When we went into this surgery our main concern was getting through it. Somehow it didn't dawn on any of us that 6 weeks is a long time to stay either in bed or reclined in some way. That's the most difficult thing right now.
I haven't updated in awhile because things are moving along pretty expectantly. There have been a couple of rough spots - restless nights, a bout with a bed sore that wanted to cause havoc (under control now), a few meltdowns out of boredom, but all in all, we're very thankful for the smooth recovery.
David's hip pain appears to be better already. We are hopeful that continues. He's still having pain in his legs, and we're not sure where that's coming from. Obviously, he's not able to move a lot so it will be interesting to see if this continues once he's back in his regular wheelchair. I told him this evening I thought he'd be almost back to normal if he could get in his regular wheelchair and he said "no". So I take it that he's not as back up to snuff as he appears to be because knowing him he would have jumped on that if he was feeling back to normal. He's really not much of a complainer so it's hard sometimes to see how rough it is on him. I guess that's why we listen to doctors orders!
Mary Jane
Monday, October 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Major milestones today
Today David:
1. Got his soft cast off (will continue to wear it at night).
2. Spent some time in the living room laying on the couch watching TV.
3. Had the dressing removed.
4. Had his first real shower in 1 1/2 weeks.
The incision is healing nicely. We were dreading the shower experience, but it was not all that bad. We were able to lay him down (since the chair reclines flat) and roll him into the nice big shower we have (thank you PHPSE and others!) and he was fairly comfortable.
Transitioning from bed to chair back to bed is the most difficult for him. He has been fairly comfortable laying in bed but we're trying to work more and more away from that. Each time is a little challenging, but I have a feeling we've turned a corner today and will look for more ways to get him out of his room and those four walls and into other positions.
Mary Jane
1. Got his soft cast off (will continue to wear it at night).
2. Spent some time in the living room laying on the couch watching TV.
3. Had the dressing removed.
4. Had his first real shower in 1 1/2 weeks.
The incision is healing nicely. We were dreading the shower experience, but it was not all that bad. We were able to lay him down (since the chair reclines flat) and roll him into the nice big shower we have (thank you PHPSE and others!) and he was fairly comfortable.
Transitioning from bed to chair back to bed is the most difficult for him. He has been fairly comfortable laying in bed but we're trying to work more and more away from that. Each time is a little challenging, but I have a feeling we've turned a corner today and will look for more ways to get him out of his room and those four walls and into other positions.
Mary Jane
Monday, October 12, 2009
Trying to return to normal.......
but it's going to take some time.
Laying flat on your back for a week is not much fun, but he's doing the best he can. Five more weeks to go. There is really no other position other than slightly tilted to the side with pillows propped up on the side. He has worked up to 40 minutes twice a day in a tilted wheelchair which does give him a little variation in position, but the transitioning from bed to chair is a little painful thus far.
On Wednesday we'll be able to take the soft cast off his leg. He has just begun to complain about it saying it feels like a "rock" and that his leg is being "bbq'd" (barbequed) :-)
He has consistently run a fever since he's been home. Today was the first day it was under 100 deg. The fever has been a little worrisome but according to the doctor not completely unexpected.
All things considered, he's being a trooper through all of it. He's had some company and that has helped him. He's always trying to recruit someone to play Nintendo or Playstation for him - a good distraction from his circumstances.
I'm looking forward to seeing him tall and straight in his new wheelchair!
Laying flat on your back for a week is not much fun, but he's doing the best he can. Five more weeks to go. There is really no other position other than slightly tilted to the side with pillows propped up on the side. He has worked up to 40 minutes twice a day in a tilted wheelchair which does give him a little variation in position, but the transitioning from bed to chair is a little painful thus far.
On Wednesday we'll be able to take the soft cast off his leg. He has just begun to complain about it saying it feels like a "rock" and that his leg is being "bbq'd" (barbequed) :-)
He has consistently run a fever since he's been home. Today was the first day it was under 100 deg. The fever has been a little worrisome but according to the doctor not completely unexpected.
All things considered, he's being a trooper through all of it. He's had some company and that has helped him. He's always trying to recruit someone to play Nintendo or Playstation for him - a good distraction from his circumstances.
I'm looking forward to seeing him tall and straight in his new wheelchair!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
First Night Home
Recovery seems to be taking a normal process. He had a good night, although he ran a fever most of the evening it's low-grade this morning. We'll have to watch that. And it took a long time for him to get to sleep, most likely because he slept all day :-) Aside from having to scratch his head (itchiness - a side effect of the medicine) periodically and reposition him, things went well.
David is so thankful to be home. I cannot tell you how many times a day and night he has expressed that to me. I am thankful too to be home and especially for the privilege I've been given of being mom to this special little guy.
Thank you to all of you too for your posts. He's feeling good enough this morning so I'm going to set the laptop on his chest and let him read the blog and all the posts. It will be awhile before he's able to operate his computer as he'll have to be reclined for weeks and head control is a little difficult in that position. We'll be working at it though, so don't be surprised if we don't figure out a way!
mj
David is so thankful to be home. I cannot tell you how many times a day and night he has expressed that to me. I am thankful too to be home and especially for the privilege I've been given of being mom to this special little guy.
Thank you to all of you too for your posts. He's feeling good enough this morning so I'm going to set the laptop on his chest and let him read the blog and all the posts. It will be awhile before he's able to operate his computer as he'll have to be reclined for weeks and head control is a little difficult in that position. We'll be working at it though, so don't be surprised if we don't figure out a way!
mj
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Home
Incredibly we are home. David is sleeping. He seems to have held off sleeping at the hospital and looks very relaxed and comfortable in his own bed.
One thing Mandy took note of this morning is how warm his foot was on the side of the dislocated hip. That leg and foot had always been cold, sometimes the foot almost looking purple. He has complained about that leg for years. It will be interesting to see what this might mean in the long run to how that leg feels. It seems almost as if something was opened up to allow the blood flow in that leg better. I don't know - just a layman's opinion, but it's kind of exciting to us.
mj
One thing Mandy took note of this morning is how warm his foot was on the side of the dislocated hip. That leg and foot had always been cold, sometimes the foot almost looking purple. He has complained about that leg for years. It will be interesting to see what this might mean in the long run to how that leg feels. It seems almost as if something was opened up to allow the blood flow in that leg better. I don't know - just a layman's opinion, but it's kind of exciting to us.
mj
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
One night down
Aside from the usual pillow propping and bed raising and lowering, "uneventful" is a pretty good word to be able to use for last night. At least my best nurse, Mandy (who stayed with him last night) says. Although he woke up at 3:00 a.m. and hasn't slept since, his pain seems to be manageable at the moment.
We weren't sure how the night was going to go as he had a bit of a rough evening yesterday. A shot of morphine seemed to do the trick, and now that we've got the pain med schedule going, he's doing relatively good.
MJ & family
We weren't sure how the night was going to go as he had a bit of a rough evening yesterday. A shot of morphine seemed to do the trick, and now that we've got the pain med schedule going, he's doing relatively good.
MJ & family
Monday, October 5, 2009
Came through with flying colors!
Well, it's all done and he did just great! Dr. Fitch said he went to check on him right after surgery and he was wide awake, looking like he hadn't even been through anything! They did an epidural block (I think) which is to help with pain initially. He said the femur head was pretty much decimated, which assured him this surgery was exactly the right thing to do.
We're in a room now, the 7th floor, which is a regular room, so he didn't even have to go to a step-down room. He's having some pain and a little nausea, but they've given him meds for both. He is groaning just a bit with discomfort, but considering all, I think doing really well.
I am so happy to have all this behind us, and looking forward to getting through the next couple of nights, then going home. Thus far, it has gone way better than I expected.
Just this moment David called me over to the bed, looked up, and gestured to me in his way to thank God for getting him through this. Yes, little buddy, we have much to be thankful for :-)
Mary Jane and the family
We're in a room now, the 7th floor, which is a regular room, so he didn't even have to go to a step-down room. He's having some pain and a little nausea, but they've given him meds for both. He is groaning just a bit with discomfort, but considering all, I think doing really well.
I am so happy to have all this behind us, and looking forward to getting through the next couple of nights, then going home. Thus far, it has gone way better than I expected.
Just this moment David called me over to the bed, looked up, and gestured to me in his way to thank God for getting him through this. Yes, little buddy, we have much to be thankful for :-)
Mary Jane and the family
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