Post Polio

I only want to write this one time. So here is what's going on with Dorothy.

Dorothy had polio when she was 18 months old. It affected both of her legs, but especially her right foot. She had surgery at 5 and wore a brace. Polio destroys muscles and tendons. The remaining muscles are then overworked. In short, by the time she was 50 her walking was unstable and she was prone to falls, sprains, and fractures.

We took daily walks for our cardiovascular systems. This turned out to be the worst thing she could have done as it stressed her already over-worked muscles.

This is the reason we bought a Jeep. Our adventure needs could no longer be met by hiking so we needed something to get to off-road attractions.

The daily pain and swelling increased quite a bit this year and her stability was markedly down. She was a hip fracture waiting to happen.

She elected to have some very painful surgery to help stabilize her foot. This was done yesterday.

For those that can comprehend medical terms, this is the laundry list of what the surgeon did.

Right subtalar arthrodesis, bone graft from the tibia, percutaneous Achilles lengthening, osteotomy first metatarsal; exploration of peroneal tendons.

Three incisions were made on her foot and another on below her knee for a bone graft. Think plates and screws.

She was in surgery a little over 2.5 hours.

Her spirits were much improved today.

They will keep at the hospital a second night and then release her to a rehab facility for 7 to 10 days.

Recovery will take three months. The first 4 weeks will be in a no-weight cast.

She is going to be damn tired of my cooking before she can walk again.


We are in the process of lifting the Jeep to access the more difficult trails. Just hoping she will be able to get in and out of the higher Jeep.