jppe

Went by the hospital again today and he's looking so much better. He was much more cognizant today and we talked a lot. The doctors are estimating that the two additional surgeries will be mid to late next week if the swelling continues to subside in his leg.

He finally shaved his "beard" after a week's growth and got spruced up as best he could so you know that had to be somewhat refreshing.

He does so much better for now as long as the pain meds are provided on time.

We engineered a couple of items to make his stay a little easier. I tied off an ink pen to the tray stand beside his bed so he'll always have something to write with within reach. I also put some velcro on the sides of the bed and the back of his "intercom" so he can attach it to the side of the bed and have it out of way-now it won't fall off the bed or be in his way while he's resting. I also made him a diagram of the bed controls so he can move the darn thing around at his pleasure.

He showed me how to move his busted up leg around by grabbing the bars drilled into the bones in his leg and gently moving them where he needed the leg to go...........we're talking millimeters here.

The doctors are planning to try an experimental cast after the surgery. Rather than have his whole leg in a continuous cast, they going to put on two casts that connect together at the knee. He'll have a cast both above and below his knee but they will be "hinged" together so he can bend his knee. Hopefully that will give him some additional mobility and possibly even speed up the rehab.

Knowing my Buddy he is probably already thinking about how he might be able to sit on a bike with the casts on now that he can bend the knee........

We're not sure about what happens after the surgeries and hospital. He will really be challenged going directly home so he might go to a rehab facility for a short spell until he can get around on his own better.