JIM'S MASSIVE RECOVERY - PART 2

What I haven't shared just yet is that as Jim's leg wound was almost healed, 

a couple of days before Thanksgiving,

he started losing his balance and  wasn't able to walk in a straight line.

He was getting more and more agitated and also not able to sleep.

Plus his anxiety that he's always had at nighttime was getting worst.

Also he was losing his words with blurred speech.

So after a fall off his bed and also from standing on his feet,

as well as a fall into our patio slider door,

all within 24 hours,

I took him to our local E.R.

Big mistake!

They released him that afternoon to his daughter 

because I was at another hospital with my children.

 That was the day my Ex had his heart arrest.

Unbelievably,

 the local E.R. didn't find anything wrong with him

 other then his back arthritis bothering him.

Did they even examine him or run any tests???

Anyways,

Jim's daughter saw he wasn't doing well that night at their house 

so they rushed him to their local hospital where an MRI of his brain was done,

and it turned out he had two serious brain bleeds.

They think one was a slow building one from his Jeep accident 

when he hit his head,

and the other a fast one from his fall into the slider door or the floor.

Who knew??

Not that first hospital.

No wonder it has such a bad reputation.  

 

So Jim was hospitalized for another 2 weeks.

Meanwhile I was driving back and forth everyday to 2 different hospitals,

which were miles apart,

trying to keep an eye on both my charges.

Ha!

Both men ended up being hospitalized for 2 weeks.

 Two brain operations were done on Jim

to pull out the excess fluids surrounding and moving his brain around.

It was so scary,

maybe even more so then his original Jeep accident.

I was really scared I was going to lose him.

Drilling into his skull,

crazy!!

His neurosurgeon also told me that he would never be quite the same afterwards.

What does that mean I asked?

He said you will know it when you see it.

WTF!!!!

Here is Jim at the end of that 2 weeks.

You can sort of see where they shaved both sides of his forehead to drill.

At this point from the time of the Jeep accident to this pix 

he had lost over 30 pounds of weight,

mostly muscle mass.  

You can especially see it in his face here.

From that hospital there, 

he was transferred to a skilled nursing faculty to learn how to walk again

and get physical therapy twice a day.

In 5 days time he was more then ready to come home

although I felt he should have stayed a bit longer. 

But he was itching to come home.

It was all about the nasty food there,

he was starving!

LOL

So are you wondering if I'm noticing any differences now?

Yes, a bit.

When he first got home he was meeker,

a bit disoriented,

 a tiny tad weepy and very unsure of himself,

but super cooperative which I loved.

Ha!

He's had to depend on me for everything which has been hard for him.

And a bit hard for me too.

But that's ok as I'm a real nurturer and love mothering him.

It's been a little over two and a half months since he came home now.

Things are changing that's for sure.

He is very slowly getting better.

He hasn't been able to drive until just recently on small errands for practice.

But no freeways yet,

 and always with me as his co-pilot.

His reflex skills are not quite where they need to be.

Some days are not good and he's really tired and I don't let him drive at all.

But of course he thinks he's just fine.

That has been a bit of a battle at times.

Basically he's just not as sharp as he used to be

and he's still having trouble with his speech and words.

Maybe that's what the doctor was talking about.

His neurosurgeon says things will continue to get better

 up to about a year and a half.  

And after that is where he will stay.

I have high hopes for him.

His grandsons are counting on him and so am I.

JIM'S MASSIVE RECOVERY - PART 1

I know you all saw the terrible accident in this post from October.

The accident actually happened during the last week of August,

it just took me awhile to get pix organized and up.

Anyways,

what I haven't shared with you are some of the recuperating photos I took of Jim

from when they sent his home from the two hospitals 27 days after the accident.

They deserve this whole other post plus a Part 2 coming up.

BEWARE:

some of these photos are pretty brutal and gruesome,

but not all.

Even Sophie had to cover her eyes a bit.

OK, here we go, ready or not....

this first pix is how the surgeon sent Jim home to me.

Blood and yellow pus oozing from his harvest area,

dripping all over the floor.

I was freaking out.

This is not my jam or area of expertise.

But I had to learn fast.

Just the pills alone they sent home with him were overwhelming.

And then there were the boxes and boxes of medical supplies 

they sent to our house.

Where to put them all?

And so much plastic waste products they were packaged in.

CRAZY!!

So I called our trusty mountain neighbor,

Chris,

 who used to be a nurse in the Navy to help me that first night.

He wanted to lighten the mood so this is how he arrived.

It worked.

We all had a good belly laugh.

And we wrapped up Jim's leg.

Of course by morning,

it had all leaked out over the bandages.

Yuck!

So above is about a week at home now and the fluids are drying up,

thank goodness!

For 2months, 

every single day,

 we had a wound nurse come

to check Jim's leg and change his bandages.

This was Ming,

one of our favorites.

We also had  a physical and occupational therapist,

a mental health worker,

and of course his Primary Care Doctor checking up on him weekly.

Thank goodness for Jim's Medical Insurance.

We both have Medicare Blue Cross HMO thru Providence Health.

This is Jim's surgeon checking his leg 

for the first time in 2 1/2 months after sending him home.

He's removing Jim's staples from not only his main wound 

but also from his harvest area.

Above he was doing a lot of de-breeding.

It was upsetting watching him do it with a sharp razor.

In several areas he scraped too harshly and opened up some healed spots.

And there were so many staples to remove.

The surgeon used the coolest tool for that so it wasn't super painful,

only a little Jim said.

Here is the wound after about 2 more weeks below.

It's finally starting to dry up and heal.

Jim was really scared to touch it and wash it in the shower,

so I did it for him. 

 Such a weird feeling as I soaped it up.

And after another 2 weeks.

Below you can also see how his harvest area is healing and shrinking.

And finally,

mid-December,

 it has completely closed up.

During this entire healing time,

because Jim is a diabetic,

he was not allowed any sugar to help speed up the healing process.

He also stayed away from all fast foods.

That was really hard.

For both of us actually.

Ha ha

Everyone asks what that large round lump is on the upper right.

The surgeon told us it was the only piece of Jims leg skin 

that wasn't ripped off in the accident and they really wanted to try to save it.

We are so thankful that the surgeons were able to save Jims leg.

And it's pretty much of a miracle that he is still alive after his horrific accident.

Feeling blessed that's for sure.

BFF's FOREVER

Meet Sophie and Bogie.

They do not care for each other,

instead merely tolerate when the occasion arises.

Sophie has been known to snap at Bogie when he gets too near me or her food.

Bogie is scared of Soph big time.

Sophie belongs to Jim and I,

a rescue that we got right before we married,

 so we guess she is about 13 years old now.

An older lady set in her ways,

an only child.

Bogie was dumped off at a golf course,

 we think,

because he was so incorrigible.

A very naughty boy.

See this link that inspired an art quilt in Feb. 2010.

He had Doggy Obedience school.

He flunked as did we with him.

My ex and I adopted him about 16 years ago,

and when we divorced he stayed with my ex.

He is a friendly pup and loves everybody,

even other dogs and cats,

except of course for my Sophie.

She is a meanie.

We think Bogie is a Rat Terrier with nervous energy.

Sophie, we think, is a Wheaten Terrier, Cocker, and Poodle mix,

usually very relaxed, laid back and sweet except when she sees Bogie.

Ahhh,

but look at this,

they are chilling side by side,

not touching,

 mind you, 

but long enough for me to take a pix.

Ok, so what's going on here?

I've been babysitting Bogie for the past 2 1/2 weeks now 

because my ex, Inars, suffered a mild heart arrest

 3 weeks ago on the golf course.

His 2 best friends he was with saved his life by administrating CPR

until 911 arrived.

A detective took over from them until the ambulance got there.

 Paramedics did 3 paddle shocks and 5 adrenaline shots to the heart.

Inars was without a heartbeat and oxygen for 30 mins total.

A very long time.

We were scared to death.

And Bogie needed a home.

On the exact same day my husband Jim,

yes the one who had the terrible car accident,

was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

He was having difficulty with balance and walking

(along with several other motor skills) 

and fell into our sliding glass door. 

Thank goodness the plants against the door broke his fall so he didn't go all the way thru the glass.

But he did hit his head and was very confused and not able to walk.

Turns out Jim had 2 brain bleeds.  

One from the accident a few months ago that was slowly building up 

and creating dementia like symptoms,

and a new bleed from his fall into the door.

An MRI was done and a Neurosurgeon was brought in

 to immediately drill 2 holes on either side of his skull and release the fluids.

It worked!!

But more bad news.

Both men were hospitalized for over 2 weeks,

Inars also being treated for a UTI and an infectious bacteria.

We had to suit up to go into his hospital room.

He also lost all his cognitive abilities.

His name, his address, where he was.

The list was long.

 My two children were with him day and night 

helping him,

quizzing him until he started to remember things.

I have never been prouder of how they stepped up to the plate

to be there for him and continue to do so now that he's home.

And did I mention that he contacted Covid in the hospital too?

And that he was sent home to us infectious with that?

Again both children were there regardless if they caught it or not.

Crazy loving kids.

Jim also lost his bearings for a couple of days after brain surgery,

but actually recovered quicker mentally.

He was also diagnosed with pneumonia along with the brain bleeds. 

What do they say?

When it rains it pours,

right??

The good news.

Jim is now in a wonderful Rehab center learning how to walk and balance again.

He will be coming home to me this Friday with a plan for lots of Physical Therapy

and Narcotics free.

Bogie is back home with his dad

who will be getting a defibulator as soon as his Covid is over,

and his memory is getting stronger everyday.

Sophie is an only child again.

And as you can see below,

Bogie and Sophie learned how to co-exist peacefully side by side

and have decided they can bee Best Friends Forever.

Sophie actually even gave the Bogster a kiss yesterday when I brought her over with me to check on my ex.

Life is looking up again!

A special note:

I was never alone in all of this.  

Jim's amazing daughter Julie and her husband Mike 

were by my side the entire time,

constantly calling doctors, checking on meds,

even feeding me a Thanksgiving dinner when I wasn't able to get out to

celebrate with my son's in-laws,

a lovely tradition that's been going on for years now.

Thank you Mike and Julie,

I could have never done this without you.

And to my two children,

Zach and Danielle.

How I love you both with all my heart.

How very much you have learned in the past 3 weeks.

All new experiences for you,

life lessons that have taken their toll on you both and your partners.

Like I said above,

I couldn't be prouder of you both,

especially how you shared the responsibilities equally.

Dad and are are so very lucky that you both are ours. 

A BIT DISTRACTED

Good news first!

It's been awhile since I last opened up my blog and did anything with it.

Life has thrown us a real curveball,

but before I talk about it let me introduce this very handsome and chill fellow,

2 month old Jax.

He is the infant of my dental assistant Rhea,

who I've known since her Kindergarten years with my son.

The two of them went thru Elementary, Jr. High and High School together.

What confidence and knowledge Jax is displaying,

almost like an old soul who's been around the block a time or two. 

LOL!

Rhea has him snuggled beneath the baby blanket I knit for him.

Now for the bad news.

My husband was in a terrible car accident recently,

ran into a tree, and flipped our jeep.  

It's really a miracle he's alive,

that's what all the doctors and nurses are telling me!

He was ejected we believe thru the soft top roof of the jeep,

and broke his fall all along the right side of his body 

from the top of his shoulder to his hip and thigh,

and is black and blue all the way down with multiple scratches over entire body.

He landed in the dirt and was covered in blood when 911 was called.

Not buckling your seatbelt really matters!

Ha!!!!

For 3 days his right eyelid would not stay open or would his eye track,

but that has resolved itself.

And if that wasn't enough he split open his skull, was concussed

 and had 8 staples put in.

We think his head hit a nearby sharp rock.

I actually went to visit the tree and crash site.

But sadly there is even more.

We don't know how it happened but he completely ripped open 

his left calf and muscle all the way down to his ankle.

The surgeon said it was peeled back like a banana.

WARNING:

THESE NEXT PHOTOS ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

These photos were taken after his 6th surgery,

and bandaging was being changed.

It was actually even worse then this but I've decided not to put those pix up.

Now some much needed good news after those photos.

Jim has not smoked or eaten fast food in 22 days.

He has lost at least 20 to 30 pounds in his mid section.

And because he is a diabetic he has not had any sugar either.

So cold turkey for all 3 vices.

He is going to be one healthy young man when he gets home.

A life changing experience!!

He has been in two trauma hospitals.

One in Santa Ana,

 and now he has been transferred to Mission Viejo.

He has had 7 surgeries on his calf and will continue to have more.

Plus extensive skin grafting yesterday that I have not seen yet.

(He is saying tonight that the graft is more painful then his calf injury)

Staples in head were removed and head has healed nicely.

He is so lucky to be alive.

His hair is growing in nicely and he has not shaved either.

He looks kind of like a captain of a ship.

Here he is with his grandsons last night.

It's the first time they have seen him since the accident,

and I know it really lifted his spirits,

that's for sure.

The state of the art hospital he is in now.

Our insurance's Trauma Hospital.

The place takes up a whole city block 

and each room is decked out like a hotel room with a couch/bed

 and deluxe bathroom. 

And the nurses aren't hiding behind a bullet proof glass partition

like in the first Trauma Hospital. 

What a difference and a blessing!

Who knew?  

Sometimes life throws you curveballs.

This was a BIG ONE!!

And still a long way to go towards healing.

And from now on, no seatbelt, no go.