Update…It’s Been a While...

 

Our life this past month or so has been a roller coaster ride.  Many of you know what I’m talking about but for those of you who don’t, I’ll fill you in.  The reason I currently have the time is because I’m laid-up on meds so I figured I take this opportunity to give the scoop.  Just keep in mind I’m on strong pain meds and muscle relaxers so please don’t hold me responsible for any miss spellings, bad grammar or poor conduct . 

I will start from the beginning but be aware that I might forget or tell a 1/2 truth as it has all been some what of a blur.

On the evening of August 27th around 4ish Jeff decided that he had this brilliant plan to save us by climbing one of our 40 or so foot trees to do the pruning.  He is a Realtor by trade, NOT a tree climber.  I voiced my concerns but he went on to do it anyway.  While he was up there, he nicked himself w/the saw and came down to clean it.  It was deep enough for stitches but he just patched it up and headed back out to finish what he started (again after I pleaded with him not to go back up).  I was inside with the boys with the doors and windows shut and the air conditioning on, making dinner (stuffed bell peppers in case you were interested ).  Around 5ish I heard a pounding at my front door and it was a neighbor (whom I’ve never met) who said “your husband fell out of a tree and I called 911 (he fell about 20 feet).  I PANICKED!!!!!!!  I dropped what I was doing and ran in to the back yard…got about 1/2 way to Jeff and thought “wait, the kids” then ran back inside where my neighbor and her teenage daughter were standing and they said “don’t worry about the boys, we can watch ‘em”.  So I grabbed my cell phone and dialed my sister then my mom as I ran out to Jeff (he was on the far end of the yard).  My sister didn’t answer OF COURSE (she never answers her phone ).  I got a hold of my mom and said in a panicked voice,  “Jeff fell out of the tree, the ambulance is on it’s way, I need you here now to watch the kids.”  She happened to be on her way home from work so she got to my house before the ambulance.  There was blood coming from Jeff’s face and he had his hand on his leg and I could see blood coming out from under so I ran back inside the house, grabbed a towel, ran back out to him and told him to hold it on that spot and apply pressure.  I finally started to calm down and realized that I needed to get Jeff to do the same so I told him to take deep, slow breaths and that help was on the way.  I did my best to calm him down.  As I was following the ambulance to the hospital, I made calls to Jeff’s family (while at red lights mind you) and just tried to hold myself together. 

I was a wreck but didn’t want  Jeff to see that because at that moment he needed me to NOT be a wreck.  After the tests revealed that there were no life-threatening injuries, I felt like I could finally breathe again.  I stayed with him in the hospital while he was there, 4 nights and 5 days.  He had a compound spiral fracture (let’s just say it was really, really bad…and UGLY).  The accident happened  on a Saturday.   On Sunday was his first surgery, not to fix it but to thouroughly clean it with a high pressure wash (yes, he had to be put under for this).  Then, he had to endure having that broken, open wound another 24 hours while they pumped antibiotics through his body.  Then, they had to determine which way they would fix his bone.  It would either be a plate (not the desired approach) or insert a 1/2 inch titanium rod down the marrow of his tibia from knee to ankle along w/several screws to fix it.  They were able to do the latter.  Once he was released from the hospital, we rented a hospital bed and set him up in our exercise room which is the only room on ground level and is right next to the kitchen and bathroom.  He was barely mobile for the first month. 

During that month, I myself had hip/back issues but had to work through them so I could take care of the family.  It is now where I should say that we have been more than blessed with help from family and friends.  My mom and Jeff’s parents have helped SO MUCH with the kids.  We don’t know what we would do without them!  We have also had many meals delivered to us from friends and people from our church and family…what a GOD SEND.  One of my sisters (who’s a nurse) changed Jeff’s dressings for a while because, quite frankly, it grossed me out . 

During this time, Evan had his 4th birthday (unfortunately we couldn’t give him a party but I took him to a place to play arcade games, mini-golf, go carts, bumper boats, etc.)  We had pizza and Grandma and Papa came over and we had an ice cream cake.  He didn’t seem to mind much. 

Evan’s 4th Birthday VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

In addition, I acquired the flu, and both boys also got sick at different times. 

Evan started Awana, swim lessons and soccer season. 

I planned on starting pre-school (at home) but we’ve only managed to do a little here and a little there.

Now, we have a new issue.  This past Saturday, right before Evan’s soccer game, I hurt my back…worse than ever.  I went to the chiropractor right after the game where I managed to get a little relief.  Sunday, I seemed to be improving a little.  Monday, things took a turn for the worse and by the middle of the night I couldn’t move.  Every movement, no matter how small caused excruciating pain.  Tuesday morning I went back to the chiropractor where he made it so I could at least move minimally (but still w/a ton of pain).  That afternoon I went to my family doc, got an x-ray, and was sent to see the orthopedic doc.  He looked at the x-ray and said “This definitely doesn’t look normal.  We need to get an MRI.  Jeff had already been scheduled to get 2 MRIs on Thurs (one on the ankle and one on knee) to see if he had damage on his soft tissue with the possibility of more surgeries in his future.  I scheduled my MRI for the same day.  We got the results Friday.  Jeff received great news.  Although there was some damage, it wasn’t bad enough to require surgery to fix.  My news wasn’t so great.  I have a herniated disc with arthritis in my lower back.  I might need to go back and get another MRI to find out what’s wrong with my hip.  I am in lots of pain at the moment.  I have no idea what the plan is to fix my problem as my doc appt with the spine guy isn’t until a week from this Tuesday.  In the mean time, Jeff and I have to rely on family to help us out.  What a pain…literally.  But Jeff and I are so thankful for all of our blessings and are so thankful that his injuries weren’t far worse.  We’ll get through this…but we ask for all of your prayers.  We are reminded that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phl 4:13. 

So there you have it, that’s what we’ve been up to since the end of August till now.