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.