Day 9: On Wednesday, Richard had surgery on his left elbow/arm/wrist/hand. The surgeons came by lots of times the day before and day of, because none of them had ever seen anything like his arm before. As I mentioned in my last post, it was “literally in 50 pieces.” (Something we had originally thought was a figure of speech for “your arm is messed up.”) The orthopedic surgeons were actually excited to work on Richard. The head surgeon told us that other than it being a groundbreaking challenge for them, that at Grady they generally don’t get to work on people like him. Richard asked what they meant… they said, “Well, you aren’t here because you got shot running from the gas station you just tried to rob for $250.00.” :) In their last meeting with us one of the surgeons told him not to worry, that “You are going to be making bronze sculptures before you know it!”
…And he will be! The surgery was successful. And in the words of the wide-eyed Georgia State student who got to watch the surgery “engineers build bridges, doctors engineer bodies.” The orthopedic surgeons had told us they hoped to not put in any synthetic joints (like an internal hinge), in his arm, but they did have to put in one in his elbow. There are two bones that run from your forearm to the elbow. One was able to be repaired/rebuilt, but one needed a “hinge.” They said that the side affects of this can range from being somewhat limited in motion to limited weight-bearing to arthritis. However, the later is the only one they think will most likely affect Richard. It possible arthritis is all that may come of his left arm, I think we’ll take it. :)
Day 10: Mainly consisted of recovering from Day 9 and trying to manage pain. A combination of the left arm (the main source of pain) and the affects of being in a bed for ten days was caused him to be restless. Even on the highest dose of morphine, he was still in a lot of pain. However, after some prayer, he was able to get a pretty good night of rest. Also, a huge blessing is that he hasn’t had any hallucinations since Day 8! He has had more meds than ever, but no crazy adventures of having cedar trees growing out of his nose, etc. :) He does continue to have bizarre “falling dreams.” But he knows they are dreams and is able to separate reality from dream. Thanks for your prayers for peace in his mind and heart.
Day 11: Richard had a procedure this morning where they moved all his lines (IV, meds, etc) from his shoulder/peck area, to his right arm. The doctors said it is safer there for long-term use. It is a semi-permanent line that he can have removed after his time at Shepherds. Other than that, today he has been resting, watching law-and-order, and keeping up with his oral hygiene. He flosses and brushes multiple times a day… partly because he doesn’t have a sense of time and doesn’t realize that he has already done it, and because he wants to have “fresh breath”…for Nurse Pierre.
Update on his legs: He can still flex his right quad and wiggle his right toes… the wiggling of the “left piggys” comes and goes. We are working with him doing all the physical therapy that we can…Today the PT’s came and showed us some more things we can do, different ways to position him and how to lift his legs up, etc. This will hopefully get his nerves firing more.
Today his leg/ankle/foot surgeon said that if the swelling continues to go down and if his fever dissipates (he’s had a fever for a week now) they will do the surgery on Wednesday to install internal plates and screws. (Currently they are external.) We are really hoping that this can happen! This would be the last major surgery for him and would make him a candidate for Shepherds Center… and top-notch rehab!
PLEASE PRAY that:
· The infection Richard has will be remedied by the antibiotics, and as a result, that his fever will go away.
· The swelling in his legs will completely fade.
· The nerves in his back will be miraculously healed and made whole.
· He will be free of bedsores, blood clots, etc! (We are so thankful that he has not had any of these yet!)
· He will be able to rest well, and that God’s peace will continue to cover him.
Also, thanks to all of you who continue to support Richard and our family with prayers, encouragement, visits, meals, errand running, airline-miles, dog sitting, rides, and starbucks. We are immensely grateful for the community God has given all of us. Your kindness and sacrifice means more than we can say.
