The Follow Up

John broke his ankle on Thursday night.  On Monday morning we went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon to get an assessment for the healing process.  It was rather quickly apparent that John's situation was not going to remedy itself with a cast and 6-8 weeks of time.  John needed surgery.  The doctor said he would make the arrangements for Thursday or Friday. 

Wow!  John was a bit stunned.  I was saddened.  I had hoped we would skip this step and now there was no getting around the reality of the necessity.  Time was short and there were many details to arrange. 

The next few days were filled with phone calls, paperwork, and prayers.  Too quickly, Friday was upon us and John and I were leaving the house before dawn.  When we arrived at the hospital, it was still dark and the hospital was largely empty.  Thankfully Covid did not keep me from being present with John during his care this time.  I was allowed to accompany him as though it were a business as usual day.  We checked in at the admission desk, he went thorough prep, dressing, and testing, I was able to visit him just before anesthesia was administered where the Doctor, told us what to expect and showed us the first real full look at the damage. 

When we went to the consultation we peeked at the damage, but this time with the splint fully off we saw the entirety of the leg and it was gnarly!  The swelling was so intense that the skin actually began to separate in layers and forming blisters to accommodate the swelling.  Some of those blisters were also filled with blood because of the bruising.  It was quite a shocking sight!  We discussed with the Doctor the possible implications of the blisters during surgery and what may be necessary to make stitching possible and reliable.

This was pretty much the same view we were able to see during the consultation.  Though you can see that blisters did form, it doesn't look horrendous.

But without the splint on, the full view of the blisters almost hurt to even look at.  You can also see the bruising on his heel at the point of impact.

These blisters were the worst, which makes sense when you consider that these bones were the most broken--partly shattered even.

After our discussion, I went to the waiting room as John went into surgery.  I waited four hours for the surgeon to pin John's ankle back together. 

My waiting room view

John's new hardware for life.

Then after three hours in recovery, we were able to leave for home. 

This splint doesn't look much different than the first one he had, but the internal status is much different.  He'll have this splint for 6-8 weeks before we move on to the next phase of healng

Though he was still out of sorts, John was amiable as we left the hospital.  I have to compliment the staff--they were all really wonderful.  John doesn't remember all of our conversations but overall he did well in transitioning from hospital to home

We had taken the second step in the journey towards healing John's ankle. The pain John has endured so far has been immense.  This has truly been the toughest physical endurance test John has withstood thus far in his life.  We have been told that he will require six months to a year to return to regular ambulatory status.  There is much work ahead.  We are tired.  But we are hopeful.  God has brought us this far, and we trust He will continue to lead us forward. 

Ice, elevation, and rest pretty define John's life right now

We are thankful for the older boys who are stepping up to help around the house, for the kids being willing to adapt, for the many who are covering us in prayer, and for those who have been generous thus far.  With such a long road ahead, the stresses of interrupted sleep and the the juggling of regular life with healing tasks, we are stretched and needing grace as much as we are needing to give it.  Only by God's grace will we complete this stretch of the journey ahead. 

Tree Trauma

The morning after Easter, just after the sun was rising and the rain was subsiding, John and I were jolted awake one more time.  This time, it was the sound of something falling that woke us.  We searched but could not find the source of the sound.  It had seemed that we had managed to escape the storm damage free.  That is, until later that afternoon when the neighbor pointed out that there was a branch in one of our trees, about 50 ft up, that had broken and that branch was now a hazard to his property. The sound we had heard upon awakening was the branch breaking.

We began gathering estimates to have the damaged tree taken down when the weight of the branch could no longer be supported and it fell from its original place on the trunk to land on the fence that divided our yard from the neighbor's.  Now that the damaged tree branch was actually reachable, the neighbor convinced John that the two of them could make short order of clearing the debris out of the way.  Now, at the close of the day, the plan of action suddenly changed. 

I had just returned from grocery shopping and began to put away the supplies when John set out to tackle the branch with the neighbor's help.  The older boys had just returned from work, and was almost ready to put dinner in the oven when Connor ran into the house calling for me to come see dad because he was hurt.  Not a good sign.

I walked out of the house to see John being supported by the neighbor with his leg bent at the knee.  John had fallen off of the ladder--the branch swept him off in an odd tension related accident--and he broke his ankle.  He knew it right away. 

As soon as we could, we left for the ER.  Thankfully the boys were home and able to complete dinner and care for the kids and dog.  We spent the next three hours at the ER--John inside receiving treatment and me sitting in the car in the parking lot because the Covid scare had changed hospital policy. 

John texted me with occasional updates and finally texted that he was ready to be picked up.  John's ankle was broken in two places which effectively left his joint unstable and his foot separated from his leg.  He said it felt odd and gross to pick up his leg and to feel his foot flop along after it. 

It was a good thing that John was accustomed to wearing and using certain equipment when working in the yard because it seems that his boots were what kept the clean break from becoming a compound break.  For that we were truly thankful. 

With no immediate surgery necessary, the on call doctor put John's leg in a splint and a follow up appointment was made.  We went home tired but hopeful. 

Elevation and ice quickly became the standard for John

Easter is Hope

Easter this year was overshadowed by the lack of the ability to gather believers together to celebrate Resurrection Sunday due to shelter in place.  All celebrations happened in separate houses, in multiple ways, but all who celebrated marked the rising of our Lord and Savior with grateful hearts.  The ironic thing was, the churches may have been shut down, but essentially they divided as homes became places of worship. 

Church isn't about a building, it's about the people.  And since God is omnipresent, no one celebrated without Him.  Easter is all about hope because Easter made the grave a garden,  Seeds are not planted to die, but to rise in glory--and that's just what Jesus did.  God took the worst thing that could have happened (death) and turned it into the best thing that could have happened--because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can, in faith, have eternal life.  Now that is certainly something to celebrate! And so we did. 

Earlier in the week, the kids and I did an art project on our big kitchen window.  It took all day, but it was fun and we were all so thrilled with the results.  It was a great backdrop for our Easter remembrance.

We watched movies that remineded us of the Word and the Hope we have in Christ (Risen and the classic Ten Commandments).  We had an Easter egg hunt (despite the rain) to help us collect Resurrection eggs and retell the bible story of Jesus' death and rising. 

We had a great fish dinner and enjoyed our Easter baskets which included a new Kerusso shirt for each of us.  Kerusso makes wonderfully clever shirts that help to spread the gospel just by wearing the shirt in public--so much fun! 

That night, the day time storms turned into dangerous weather and for the first time, our family took shelter for threat of tornadoes.  The kids were able to hunker down in the teen bedroom and go back to sleep even though the sirens went off multiple times.  John and I got little sleep, but we were safe.  I am thankful for basements--even unfinished ones. 

We did end up with a good list of ways to make our environment safer and easier to use for dangerous weather.  The high winds did a little damage in our yard but all things considered, it could have been far worse.  We were grateful.  So much to be grateful for.  So much to have hope for.  Because of Easter there is always hope.  Praise the Lord!

Happy Covid Birthday!

This season of birthdays has been quite unique for us.  With social distancing and far too many businesses closed due to a pandemic, celebrating has taken on a whole new form--largely a more simplistic one (not that we, as a family, were ever over the top) and along with the changes has come multiple conversations of explanations as children realize that their plans must be reimagined and their ideas of a celebration newly conceptualized.  IN some ways it's helped us to really find the core of what is important in marking a moment.

My birthday was the first Covid celebration.  At that time, shelter in place was voluntary, as was the closing of business.  We were happy to have been able to buy the groceries we desired to make a special meal and were equally as thrilled that the garden remained open.    The weather was wonderful and John and I enjoyed a stroll admiring the beauty of spring. 

Dinner was specially made by John and the kids and dessert was a fabulous fruit flambe over non-dairy ice cream by John accompanied by wine jellos with edible flowers by Nikolas.  :-)

My new sushi plate.  It has a lovely trifecta--bees, sunflowers and lavender :-)

When toilet paper and wine make exciting birthday gifts. you know you are living in strange days

A gift to help me SIP (Shelter In Place)

This is 46

Nikolas had the next Covid birthday.  By the time his birthday rolled around--just five days later--shelter in place was now expected and no business that was considered non-essential was open while those that were all operated under service modifications.  Our usual lunch and casual shopping day was planned to be replaced by a gathering of teen friends this year, however, Covid effectively shut down both.  Instead, Nikolas worked in the morning, had a quite afternoon at home receiving well wishes via tech, and the evening brought cake and gifts (which even gift buying/giving was compromised by closed stores, item sell outs, and longer than normal shipping for online purchases).  However, Nikolas had, what he called, a great day and he was very pleased with the love and gifts that helped to mark his day. 

Nikolas enjoyed loving calls from friends and family who wanted to wish him a happy birthday

Much love to our boy as we celebrate another blessed year of having him with us

Nikolas wanted a very specific shirt for his birthday.  The problem was that it didn't exist on the market.  The perfect answer was a friend near by who has an Etsy shop for shirt making.  She helped to make a birthday wish come true.  Thanks a ton Natalie! 

He loves his shirt! 

This is 17!  

 Nikolas and I decided that a very happy un-birthday may very well be in order once restrictions are lifted 

Above all, we have each other, and we have God, all else is icing on the cake.  So birthday while we SIP or not, we can celebrate!