Stitches OUT

Adam got all of his stitches removed yesterday. Yes, there was a moment where we contemplatd using the smelling salts on me, but I survived. The strip don the middle front had two pieces of thick "lanyard" (remember those plastic strings that we used to weave together to make keychains at Bennett?) type material and the doctor pulled those out each in one long full piece. These were embroidered like not really stitched. That incision is the main one, that is where the 11 screws are. We are still trying to get a copy of the xray of that. The x is a minor incision, I believe for a scope of some sort when they were looking for the bleeding, that was just 1-2 stitches. On the side where the railroad tracks are is where they took a piece of the fibia to meld together the pieces of the tibia that they took apart. That was about 15 normal stitches. and the small hole to the right of the bottom track is where they had a drain attached to him after the surgery for any unvaccuumed blood. It was safer to close him once the bleeding was stopped and drain any excess blood that way then to keep him under much longer.
If you click on the picture it will take you to the set for more views.
He has a home Physical Therapist that has been coming once a week ish, to help him work on build his muscles up and getting back into the groove. He is up and about more, but not a lot. He starts school on Tuesday.

Another update

DSC03223, originally uploaded by adriennevh.

Friday was the day from hell! The wheelchair company sent a shoddy product that wouldn't support Adams leg, so mama bear came out and growled and slashed a few faces before the hospital sent us home anyways and a different company delivered another wheelchair on Saturday to the house. There is a whole lot more to that but I really don't want to relive it again.

Adam is doing better, today was his post-op appointment and the bandages got changed. The picture above is from before the appointment. I tried to take a picture of the sutures and stuff when they removed the bandages but suddenly he (of all people) got shy about it.

Again just another brace and bandages, and then we go back next Monday. The plan then is to remove the stitches and either cast or an actual metal brace that will go form hip to toe.

He is sleeping in the living room on the recliners, but has managed to walk to and from the bathroom and to and from the car. Driving with him is hard, all the bumps and turns and I guess (from the look on his face and the winces he makes) that stopping and going is the worst.

He is on iron supplements and a high protein diet to help bring the blood count back up. He is not getting as dizzy when he stands, but is still pretty weak.

Keep the cards and emails coming, it helps to keep his spirits up. Frustration at not being able to do things yourself sets in pretty hard.

Adam Update #6

Tomorrow Adam will be sent home. We were originally thinking today, but a not so good morning session with the Physical therapist kept him here an additional night. So come hell or high water, tomorrow it is.

When we started this whole shindig more than a year ago, we knew this would be the BIG surgery, but no one thought it would end up being this BIG.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support. Thank you Kathy for spelling me everyday, so I could breathe something other than hospital air for a couple hours. Thank you Ris for bringing that gorgeous bundle of joy to see me here, I know Adam really enjoyed it as well.

Thank you to all of his visitors, he may not have been receptive all the time, but trust me it truly meant alot of him to know how much you care.

Ok, enough mushy stuff. When we get home tomorrow, we will be the proud owners of, new crutches (he grew out of the old ones, go figure!), a walker and a wheelchair. Adam will also have some in home care for a while by way of a physical therapist that will show him how to manuever corners, take a shower and all the important stuff he will have to relearn.

We will probably be out of circulation for a couple of weeks while he acclimates himself to his new self, but can't wait to get together with everyone and just RELAX!

Love,
A

Adam Update #5

We have movement.

After a on and off night of sleep no sleep. This morning brought nothing different. Another scoop of eggs was turned away and stomach cramps and uncomfortableness abounded.
Dr. Osterkamp came early and we discussed the many facets of what is happening with Adam right now. He has requested an internist to come and consult. Adam blood count is low, but not exceedingly. If he eats right and gets his vitamins and such he should have no problem regenerating the needed blood cells. However if he doesn’t then a transfusion could be in his near future. My problem with this is if his blood count is low and you need to give him more blood, then STOP sending the vampires around so often to take blood away from him. I realize they need to take blood to analyze it but maybe hold off on 1 or 2 and give him a chance to do some regenerating before you are pilfering his veins once again.

The Physical therapist came and tried to get Adam to stand and walk. He stood, he did not walk. He couldn’t muster the strength to move his now 100 lb leg. Her next plan of action is to have him stand turn and sit on a portable commode. He is not comfortable with the bedpan and she thinks the commode will do the trick. SHE IS RIGHT! He stands he turns he sits he – well you get the idea. So one problem down and only 20 or so to go. But the impacted bowels could have been having an effect on the urethra and that may be what has been keeping him from voiding. So I think we will remove the catheter again tomorrow and see what happens.

It’s almost noon now and he is sleeping. I think I may catch a nap as well.

Adam Update #4

9am: He slept through the 1am chance for Morphine and ended up not waking until almost 4am. After receiving a dose, he promptly returned to sleep until 5:30 ish when the vampires came poking around looking to draw some blood. Breakfast came and other than the ice cream scoop (I kid you not) of eggs it looked pretty good. I helped myself to the bacon and Adam declined everything. He asked Taj to bring some grapes today and we are awaiting their arrival. The catheter has been removed and we are waiting for the doctor to get out of surgery to remove the drain. Then we can get the Physical Therapy lady here and try to get him off this bed. Hopefully he will be moved to another room today.

11:15am: the doctor just left, he removed the drain from Adam’s wound and checked out his throat. He has a lesion of some sort, we think from the intubation during surgery. Since he was under for so long they intubated him just in case. So now he has ordered an Ear Nose and throat doctor to come and take a look. PT is set to start today, hopefully the drug dealer will be close by at the same time. He has also been cleared to move if this department needs the bed.
From what I have seen, a bed doesn’t stay empty in this area for more than 10 minutes, so I have high hopes that he will be calling Uhaul soon. Adams concern over moving was could he find a new pusher up there. I assured him there were pushers all over the hospital, the minute he leaves the hospital, is when rehab starts. Now he is not so keen on going home, all I have are Tylenol 3’s with Codeine there. Big whoop!

During the early afternoon there is an episode of not being able to "void" and a temporary catheter is inserted, voided and removed. This is not a pretty scene.

At about 4pm Adam is moved upstairs to athe same medical/surgical ward that he was in last March, as he should have been under normal circumstances. What a difference a floor makes. The ward he was in was dark, dank and depressing. More than 1 person died during our stay down there, and the employees I think are a product of working in that atmosphere.
Up here now on the 6th floor, it is bright and white and cheery. The nurses are ever so helpful and informative. Immediately they notice that he is not situated correctly on his bed and not only do they take the time to inform us why it is incorrect but they rectify it as well. Marina is the day nurse and as she leaves she says see you tomorrow. We may actually have the same nurse two days in a row. The night shift comes in and introduces and acquaints themselves in a congenial manner. The assistant, Zuby (yes that’s right Z u b y), asks me if I will be staying the night and I inform her yes I will. She did not look at me like I would be an imposition, she immediately looked at the chair I was sitting in and exclaimed, not in that you won’t. I will get you a recliner. I told her this was the same thing I had been sleeping in downstairs she asks where we were and when I tell her a sad look came over her face and she said "Oh I don’t like it when I have to work down there, it is depressing". OMG!

When they bring dinner, Adam is his usual unreceptive self and she says no worries, let me know when you are ready to eat and I will warm it up for you. I think I love her. She talks Adam into a sponge bath and doesn’t give him a choice about changing his position, just brings in a strong arm and does it. Can I bring her home with me?

He actually eats the meatloaf and potatoes that have so graciously been reheated and is watching tv and using the computer. A sight better than we have seen the past few days.
More drama in the evening relating to a temporary catheter (also known as an In n Out). And a smooth night is looming ahead.

HA!
Mid night comes and Adam asks for morphine. He also feels like he needs to "void" (pee), but you can only do an in n out every 8 hours. So while they are deciding, he falls asleep from the morphine shot and I turn them away when they come.

1:30 am and Adam is writhing in pain on his bed. His lower back is in excruciating pain (all you women that have given birth will recognize the "back labor", the ob/gyn tells you when you have back labor it will feel like a really bad bowel movement needs to happen. My
16 year old son is experiencing back labor. And has the nerve to tell me that he doesn't believe that labor could feel this bad. Just don't ever tell your wife that honey!). Bowels have not moved since Thursday. We call Eva (our nurse) and she tries a bedpan, but to no avail. Now his bladder is really in pain as well and a full time Foley catheter is reinserted to stay. Prune juice is administered and here I sit at 2:20 while he sleeps. His bladder empty from the Foley, but his bowels another story. They can’t administer an enema without doctor’s orders, and I guess that isn’t urgent enough to wake him up. The fact that I am awake and Adam was doesn’t count. Oh well, he is sleeping now, so that is what is important.

Tomorrow, Physical therapy should begin; I brought his crutches from home today in anticipation. He should also be getting a visit from an Ear Nose and Throat dr., to look at the lesion on his tonsil and on top of that they may need to include an (a) urologist to figure out why he can’t pee on his own.

All of this on TOP of having 11 screws in your leg and knee. Thank God he is young and healthy otherwise!

Keep those good thoughts going, we aren't out of this yet. I have no idea as to when he will be released, I am thinking Wednesday or Thursday.

Adam Update #3

Even a little progress is still progress.

While Adam is still in a dire amount of pain, he is progressing well, according to the daytime nursing staff. Our nurse du jour was Panzie, yes that is pronounced as it is spelled P a n z I e, (word insists on capitalizing the alone I). She was very nice and pretty much left us alone all day. We followed along with the concept that if we needed anything we went and asked for it. I am also not a big fan of the revolving waitress, showing up at your table every 5 minutes, so the same applies here. He had his tri hourly dosage of morphine with some Tylenol 3’s in between for good measure. But his best progress was the eating. He ate the little bit of Jell-O in the morning, and a little cup of ice cream (think of the wooden spoon kind) for lunch, and for dinner he ate the noodles and some of the spinach out of a spinach lasagna. Spinach is one of the few vegetables that Adam enjoys cooked, but there was really way too much of it. He also requested a banana and to take off the chill of his fever some hot cocoa.

Now don’t get me wrong he didn’t eat a great quantity of any of these different foods. But for each 1 bite of food, my heart leapt. Remember that because of the anesthesia he hadn’t eaten since midnight Thursday night. The Jell-O was the first thing in over 24 hours. Anyone ever seen a 16-year-old boy eat before?
Usually it is non-stop throughout the day and in mass quantities. Terri? Anna? Jodi? Can I get an amen?!

Anyhoo, as I mentioned he does have a fever, at this time (10:20 pm pacific) it is 101.7, but it could be for a number of different reason, the most severe is infection, the least is just trying to keep him healthy. Either way, they (the new round of nurses this evening) are not worried.

Ah yes the night shift. The Lucy show has not returned this evening, but after meeting with the staff that has I kinda miss them. I know that the shift change happens around 6ish and happened to be out at the nurses station right after they divvied the rooms up to the soon to be arriving night shift. I noticed that the name next to Adams room number was Sharon. Okay, feeling gleeful that I didn’t see Fred, Lucy or Ethel’s actual names up there, I thought to myself we are going to go into tonight with a clean slate. I am at the nurses station waiting for Adam’s pain cocktail and I notice a young African American girl saunter in, she doesn’t speak to the other nurses, she just kinda meanders around, oh I don’t know, think of molasses as you turn a jar side to side. When lo and behold, one of the other nurses says, oh hi Sharon. Lucky me! So right then and there it is definitive I am again staying the night.

Kathy arrives shortly after and relieves Taj and I for a dinner break. Thank you Kathy. I did remember today to have lunch but didn’t realize just how hungry I was until I sat down and smelled food. A quick trip to the house afterwards for some overnight things and back we came. I guess while we were gone, Adam’s heart rate excellerated and Sharon came dashing in only to find him, sitting up using the computer. I think that the computer sitting near his wireless heart monitor may have set something haywire, but it didn’t do it earlier or later. Maybe his heart rate was high cuz he missed us. Yeah that’s probably it.
Another dose of Morphine at 10pm and he has been awake for almost the whole 3 in between hours. He tells me he is going to stay awake until he can get his 1am dose so he won’t fall asleep and wake up in pain. I nixed that idea right away, you only get it if I believe you to actually be in pain, not as a preventive measure. It is now turning 1am and he is sound asleep, hopefully we will have a pain free and uneventful night.

More tomorrow.

Adam Update #2

It was a rough night. The plan was Taj would stay and I would go home, but when I figured out that Ethel, Fred and Lucy were the on duty nurses, I realized I couldn't leave. And good thing too. Adam spent most of the night in pain or asleep. He had morphine at 9pm, 1am, 5am and 7am. It took a lot of momma bear growling to get it done to. His actual nurse, Dulce, was ok. But at one point she was helping another patient and I went to the desk and said Adam is in pain and needs some morphine, Ethel and Fred looked at Lucy and said you get it. Ok, so I go back to the room and tell Adam it is on it's way. 5 minutes later no morphine, back to the desk go I and there's Fred and Ethel sitting there jabbering away. I repeated my request and Fred told me, Lucy is getting it. I made a comment about how slow she was being and walked back to the room. 5 minutes later, guess what, no morphine, I head back out to the hallway and encounter Ethel coming out of the room next door, she stares at me blankly and asks if I need something; Are you kidding me??? Yes I say loudly, I have requested morphine twice and non has arrived, oh she ponders, I think she is coming with it. Lucy emerges from a back room and Dulce is beginning down the hall. When she notices Lucy heading towards our room with morphine, she makes an inquiry, to whit we realize she is coming with the wrong dosage!

The orders were to check his vitals every 2 hours. I'm good with that, however, in between that 2 hours, someone else comes in and takes blood, then someone drains the catheater, then someone drains the fluids from his leg, and lo and behold it’s 2 hours and they are back for vitals. At about 2am I put a stop to all of that, I found out the blood schedule, since that is a mandatory schedule of every 6 hours, and that is what everyone else adjusted to as well, not every 6 hours but only coming when I called them or at the exact time needed. Vitals every 2, blood every 6 and others if needed. That worked out so that he and I actually got a straight shot of 2 hours sleep at a time.

This morning the doctor came and ordered an increased dosage of morphine and a new bed. It will be a trapeze bed, so that Adam can pull himself up and adjust his position if needed. It will be better in the long run, but of course all Adam is thiunking about is the dreading of moving into the new bed and the pain that will indure. I have promised him a pain killer right before the switch.

Now if I could only get him to eat, I think he would regain more strength and feel better sooner. But eating equals other things and not being able to move and being a teenage boy, you don't want someone to help you with that other thing. So for now it is just water and IV drip.

Maybe more later or tomorrow.

BTW he will be on this floor again today because of his pain level.

Adam Update #1

The surgery lasted about 7.5 hours. The bleeding was a result of a nick made in an artery when cutting the bone. The nick was so minute they called in a vascular surgeon who happened to be in the area and he came in and assisted. The nick was also behind the bone so that made it even more difficult to find.
Adam is "resting comfortably" now. He is not in a regular room yet, probably tomorrow. He is in something like a CCU or ICU but not as critical.

Thanks for all the good thoughts, prayers, crossed fingers toes and anything else that contributed to his well-being.

I love you all!

A

Easy go Easy come

Since I have been home for almost a month now, I have put back on half of what I lost, of course I stopped going to the gym and am eating at every available moment, so that may have something to do with it.

Back to the drawing board.

By now you have all seen how gorgeous Caitlyn is in her new pictures. She really is that adorable, maybe even more so, in person. She has quite a relationship with the dog. She is allowed to pet and pull on the fur as long as one of us is holding her, but when they are alone on the floor together, Link gets up and goes to another room. She is crawling very well and pretty quickly, she also pulls herself up on anything and everything and has begun "cruising" along the tabletop and couch. If there is anything good to come from all the bad lately it's all the quality time I have beeen spending with Cait.

As you all know, Adam's surgery was postponed due to an ingrown toenail. The Orthopedic removed the toenail and put him on antibiotics for two weeks, and as of right now we are a go for this Friday, the 11th. We have a pre-op appointment today, bloodwork tomorrow and then no eating after midnight Thurs/Fri. Surgery is for 7:30 am. They are not going to remove the bone after all they are going to open it and implant the plates and screw them into the bone. EEwww. He will be in the hospital all weekend. He will have my laptop and his cell phone. We are hoping for a release of Monday, maybe Tuesday depending on the amount of swelling. Then back to the doctor on the following Friday for the cast to be put on. That will stay on for about 6-8 weeks, right intot he beginning of the school year.

I have decided not to look for a full time job right now, based on the fact that I need the benefits of what I have for the time being. I am however going to go out after Adam is home and settled and get a part time evening, weekend job to try and break up the monotony of being home all the time. Although I assume having an invalid at home will help with some of that monotony.

Is anyone watching:
BB7
Treasure Hunters
Project Runway

The Dodgers have won 9 in a row and that makes all things good.