Update #162

We are home. Sorry for not posting sooner.

Monday kicked off with PT and OT, including stairs to be sure that Dave would be able to get into the house. It took almost 45 minutes to get up and down two steps, but he made it, so home we went, carrying presciptions for Oxycodone, Valium and long-acting Morphine. The Oxy quickly morphed into Percocet when we realized that every pharmacy in the state of Ohio has Oxy on back order from the manufacturer - is that even possible? - and the combo is helping to keep Dave's pain around a 5. Hopefully, it will continue to subside in the next few days - follow-up with Dr. Archdeacon, the Orthopedic Surgeon, on Monday.

Aside from the pain, we are good, and it is great to be home. Baza seems to have survived the weekend without us (although I think our roommate Rachel may need a few days to recover from puppy-sitting), and we are being spoiled with homemade meals from people from our church for the next few days (yeah for a few more days before Dave realizes that I can't cook).

Praises for a successful surgery, and prayers for the pain to disappear. Love from both of us...

Update #161

One more night. :-(

Dave's still struggling with the pain and can't put any weight on his right leg. The doctors started the discharge process again today, but we knew that even if we could get help getting into the car today, getting out of the car and into the house would be nearly impossible if he can't put weight on his leg. So we're staying.

It's a setback, and we are definitely ready to go home, but we also want to make sure that we will be able to function on our own once we get there, which would not have been the case today. So, more TV, more relaxing, more prayers that tomorrow will be better.

I reread the past couple of posts, and they sound pretty negative and down. Please know that we are doing well and our spirits are still fine. We know this is just one more step in the journey with a few unexpected bumps, and this too shall pass. For now, we're just trying to enjoy another quiet evening and looking forward to getting home soon.

"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." This verse, Romans 8:28, is our theme with the middle schoolers this spring and one I have been reading and studying and meditating on for weeks. Sometimes, God likes to give very clear reminders what it means to believe what I teach. I remember back in the ICU, not too long after Dave woke up, he and I were talking about the amazing plan that God must have for him - for us - as a result of his accident. His response? "I hope so. And I can't wait to see what it is." Amen to that.

Still trusting, hoping, and looking toward the good. Love and prayers from both of us...

Update #160

Dave's miserable.

I wish there were a better way to say it, but "miserable" is the reality right now.

I think we may have underestimated how much it hurts to shove steel into bone; I know we underestimated how much of a tolerance Dave's body has built up to painkillers. The combination of those two factors has left Dave anywhere from a six to a nine on the 10-point pain scale for more than 28 hours. Yesterday evening was Oxycodone and Morphine. Last night was long-acting Morphine, Oxycodone, IV Dilaudid and Valium, plus two sleeping pills and interruptions from nurses every two hours for "refills." Today is IV Dilaudid, Dilaudid pills and long-acting Morphine. And Dave is still in pain.

With a resemblance far too close to life in the ICU, it took fifteen minutes to get him out of bed and into a chair today and another ten later this afternoon to move to his wheelchair. And every movement sends shocks of pain through his whole leg.

Needless to say, we're spending another night at UC. According to the Ortho attending today, the pain should go down by 50% within 36 hours, so hopefully by tomorrow morning...

Please be praying. One night away from home almost sounded relaxing. Two nights in a hospital is all too much of a reliving of so many other nights lying awake waiting for the pain to go away, a situation with which we are all too familiar and of which we are getting pretty tired.

Update #159

UT's Orthopedic Surgeon - spitting image of Christopher Reeve's Superman

UC's Orthopedic Surgeon - spitting image of Sean Astin somewhere between Rudy and Samwise Gamgee.

Sorry, when you've spent as much time in hospital waiting rooms as I have, you find unique ways to amuse yourself. And the name of Dr. Archdeacon's (UC) celebrity twin has been plaguing me for weeks.

Anyway, Dave's surgery went great. Pins and rod removed, biopsy taken, rod and pin inserted. And - who's the greatest wife ever? - I even asked Dr. Archdeacon to call the nurse to have her save the old rod and pins for Dave when he wakes up. If either of us is wearing unique "jewelry" at the wedding celebration in June, you'll know where it came from. :-)

The surgery has an 85% success rate for healing femur fractures, and considering the improvement in Dave's strength, mobility, nutrition and overall health since the last try, Dr. Archdeacon is pretty confident Dave will be among the successes.

An hour till I get to see him, so I'm off to get some lunch. More soon!

Update #158

Dave just went back to surgery. The procedure should take two hours - put him under, remove the old rod and pins, bone biopsy, place the new rod and pin (only one this time) - with another hour in recovery before I can see him. Dave's words before they wheeled him away? "I wonder who I need to talk to about keeping the old rod and pins." This is why I love him. I'll post once I hear something.

Update #157

So I'm a horrible person. Okay, not horrible person, just horrible blogger.

Yes, it's been more than two weeks since the last Dave Update. And honestly, in the midst of doctors' appointments and laundry and...well, we'll get to that last "and" in a minute.

First, after asking for prayer for Caleb, I feel awful for not telling you sooner that he is doing fine. The surgery went well, and he was home recovering after only two days in the hospital. The whole fam came over for dinner the other night, and not only is he one of the cutest babies ever, he is also one of the happiest and more normally developing I have ever met, so from my expert medical perspective, at least, the surgery was a success. :-)

As for Dave, things are picking up again, so much so, in fact, that you may actually get more than one post every two weeks. First, Dave moved his foot! Yes, I know, I thought we were past the updates on "mundane" tasks too, but remember foot drop? The EMG that said Dave had no nerve activity in his left shin, which was making it impossible for him to flex his foot toward his face? Yeah, he flexed his foot. We were at the Podiatrist's office the other day, and while we were waiting for Dr. Adams to come in, Dave was dangling his feet from the exam table, so I asked if he could flex his left foot. And he did! Talk about surprised! He did it again and again, but I have to admit that in our disbelief, I actually waited until Dr. Adams came in and asked her to confirm that Dave was, in fact, moving his foot before I actually believed that the foot drop might be getting better (pretty sure she thinks I'm crazy now...).

The reason that Dave was visiting the Podiatrist, by the way, is because on top of everything else, he has ingrown toenails. Lucky him. So, after a minor toenail clipping didn't solve the problem, he had the pleasure of having an ingrown toenail procedure that, fortunately for you, I can't describe in detail because even after everything that I have held Dave's hand through in the past eight months, and after everything he has experienced, neither he nor I could watch what the doctor did to his feet without getting nauseated. Yeah, we're wusses.

Hmm...how does that song go again? The foot bone's connected to the toe bone, the toe bone's connected to the thigh bone...maybe I need to check my anatomy book. Anyway, moving up from Dave's feet...well...he's having surgery on his femur again. After more than eight months with the rod and pins in place to fix the fracture, Dave's leg still hasn't healed. The description from Dr. Archdeacon, Dave's Orthopedic Surgeon? "Because the fracture hasn't healed, the rod could break. It doesn't generally happen in the first year, but it does happen, and if it breaks, the surgery is a whole lot harder. So you could wait a few more months..." I think we'll go with surgery. Anyway, assuming Dr. Muskat, his Trauma Surgeon, agrees that the surgery would be a good idea, he's scheduled for Friday at noon. The surgery will last approximately two hours and involves removing the current rod and replacing it with a new, larger rod that should help stimulate healing. The procedure does include an overnight at UC, but Dave will be up on his leg again as soon as he wakes up. Pretty incredible if you ask me. Hopefully, the new hardware will also help to resolve the residual pain he is experiencing in his leg and hip.

Finally, the "and" that I mentioned above - because we don't have enough going on already, Dave and I got a puppy. A word of warning in hindsight: if you aren't prepared to get a puppy today, don't start "casually browsing" the Pets section on Craig's List. His name is Baza, affectionately named for the 135 tubes of cream that we have used to protect the skin around Dave's wound, and he is adorable (we might be a little biased, but he did get a lot of attention at PetSmart where we stopped to get food on the way home). He is half beagle, that much we know. The other half is unknown, although he has the coloring of a rottweiler...good thing he has small paws or we could have a monster on our hands. Anyway, for any animal lovers out there, we will gladly post pictures soon. For anyone who turns green at sappy pet owners who coo about how cute their animals are...well, we'll still post the pictures, but you can ignore them...or post mean comments about them if you prefer. :-)

So I think that's the long and short of the past two weeks. Caleb is doing well, Dave is having surgery, and our puppy has to pee. I should go take care of that...

By the way, Sarah already texted me to let me know that she will be at the hospital with me on Friday. Maybe one day, she and I will get to hang out somewhere other than a waiting room. Keep praying!