' terminology).  Unfortunately it's not working for him as he'd hoped due to his pre existing nerve injury and pain.  His Gabapentin intake has increased as his nerve pain is back up there but this also could be due to him gaining feeling back in his leg as well.  Regardless, Matt is still happy with having this amputation as he's definitely mobile and hands free and can live a more functional life. He's back to work doing his music lessons and therapy work.  Band and Gig work has increased as well! Thanks again to you all for being part of th...

At this stage, I'd headed back to work for 2 days per week.  Katrina is Matt's awesome Physiotherapist at Nepean Hospital.  She's invested in her work immensely and her humour makes life simpler.  Katrina touched base by phone initially and got Jenny O'Neill's number and the two of them conversed together on what each was working on with Matt.  A stroke of luck to get someone like Katrina, who is as passionate about her work as Jen is.  The Universe strikes again for the Charnley family :) Katrina filmed this little section for Matt to send to me to see how he started off with his "first leg". He started off doing an hour to an hour and a half some days of this initial therapy.  Looking back now, he's just learning and getting his balance.  This was an amazing milestone.  Matt said this was the last part of his session so he was pretty exhausted by this stage.  

With our lives getting back to their new normal, the blog has taken a backseat, so I thought it was time to get some updates happening!!!! After what seemed a long journey for us, but seemingly fast for surgeon's, bystanders, physiotherapists and others involved, Matt's amputation wound healed well (and he has a mighty good looking stump might I add!) so he was ready for Physiotherapy! Matty started doing 3 sessions per week with the nothing short of amazing and miraculous, Jenny O'Neill - who has been Matt's incredible physio from Day 1, not to mention headspace extraordinaire and inspirational, motivational mentor!   Interestingly enough (with this fabulous Government Australia has) from a financial perspective, of course the NDIS will not allow any of his funding to be compensated for any of this cost because it is "private physiotherapy".   The logic in not supporting people to be proactive in their healing astounds me!  Shouldn't that save them...

Time is of the essence and like most things, one thing leads to another, domino effect etc etc etc.  Focus has been largely on rehab and physiotherapy and maintaining Matt's mind space.   There's the catch 22 situation when one needs what they class as heavy drugs for pain, then trying to wean off those, yet with more movement and therapy, more pain increases.  It's one of those things that 'hangs in the balance' but one that we are all mindful of, particularly Matt himself.  We've been there before and it's not always pretty!  Yet it's a mindful process this time around.  You learn from your mistakes, or experiences as I'd prefer to call them.  You make sure you aren't going down that path again. So whilst we are focusing on getting going, on more movement, better life quality, more functionality we have completely forgotten to nurse the progress and the changes of the impact of actually being more mobile & functional!  It's been a long...

This day was absolutely amazing!  The smile and look from within, just shone through his entire being.  A very blessed day for us all.

After experiencing limbo, impatience, some detachment and depressive & frustrating moments, we have all survived the waiting, which has seemed like forever.  Most people say "wow, you're home already"  or "you've got a leg already" so it mustn't really be that long, but like anything I guess... if you're living it, it's totally different! So last week it was off to the Prosthesis Clinic at Nepean and there was Matt's new leg!!!  Funnily enough, the evening before, Matt says to me "did you buy me new boots?" and my answer was no.  Here is the most important appointment of all time and I'd forgotten to bring home the most vital part for this new life force!!!  Not that they're MY boots, or it's my leg!  The reality is Matt could've done that himself but just him getting back into some kind of 'normal' is a slow process.  Being in crowded places with staring eyes, is something he's not supe...

After a number of emails from centres & their expression on how much the clients miss Matt he took the plunge.  It was a big step after much deliberation about getting back to 'normal', Matt decided to give one session of work a go.  For those that don't know,  Matt does music therapy for persons with disabilities (he also does this for aged care centres and teaches guitar) where these centres book him weekly, a year in advance, because these clients just love him so much.  He plays for an hour, he takes them microphones so they can have their 5 minutes of fame and interacts with the clients as only Matt can.  These centres have been so understanding of our situation, and very patient in waiting for Matt to return to work, and we are very grateful. So Wednesday the 1st of March we were off to Penrith after the hospital.  The clients saw Matt through the glass windows and doors and were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!  There w...

After the skin is on then it's wrapped in this strong glad wrap - actually would love some of this for the kitchen!!!  The artistry shows nerve & bone points.  We weren't aware until after casting was done, that Mark was drawing and touching and pressing on Matt's leg and looking for his 'reactions' to certain points so he could gauge pain points prior to prosthesis fitting. Matt hold this yellow strip right there... (neither of us asked why) Casting commences!  Yay! And this is the purpose of the yellow strip! Casting complete! Last but not least, measurements with the skin on....

 So this amputee process is an intricate and long one.  So many factors to be processed.  Matt's measurements were considered 'stable enough' by Katrina on March 1st so it was all systems go for casting his leg... well they say stump, but we just can't quite wrap our tongues around that one fully yet! Mark from Southern Prosthetics is the man of the moment and he's here showing Matt how to fit his skin reliever.  He's bought this home to test it out and get a feel for it.  Of course a number of condom jokes were thrown into the mix and reality is, that's a bit what this thing seems like on a large scale! Matt's coming out of the mentally and emotionally imbalanced phase of "limbo" now he's got a reality time frame for all of this.  Knowing he'll be walking around minus crutches within a few weeks is a major goal :)  

A sneak pic from Matt's First Hydro Session with Jen.  Abbey takes Matty to his Monday appointments and they do their breaky and coffee dates etc.  Really cool to have a Daddy Daughter day in the mix! And the original A4 poster design of Matt's whilst in Rehab.  The finished product is massive and way more detailed!!!

So last week was our first visit to the Amputee Clinic.  It is a world within it's own.  A room of amputees at varying stages of their rehabilitation.  All of these people can give each other something that an able bodied person cannot.  Complete understanding of the pain, the loss, the restrictions, the capabilities, the fluctuating mind space.... and the knowledge that they are not alone in this journey.   We were blessed to have time with our good friend Leah, already an amputee, particularly through her recent journey of Osseointegration.  Her experience and insight has given Matt so much to prepare himself with and her knowledge of the government bodies has been a blessing to my part of this journey. Matt believed he was getting fitted for a Prosthetic limb last week and we left with a stump shrinker.  Disheartening to say the least, and more of that 'limbo' stage.  Then a call came from Katrina, the physiotherapist who measures/gauges lim...

Now is a strange space.  It's kind of limbo like.  Home minus a limb and no prosthesis or knowing when that will be happening.  Doing physio and hydro therapy; doing home physio sessions as well.  Not being able bodied enough to do the normal day to day things like cooking & eating or cleaning up after that, taking out the rubbish bin or picking up the dog poo (yep you heard right).... the list is endless really.  More restricted than ever, creating a useless feeling yet trying to remain positive minded and driven to do the work toward the goal. This is the time where Matt's mind needs distractions.  It's a bit similar to the situation when someone passes away, but by no means the same, as this is not permanent, where death is.  Just in the way that there are people always there in the initial stage.  Masses of people.  All of the time.  Doing, buzzing around, helping, cooking, cleaning, phoning in, cuddling, loving, caring.... ba...

Life has been busy to say the least.  Good intentions of writing into the blog are always there but time hasn't been so kind or when there's time, there's no brain space!!! Coming home to our new, or current, normal is a harsh reality.  It's great for Matt to be home, it's exciting in so many ways and there's always something we are learning or doing.  Although Matt was somewhat restricted with his disability, pre-amputation, being home in normal day to day living minus a limb and still without a prosthesis, gives the realization of how much more he could do even then.  The changes are on quite a large scale and the learning and patience is taken to a complete new level. The regular day to day things he could do are something of the past yet won't be part of the prosthesis future.  I don't think any of us realized just how long the processes are toward this goal. Keeping of positive mind is now a challenge; convincing his leg that there is no longer a ...

The Human Body is amazing, as is the human mind.  Don't take what you have for granted.  Life can change is a moment. The simple things taken from you will always be missed.  Use your mind, your body and your time wisely.  Peace.

Rehab saw Australia Day in an outing then the following Sunday for a day out as well.  Somehow, on these days, we ended up at the Hawkesbury Hotel, on the balcony, chillin' out and enjoying some live Aussie music with a few's company.  Not that we are complaining!!! Rehab was 3 physio sessions per day at one hour each session then extra work in Matty's room. On Thursday arvo 2nd February, we headed home for some time in our real world.  I guess in the old days, even though walking with plates or food or utensils was limited, it was also a limit we took for granted.  Now, there is NO way that can possibly happen pre prosthesis yet it brings it's pro's and con's (as everything changing does!).

Dr Chu suggested to Matt to have some leave this coming Sunday, for an entire day, to see how he copes at home with the possibility of sending him home mid/late next week.  Yes, this means he'll come home without a Prosthesis because he is still compression bandaging to shape his stump & also in the healing process. So, as you all know Matt, he decided he'd come home for a few hours on Australia Day.   I arrived with coffee, pre Physio session, watched him do his thang and then by the end of it all & being ready to go, he signed out with a return time of 8pm!  8pm is curfew.... so funny, that he has a curfew, never has been a rules kinda guy ;) The animals were so happy to see him and Rumble seems to have taken a liking to rubbing on Matt's stump (obviously a cat fetish) and he shocked the hell out of Katrina, who just dropped by because my car was home when she was passing! After a bit of a family day indulging in some good food and a few bevvy's and a vi...

Time seems to have moved quickly - well probably for the girls and I, but not so fast for Matty!  This week it's been amazing to watch him progress with physio and fly through his therapy with increased weights and intensity.  He's so focused and dedicated to the cause, it gives the 'wow' factor every time I watch him.  He may not see the difference himself, but because I don't watch it every day (he's doing at least 2 hours per day in the gym and then some) it's such a notable difference!   The hospital is so quiet and small there, it is mainly elderly folk doing rehab however he's the only amputee in the place.  Matt's positive attitude will hopefully flow on to everyone there, even if they don't share the same sense of humour..... So here's some pics of Matty smashing his physio! PS:  You'll notice Matty's man bun has been lopped by our dear daughter ;)