Drew update 2

Drew said he had a really bad night, waking up every hour or so, with lots of pain. That is a first for him. He said he is still in a lot of pain today, but it isn't as bad as it was last night, so that's good. I'm going to check his temperature in a little while, he looked fine, but since he tends to run fevers without signs, I think it's a good idea. He had a little bit of an elevated temp right after surgery, but it was down by the time they released him. I'm also going to have him add a good dose of ibuprofen to his meds, since he is only taking meds with Tylenol in them right now. That should help a little with the pain and swelling. I hope the worst is past and he rests better tonight.

I forgot

I forgot to include, in my last post, that the kids cleaned the family room and kitchen while we were at the hospital, without even being asked to. It was so nice to come home to a cooked dinner and a clean house! CUP, however, did not wash the kitchen floor as I have been asking him to do for the last two weeks. I'm sure he will do it tomorrow, since he wouldn't want to disappoint his Mommy!

Drew update

Drew is home from the hospital and somehow he is pain-free and has been all day. The doctors and nurses were shocked because the injury he has is supposed to be very painful. Drew has always had an incredibly high pain tolerance. When he was little he would fall and scrape his knees and just keep right on playing until I saw the blood running down his leg. He would also get fevers and show no sign of being sick. At some point I would notice his chubby little cheeks were pink and I would take his temperature and it would be 103 or 104 degrees. He also would have severe double ear infections and show no signs, other than a fever. It was really hard to tell when he was sick or hurt. Lucky for me, he wasn't a dare devil type kid. Kids who don't feel much or any pain can get themselves seriously hurt because they don't even realize they are hurt.

I just remembered that about a year ago, Drew's friend left a car battery on his passenger seat. After he removed it, Drew sat in the seat and got a battery acid burn all up and down his back side and lower back area. He didn't even realize he was burned. He only found out about it because the clothes he was wearing shredded from the acid. I told him that he should have been born a woman because he could give birth without any pain!

Anyway, I'm off track, as usual! I made him take pain medication, even though he wasn't feeling any pain. Better safe than sorry. The doctor gave him Dilaudid and Purcoset. I gave him a Dilaudid and he fell asleep soon after. I hope he stays pain free, that would be great. I have to take him to the surgeon's office on Wednesday to get his dressing changed. I was really glad about that because I thought I might have to change it and that would be horrifying for me. I am definitely not nurse material and would have either thrown up or had a panic attack or maybe even both at once!

My mom cooked and sent over a casserole for us for dinner. That is very unlike my mom, so while it was a very nice surprise, it was also a little shocking. First she participated in our family hockey game and now the casserole. Wow! Let's just say that my mom is normally very involved with my sister's family and not so much with mine. Maybe she is trying to change her ways, time will tell.

I took a picture of Drew in the hospital, but it isn't on my computer yet, so I will post it later.

Drew's surgery

Well, Mike and I are at the hospital and Drew just got out of surgery. It went well. The doctor said he used a brand new kind of plate for the first time and he really liked it. They may have to keep him overnight, depending on his pain level. Since Drew doesn't feel much pain, I don't think that will be a problem, but we will see. We can't see him until he is out of recovery, but the doctor said he was awake and talking in the operating room and said something to the effect of "I'm still dreaming". The surgery itself took about an hour and twenty minutes, but he was in the OR for almost 3 hours altogether.

When we got here this morning, they showed us the x-ray and explained more about the injury. I'm glad I didn't get all that information before, since it was a much more significant injury than I thought! Apparently, he got very lucky, since the bone actually split completely in two and the two pieces are lying parallel to each other. The top broken part, which was quite jagged, came very close to major nerves and the arteries. The bottom broken part is resting just next to his lung and the space around it. They mentioned that it was good that the bone hadn't punctured anything. If I had just looked at that x-ray on my own, I would have thought that it was two separate bones, they were so far apart.

Now that the most worrisome part is over, I am feeling really tired and longing to get home and take a nap.

Quote of the day

On Alex living more of his life in Williamsburg than in Frankfort. "You're more a Williamsburger than a Frankforter"--Mike.

Oh crap

I have been really nervous about Drew's surgery and I couldn't figure out why. My kids have had surgeries before and I was always nervous, but not this nervous. My mom, who went with Drew to his doctor appointment, since we were on our way home from PA, called a few minutes ago. She told me that the doctor said this surgery is rather high risk because there is a main artery that goes to the heart, located right where they have to do the surgery. They have to be very careful not to nick it at all. Apparently the longer the time that has elapsed since the injury, the higher risk the surgery is. For Drew it will be one week tomorrow since the accident. Now I'm really nervous. The surgeon is very good and highly respected so that is good, but I still don't like the risk factors. I guess I'm glad I didn't know this until tonight.

More Christmas Trip Pictures Two

Alex and E

E and JJ

Hannah Banana and GracieGirl and her Webkinz

JJ, hauling wood to earn a Webkinz for Shauna

Nate Dogg chillin