How far have you gone this playthrough?

[theFlu]

I've been mostly eating salads everyday since the amputation, no rice, no breads, no cereal, and most assuredly, no Pop. I drink cinnamon bark tea in the mornings, and protein shakes at lunch & maybe dinner.

I'm doing my best to get myself free of sugars, carbs, and starches.

That, that sounds excellent; bloody good job! Sounds like you should heal fine, then.

I smoke, and I eat crap; I've quit both for decently long times. Staying away from smoking after the first week or two is trivial; staying away from sugar is ... way more annoying. It's everywhere, and people look at you funny if you don't eat all of the cakes, every time someone somewhere has a birthday. I'd be perfectly fine without by myself, but when I eat some cake, I'll eat a lot more garbage for the next few days "since I already effed up".... it's ridiculous, but it's real Attended a bday last weekend, ate a blade of choc today ... just gotta get back on track. Again!

 

[Vaeliorin]

Was this also caused by diabetes/blood sugar levels?

Yeah, my A1C was 12.4. I'm much better now, my average blood sugar levels are down to 87. Haven't had an A1C in a couple months, but it was down to 5.7 last it was checked.

My surgeon told me after the operation, that most folks would have the vacuum pump for 2-3 months, but that, at the rate my foot was healing, I wouldn't need it that long.

I'm hoping that I can walk again soon after the skin graft.

I didn't have to have a skin graft (just a flap turned over, apparently) and never had a vacuum pump (though I did have a drain installed after they took my remaining 4 toes on my left foot) but my doctor was very cautious, because of the fear of the wound reopening, and possibly getting infection into my foot again.

 

[bobrpggamer]

Quick question, after an amputation of a couple of the outer toes & a skin graft over the wound, how long for a foot wound to heal, so the person can get back up and around?

When I got my foot chopped off I had a cast over the stump and they attached a fake foot to the cast and I could not put all my weight on it. I was told to just walk with a walker up and down the halls a couple of times a day, but not to put a lot wight on the attached foot. When I got my prosthesis I was walking all over, but I would get sores on my stump all the time and was stuck in a wheelchair quite often.

Some guy I knew wanted to see the amputation so I took off the stump shrinker and showed him. When the cast was removed, you could see staples on the flap they used to wrap around the bone and the stump itself was almost square at the end so it looked like something Dr. Frankenstein performed.

I know its not the same but you will get used to whatever limitation you may have. Just try to keep your spirits up and do what they tell you to do.

Somehow my blood sugar was never a problem. I drink 16oz Monster energy drinks all day and my last A1C (a few weeks ago) was 5.5 for some reason. Trust me though I have more than my share of other problems.

If only I would have taken my advice and "Just try to keep your spirits up and do what they tell you to do." I would be a lot better off too. Funy how easy it is to give other advice and be a complete jack*** most of the time yourself.

 

[WarMongerian]

Anyone know an organization that helps veterans get a higher disability rating for free?
I currently have info for one, but they charge a flat $1,250 fee, but no guarantee that you get a big increase. For instance, if they got me a bump from my current rating to the next higher one, that would only be about $170/month, and if I had to pay that $1,250 off in 12 months, I would see an actual increase of about $60/month for the first year.

The problem for me is, that even though I started drawing my Social Security retirement checks in Jan of this year, I get such a low amount that I still get SSI each month, meaning that, although I now get a retirement check, my total income didn't go up at all, just the source changed a bit.

My housing situation had me paying just $90/month, plus electric & other utilities, for my 1 bedroom apartment, but now, my portion goes up to $120/month (a 33% increase), despite no actual increase in income, lol.

My fear is that, if I did get an increase in my service connected disability rate, I could actually lose more than I gain in the short term, which I cannot really afford.

OTOH, if I got the maximum increase, instead of a small increase, I would stand to gain more than all the other public assistance $$$ I currently receive, and then some.

Worried about bills in the near term, and long term, and what happens if I need hospitalization for more than the 2 weeks the surgeon told me about? Do I lose my housing assistance, would I get out of the hospital in 4 months or so, just to find myself homeless?

Not much fun to think about, let me tell ya, lol.

 

[Rotor]

Anyone know an organization that helps veterans get a higher disability rating for free?
I currently have info for one, but they charge a flat $1,250 fee, but no guarantee that you get a big increase. For instance, if they got me a bump from my current rating to the next higher one, that would only be about $170/month, and if I had to pay that $1,250 off in 12 months, I would see an actual increase of about $60/month for the first year.

The problem for me is, that even though I started drawing my Social Security retirement checks in Jan of this year, I get such a low amount that I still get SSI each month, meaning that, although I now get a retirement check, my total income didn't go up at all, just the source changed a bit.

My housing situation had me paying just $90/month, plus electric & other utilities, for my 1 bedroom apartment, but now, my portion goes up to $120/month (a 33% increase), despite no actual increase in income, lol.

My fear is that, if I did get an increase in my service connected disability rate, I could actually lose more than I gain in the short term, which I cannot really afford.

OTOH, if I got the maximum increase, instead of a small increase, I would stand to gain more than all the other public assistance $$$ I currently receive, and then some.

Worried about bills in the near term, and long term, and what happens if I need hospitalization for more than the 2 weeks the surgeon told me about? Do I lose my housing assistance, would I get out of the hospital in 4 months or so, just to find myself homeless?

Not much fun to think about, let me tell ya, lol.

Wrong forum, but for "free" you need to contact your local VA for a list of acredited representatives:

Get help from a VA accredited representative or VSO | Veterans Affairs

An accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative can help you file a claim or request a decision review. Learn how to find and appoint one of these types of accredited representatives to help you.

www.vets.gov

NONE will gurantee anything, even the ones you pay. Most will stay with you until there are no more options to submit.

Nothing will happen short term.

Anything related for VA disability benefits will be in terms of "years".

 

[bobrpggamer]

If I told you what I get each month from my Social Security Survivors , you may not talk to me again. I got mine in 1998 when I had my foot chopped off in a state hospital. I get Medicare as well too.

In my younger years I also got SSI and I had a heck of a time finding a room for rent I could afford. Its strange, but every time I got something from Social Security, I never personally applied. Someone got it for me when I turned 18, then again in 1998. When I got Social Security Survivors in 1998 I only started receiving it in 2012, so I got a back payment. Again, I never applied for it. I must have a friend looking out for me somewhere.

There has to be some sort of benefit you should get as a veteran, unless of course you were dishonorably discharged. I think they should help you with your housing at the very least. Then again I am not sure the current president is going to be up for it, if you know what I mean.

Maybe someone could allow you to make payments for their services. Over a period of time payments may be the best bet. Or even a small loan that you can pay over time for like 24 months or something. When my water heater started to leak the plumbers suggested I get a payment plan, because there was no way I could pay over $3,000 up front. I did not get the payment plan because my income was so low. So I just got one put in but was unable to get the water heater installation up to CA code. I may be fined for it if my park makes a big deal out of it, but I took one cold shower and that was enough cold showers for me.