Doing well

Dad is a much happier camper at home now. He cooked his first meal in over 3 months and it was delicious! Things are going smoothly and the leg is healing like it is suppose to! We got his first bill from the first stay at the hospital and it was a large amount. But we are just glad he is home and on the road to recovery! Yay!!!! This weekend is his 65th birthday! We are very blessed that he is celebrating his birthday at home and out of the hospital!!!

Finally home and let's hope for good!

Dad gave me the A-OK to put up all the pics of his leg amputated because I finally got one of it all closed up.
Here is a pic of his leg still open a few weeks ago. The gray looking thing is a sponge that connected to the wound vac. The yellow color thing was a plastic wrap around the leg.

 Here was the leg yesterday, all closed up.

Then today, dad finally got to come home. He seems a bit down but Conley's made him dinner and it was delicious! I am hoping he gets more motivated soon. He is moving around on his own and starting to get his strength back! There was a nurse there tonight that taught mom how to do all of his IV antibiotics and he has an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Cannada at 8:30 am.

Going home soon!

Dad was told that he should be able to go home on Wednesday of next week! I feel bad because I haven't been up to see him much this week since school started but it sounds like rehab is going great and he is happy that he is rebuilding his strength. I will post if his release date changes!

Getting stronger

Dad went to rehab yesterday. Today was his first day of PT and OT. He told us he "worked really hard". This made me laugh because it sounded like a kid on his first day of school telling his parents he did a good job. He finally has normal clothes on because we made his shorts fit on over his knee brace. Right now he has a "sock" over the stump, a tie die brace on (which is really funny looking) and then a knee brace to keep his knee straight so that way his leg doesn't get stuck in a bent position. Doctor said he should be there for about 10 days and then home! Once the stitches come out and his leg starts to form a more solid stump, he will be fitted for his prosthesis. This is all great news! We just keep crossing fingers and praying that the infection stays away and that his tissue stays healthy to insure that he can keep the leg below the knee. Dad seems much happier to be at St. John's rehab because they have a lot more equipment to help him gain his strength back. He has lost about 40lbs over the last 3 months and knows he has a lot of work to do in terms of muscle strength.

Back to rehab

Just talked to dad and they said he is going to rehab today! Dr. Cannada came back in town and said the leg looks good! So we feel like we are on the right path!

He is one tough man

Dad seems like a whole new person now that his leg is closed. His spirits are much higher and he seems happier. He said he slept a lot today and didn't go to physical therapy so he plans on going tomorrow. He still has a temp but his pain in his chest is a little less than yesterday. Baby steps! Thank you so much for the prayers and always being there for him! You guys have helped us all through this and we hope he comes home soon!!!! The weekend is almost here! Enjoy it!

Stretch Armstrong.....

Dad is out of surgery and they were able to close his wound. They had to stretch the skin as much as they could and try not to have the previous skin graph on the stump. The skin graph is actually on the side of the stump but they are hoping that will form and heal. So for now, we are in a wait and see mode to see if it starts to heal and if the tissue stays healthy. If that works, then dad will go home or to rehab. Problems we could face: His infection could come back and cause him to get amputated above the knee. Or, the stump wouldn't hold the pressure and then break open and cause dad to have to get amputated above the knee. But that one sounds like that wouldn't happen for another few months once dad has his prosthesis. We are just happy that the wound is closed and hopefully dad's pain in his chest and anxiety will subside.

Let's try this again...?

Dad is suppose to go in for a clean out and possible closing tomorrow at 4:20pm. He currently has a temperature so that is not good. The infection doctor came in today and said his cultures are still negative so we are hoping that holds true tomorrow. His cough is back and it hurts really bad around his sternum again. The tests they did yesterday decided that the chest pains were not a heart attack so we are hoping he is strong enough tomorrow for another surgery. As always, I will let you know how tomorrow goes.

Couldn't close up shop....

Dad was unable to have surgery today because he had severe chest pains starting at 3am. So they took tests on him and xrays to see what was going on. We are still waiting to hear anything back from doctors. We are not sure when surgery will be rescheduled. I will keep you posted!

Crossing our fingers!

Dad's cultures are still NEGATIVE! So as of this morning, they are planning on taking him in for a clean out and possibly closing the leg tomorrow at 11:00. We are praying this is the end of the surgeries for dad and it is all about recovery and learning to walk again. Dad has been in the hospital for a month this coming Tuesday. Although it is much longer than his first stay there after the accident, it seems to be going by a lot faster which is good for him. He is VERY ready to get home and back to his chair and to see how his plants and grass are surviving in this Midwest heat. He was in pain today because he was coughing a lot and his lungs hurt he said. We are hoping that once he gets out of bed more, this will start to go away. So say more prayers that they get to close his leg tomorrow and then he will be sent to rehab later in the week to learn how to "walk" or really hop with a walker or crutches. I will let you all know how tomorrow goes.
Grandma was at mom's house today with Dave, Kelly, and the boys so we are hoping that added more memories for her and lifted her spirits a little!

Could it be......good news? For once?

Infection doctor just came in and said that he talked with the Ortho doctor that cleaned dads leg the other day and it wasn't bad news. We were upset he took out the plate holding the bone together, but he did it because the plate was infected and the part of the bone touching the plate look sort of bad. But now, the plate is out and the part of the bone that looked bad was shaved down and the cultures are no longer "moderate infection" but now they are considered small growth infection. So this is GREAT news! The infection doctor is hoping when they take him in to clean it and change the wound vac tomorrow or Friday the next cultures will come back negative. So as of now, today at least, the above the knee amputation is off the table!!!!!! Thank you for all the prayers! Keep them going because we know they are working!!!! Hopefully if everything progresses how it is now, they will try to close it up in the next few weeks!!!!! For once we feel relieved from the news they told us! So exciting!

Dad is also excited because the Kenefick's, my roommate and long time friend, are bringing dinner tonight. Kelly Greeninger is coming in town tonight for work this week and then Dave and the boys will be in on Friday. I think all of this is lifting dad's spirits!

More Waiting

Dad went in for a clean out yesterday. A new doctor, Dr. Jackmann, had to perform the clean out because Dr. Cannada is out of town for the next few weeks. He took out the plate that was holding the bone together because that was infected. They said the infection keeps eating away at the leg so they are concerned they have to amputate above the knee now. This means the prosthesis with be a lot more complicated and might have a computer in it to help the "knee" part move. We are praying they can keep the leg where it is at. It is very frustrating to keep hearing different news. Dr. Cannada is going to be in a town for a day tomorrow so hopefully she will come in and talk with us. We have a TON of questions.