Dad has come so far in the last few days. As I wrote the other day, he's been standing up and has even taken a few steps using his walker for balance. He says it's really hard because his left knee is extremely tight and his right foot is just unable to contribute because it's just sort of hanging there. He has to pick his right foot up to move it, but we are all hoping and praying that the movement and feeling in his right foot will return gradually. He stood up the other day for over five minutes which is a long time for him.
He has a doctor's appointment this week and with the help of the physical therapist, he's hoping to be able to get into a regular vehicle and not have to use an ambulance to get there. He says he can move his left knee about 45 degrees on his own, but anything much further than that is extremely painful. So if he is able to get into a vehicle, he will be far more mobile than he is now and may be able to get out of the house more. What a relief!
Darren starts back to school this week and Melissa starts full time at her job soon so it's going to be hard for everyone to get settled into a new routine. However, I'm sure they will have lots of folks stopping by to keep Dad company so he'll have plenty to do. And remember, keep emailing him!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Standing up
I had a wonderful conversation yesterday with dad when about halfway through, he mentioned that he stood up for the first time!! With the physical therapist and his sitter at his side, helping him up, he was able to stand up on his legs for the first time since the accident. It's one GIANT step in the recovery process and we are all excited.
I asked him if he was light headed while standing and he said no, but that it felt weird. He had a walker he was using to take some of the weight off his legs, but for the most part, he was holding himself up. He stood up twice, not for very long, but it's the first time since the accident that he's been able to get up on his feet at all.
He's also got a laptop from work and is able to check his email now. Jason had the insight to install wireless internet at their house, so he is connected. Please email him if you get a chance, he'd love to hear from you! He's checking it daily and it has been really good for his morale.
I forgot to post this the other day, but this is Dad with our cousin Emily so here's a picture:
I asked him if he was light headed while standing and he said no, but that it felt weird. He had a walker he was using to take some of the weight off his legs, but for the most part, he was holding himself up. He stood up twice, not for very long, but it's the first time since the accident that he's been able to get up on his feet at all.
He's also got a laptop from work and is able to check his email now. Jason had the insight to install wireless internet at their house, so he is connected. Please email him if you get a chance, he'd love to hear from you! He's checking it daily and it has been really good for his morale.
I forgot to post this the other day, but this is Dad with our cousin Emily so here's a picture:
Monday, August 20, 2007
Pictures
This was in the ambulance on the way home from the hospital two weeks ago. See those boots? They are gone!
Dad with his three beautiful children!
Finally, no more rods and pins in his legs!! The saying like father, like son is SO TRUE in this picture!
New braces! We are all waiting for the day when he just gets out of bed and walks around the room. ;)
Finally... a new posting!
I'm so sorry this has taken so long. I started a new job last week and things have just been really hectic lately... so here's the latest.
Last week, Dad went to the doctor for the surgery he's waited for for weeks. He had his external fixators removed, finally! While he was asleep, they moved his knees to see how much flexibility he had in his legs. The left knee moved 100 degrees while the right knee moved 120 degrees. Keep in mind, this is the first movement he's had in his knees in over 7 weeks so this alone is an accomplishment.
They also did MRI's on his knees so that they could see internally how much nerve, muscle, tendon damage he had. They have concluded that they will definitely have to do reconstructive surgery on the left knee. It's still up in the air regarding the right knee. They have opted for four to six weeks of physical therapy and then they will take a second look at the right knee.
At this point, the main concern is how much strength and stability each leg has. The legs could have strength, but not stability, and vice versa. This is what they are going to try to figure out through physical therapy.
They have a lovely "dad sitter" that comes and stays with him during the day while Mom goes to work. This has been good for them both because it allows Mom to get back to work without worrying about him.
I just talked to Mom and she said that he was just up, sitting on the edge of his bed with his feet almost on the floor just a few minutes ago. He sat there for about 15 minutes, just getting readjusted to having his feet near the ground.
He's started moving the fourth toe on his right foot so all that's left is the big toe. This is an answer to all of our prayers as he is regaining movement and feeling in his foot. Mom is sending me more pictures of his legs here in a few minutes so there will be more to see.
Last week, Dad went to the doctor for the surgery he's waited for for weeks. He had his external fixators removed, finally! While he was asleep, they moved his knees to see how much flexibility he had in his legs. The left knee moved 100 degrees while the right knee moved 120 degrees. Keep in mind, this is the first movement he's had in his knees in over 7 weeks so this alone is an accomplishment.
They also did MRI's on his knees so that they could see internally how much nerve, muscle, tendon damage he had. They have concluded that they will definitely have to do reconstructive surgery on the left knee. It's still up in the air regarding the right knee. They have opted for four to six weeks of physical therapy and then they will take a second look at the right knee.
At this point, the main concern is how much strength and stability each leg has. The legs could have strength, but not stability, and vice versa. This is what they are going to try to figure out through physical therapy.
They have a lovely "dad sitter" that comes and stays with him during the day while Mom goes to work. This has been good for them both because it allows Mom to get back to work without worrying about him.
I just talked to Mom and she said that he was just up, sitting on the edge of his bed with his feet almost on the floor just a few minutes ago. He sat there for about 15 minutes, just getting readjusted to having his feet near the ground.
He's started moving the fourth toe on his right foot so all that's left is the big toe. This is an answer to all of our prayers as he is regaining movement and feeling in his foot. Mom is sending me more pictures of his legs here in a few minutes so there will be more to see.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
More updates...
Today Dad had doctor's appointments at Chapel Hill, so the ambulance came and picked him up, and along he went. The back doctor said everything looked good. The x-rays looked good and he has to wear the hard plastic brace for two to three more months. The best part of the day is that this morning, dad asked mom to check, but he thought he could feel himself wiggling his toes on his right foot. Sure enough, he was wiggling them for the first time since the accident! He said he can feel it when you touch his foot in certain spots so our hope is that this is the beginning of his feeling coming back in his foot completely. Let's pray that his body is healing itself.
WARNING: The bottom pictures are of dad's wounds. They have healed so well and we want to make sure that y'all can see the progression his body is making. However, it's a little graphic so please don't look if you have a week stomach.
He has another appointment tomorrow with the knee doctors so we'll know more. And now, some pictures...
Uncle Butch and Dad at home
Taylor and Dad
Matthew's wife Jennifer gave dad a hair cut as he sat up in his wheelchair
Dad's back doctors, Dr. Mathur (right) is the one that performed his surgery
This is the vein graft site. The scars on the left are from the incisions he received when he hit the ground during his fall. The main scar here is where they put the vein in and if you remember, it was open for a really long time so it's healing very well.
This is his right foot and the blister sites that are healing.
Here's his left foot with a few scars on it.
As you can tell, he's come a long way already. We'll go to the doctor tomorrow again so that they can examine his knees and we can get a scope on what is left to come. Wish us luck!
WARNING: The bottom pictures are of dad's wounds. They have healed so well and we want to make sure that y'all can see the progression his body is making. However, it's a little graphic so please don't look if you have a week stomach.
He has another appointment tomorrow with the knee doctors so we'll know more. And now, some pictures...
Uncle Butch and Dad at home
Taylor and Dad
Matthew's wife Jennifer gave dad a hair cut as he sat up in his wheelchair
Dad's back doctors, Dr. Mathur (right) is the one that performed his surgery
This is the vein graft site. The scars on the left are from the incisions he received when he hit the ground during his fall. The main scar here is where they put the vein in and if you remember, it was open for a really long time so it's healing very well.
This is his right foot and the blister sites that are healing.
Here's his left foot with a few scars on it.
As you can tell, he's come a long way already. We'll go to the doctor tomorrow again so that they can examine his knees and we can get a scope on what is left to come. Wish us luck!
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