ICU Day 2

Dave's flap is doing well. He is in a lot of pain, but they are trying to manage it. The knot on his head was probably the result of him thrashing when waking up. He karate chops in the air when he is coming out of anethesia. My mom and dad are flying in today at 2.

Please not again....

I am staying with dave tonight in the ICU, I think he is scared about being neglected again up here. The pain is unbearable for him right now.
He came back with a huge knot on his head, we think they might have thrown him around in the OR. Frustration and anxiety is setting in again for us both. I think it will be a long night....

We are in the sicu dave is doing great, surgery went well.

Waiting in the hall for dave to be wheeled in to the SICU

Barksdale Freedom Riders

The Barksdale Freedom Riders are holding a poker run for us! I just found this after googling Dave!

Surgery Update

As I previously posted, yesterday afternoon we found out David's surgery was moved to today. I stayed with him last night to make sure I was there when they took him this morning. He went at about 6:30am, I just got a call from the OR, he is doing well, they are about 2.5 hours into the surgery. He got another epidural put in before they got started, so it took a little while longer. I should get another update around 1pm.

Here are some Miller pictures, he found a new friend in the armadillo that lives around my parents house.

Saturday

Here are a few pictures from yesterday:







David's Uncle George came to visit us yesterday! We went out on an expedition to find David an iphone, and a few short hours later Dave is the proud owner of the new iphone! Then Uncle George and I went out to eat and picked David up a steak that he thoroughly enjoyed. Today I am bit under the weather, I think it may have been too much of the good food we ate last night......David's flap surgery was moved up to tomorrow, so I need to start feeling better!

Articles on David's Ceremony

NWLA News

Air Force Magazine

Barksdale News

Shreveport Times

Ceremony

David received a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Air Force Combat Action Medal. General Schwartz, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force presented them to David along with the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.

Before the Purple Heart Ceremony....

We met Jack Nicholson! He was quiet but nice, he asked David some questions and signed a few DVDs for us!

Bus ride home

On my way home from spa day. I got an iphone so I am a mobile blogger now.

Open Invitations

Dear Jimmy Buffet,
Dave and I are HUGE Parrotheads! Dave read every one of your books while he was in Iraq. I actually just finished Swine Not while at Walter Reed, such a cute book from a pig's POV!
We heard you stopped by around this time last year to see the guys on 57 and do a small concert.....So what are your plans for the summer? Any chance you will be swingin' thru this part of town? We would love to meet you!

Cheers,

Liz

PS Our rehearsal dinner was Cheeseburger in Paradise themed!


Dear Rob and Big,

Dave is obsessed with your show, he will watch reruns on MTV 2 all day. He laughs so hard his leg starts swinging in the EX FIX. I know he would just die if y'all walked in the door to his room. So if y'all make it over to the East Coast....just stop on by!

Thanks,

Liz

Sunday Night

I had a great day-I slept till noon, got up and went outside to a beautiful day and listened to a great band in the courtyard. And tomorrow is my maintenance day! I don't know who its thru, but some of my friends around here and I are taking a bus to Paul Mitchell in the morning for a spa day. They do things like that frequently around here and its all donated thru different organizations. I desperately need a haircut, I am thinking about going pretty short, but still not sure.

David is doing great with his Mom and Granny here!

Saturday, for real this time

I just realized that I am a day earlier than everyone else......I meant Thursday and Friday below! That's what happens when you don't get out much.....

Friday and Saturday

I just got back from David's room and of course can't fall asleep, so here are some updates from the past 2 days.

Friday
Dave and I were interviewed for the Air Force TV (?) about our Recovery Care Coordinator and how it is vital to have someone here for you and your family. Our RCC, Mr. F is awesome (which is nice because we didn't have to make up how great he is for the cameras). He has handled all the little stuff that we either would not know to do or did not know how to do. Plus he has the best personality, you can't be in a bad mood after talking to Mr. F! Dave did a great job on camera despite being on loads of drugs!

Dave's Mom and Granny flew in yesterday afternoon.

2 EOD guys from the Barksdale Shop (Brian and JT) came up for a VIP and stopped by to see us.

The Barksdale Wing Commander also drove up from a meeting he had in VA to see Dave and we had such a great visit with him!

Saturday

I slept in while Mom and Granny spent time with Dave. He had PT at 1:30 and right before he scooted off one of the nurses told him to wait that a "distinguished guest" was about to arrive. It was Angelina Jolie! She spent about 20 minutes talking with Dave and taking pictures! Then after she left the liaison came around and handed out gift bags signed by her with a gift card to Best Buy worth $1,000!

PT ran a little long and Dave returned to the room ready for a nap.

We found out that he will have one more surgery Monday morning for a cleanout, then next Tuesday the 30th he will have another flap surgery on his left leg. They will take 3 of his 6 pack (ab muscles) and attach to his leg. We are really counting on this to work (as Dave is quickly running out of muscles for them to take). Too bad he does not need fat and skin because being the generous and loving wife that I am, I would donate in a heartbeat!

Tuesday Dave will have his official Purple Heart Ceremony. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force (the one that met us on the plane) will present Dave and 2 other AF guys their PH's. I will remember my camera and plan on taking lots of pictures.

That's about it or at least all I can remember right now. Tomorrow should be a nice relaxing Saturday!

BlackBill the Pirate Duck

Seeing as how there is only so much TV you can watch, Dave and I have found other things to keep our time occupied. When he was in Afghanistan he wore a Pirate patch on his vest and it somehow found its way back with him thru everything. So he wears this patch on the velcro part of his wrist splint. One of his PACU nurses noticed it and she was also wearing something pirate-related to hold her badge. So about 2 weeks later she came to the room, while on vacation she found Pirate Band-Aids and bought them for Dave! So of course we open them and I find a little spot on my finger that probably did not really need a Band-Aid, but come on, I had to.....So inside the box was a "hidden treasure". Can you spot him? Look close......







We named him BlackBill the Pirate of the Ex Fix.......ok don't judge, we have nothing better to do. It's funny because most people don't notice him, but when some one does they crack up laughing.

Wednesday

If anyone is interested in helping us and other Vets, here are a few wonderful organizations who are always accepting donations:

Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation
Operation Ward 57
Hero Miles
Yellow Ribbon Fund
Wounded Warrior Project
Segs for Vets

David has PT at 1:30 today and we are to get there on our own, normally his PT comes to get him. They will be taking the stitches out of the stump after that and fitting him for a prosthetic soon. The Left Leg had another cleanout surgery on Monday and based on what the Dr.'s tell us we will be "salvaging" the Leg. I hate when they use that term, like its a junkyard car. Anyway, we will most likely try another flap next week and hopefully this one will stick.

David's Mom and Granny will be here tomorrow!

Old Pictures

For some reason I can fall right asleep in the fold out chair in David's room, but give me a comfy king size bed, and I can't fall asleep to save my life......go figure. So unable to fall asleep, I found a few of our engagement pictures on our wedding blog, thought I would share:

Saturday

Dave got in his wheelchair again today and we made a break for it! Katz's Deli (as in the When Harry Met Sally famous scene Katz's) catered a little event over at the Mologne House and we snuck over for a few minutes. Dave enjoyed a hot dog and cheesecake then we rolled back over to the hospital. He was tuckered out and fell asleep right after they moved him back in his bed.

In the next time zone over, my mom and all the Barksdale EOD guys (+ a few more) had our entire apartment in a U-haul in 2 hours! Dave and I are fortunate to be able to give back some of the generosity we have received by donating some of our furniture to a family whose house burned down a few days after Dave was hit. God Bless you Mr. Nevis and family, I hope our things work out well for y'all!

Also I don't think we could ever repay Brian, the EOD guy who accompanied me pretty much around the world and stayed with us for a week after getting to WR. He and his Dad are helping us out yet again by driving the Uhaul to Monroe (2 hours from Shreveport) to meet my Dad. His flight was canceled from Memphis to Shreveport, he was able to get one to Monroe but it meant someone following my Mom in with the U-haul. Brian and Family- Dave and I love you, Thank you for everything!

1 Month

1 Month ago today David got hit.

Right now he is half way on a motorized wheel chair (I just called and they were in the middle of moving him). I would say that is good progress! I am headed over to take pictures now.

Apparently everyone knows about this blog, so much for therapy, I have to watch everything I say now......

:)

I am about to walk over to the hospital, my Dad has been there all day, so I'm sure he is ready to come back and rest. David did well in PT today and has been resting since he got back to his room.

I am back at the Mologne House after a night with David in the hospital. My Dad came over about 6:30am to "relieve" me.

The Sun Herald has an article on us in the paper today, you can find it here.

We kinda got in trouble for not going thru the Walter Reed PR people, I guess they are scared people will say negative things about the hospital. The story came out this morning and the guy was in our room by 9am! They must monitor the internet 24/7. I didn't tell him about my blog.....

David has PT at 1pm today and that is about all we have planned for the day. I plan on resting in a real bed!

Tuesday

David is waiting to go into surgery right now, he has another washout of his left leg, which according to the Shreveport Times does not exist. Anyway, my Dad is flying in this morning so I am about to go pick him up with our friend Chris who is our FLO (Family Liaison Officer) and fellow EOD guy. ( You can see him pictured below with David comparing stumps) After that David should be out of surgery and my Dad will go sit with him while I go take care of some pressing issues such as getting my travel orders renewed, figure out what happened to the advance on my per diem that was supposed to be direct deposited two weeks ago, and finally head down to the pharmacy to get a refill. I have gotten used to sitting around and doing nothing all day, so this is a REALLY busy day for me. :)

Article on David

This was in the Shreveport Times yesterday

Sunday

Dave and I had a great day, he was kinda out of it, but sometimes he has days like this. We had a great anniversary of delivery pizza and watching The Sandlot! We were planning on being apart anyway due to the deployment so it ended up better than expected!

I am not sure if he has surgery in the morning, we are guessing another cleanout, but not sure. I am back at the Mologne House for some R & R before I walk back over to spend the night so I can catch the Dr. B Dream Team in the morning. We are holding off on amputation for another week or so, even though Dave thinks its still his best option. Either way we are going to be fine with what happens.

I have made some wonderful friends here at the MH and we are grilling out tonight in the large courtyard. Some of the stories you hear around here make you feel so blessed in your situation. I would encourage anyone to make a visit to Walter Reed at some point to see these amazing people and hear their stories. I have already made lifelong friends that have helped me through those frustrating times.

I have received some really sweet emails from Dave's High School Classmates, if I have not gotten back to you yet I apologize! I print out the emails and Dave is reading each one!

Happy Anniversary

www.theartisticbride.com/ed

Tomorrow Dave and I will have our 1 year Anniversary, I know some of you reading this were not there but the link above is a little slide show for your enjoyment. I will try and post more later

Miller, our dog, who is currently living with his grandparent(s) is really taking all of this well, as you can see he is relaxing in his I mean my Dad's recliner.

Progress

I wish I had remembered my camera, David got out of bed this morning and sat upright in a cardiac chair! His PT, Kyla and her PT student Chad came around 8 this morning and moved him into the chair then took him down to the MATC, which is basically a huge gym. David did arm exercises and did some great stump movements. He has not lost any range of motion in his knee or his hip, which is really great! Kyla was even able to pick up the EX FIX and get that hip moving.

After 2 bad days, it was great to see this progress!

He was really excited to see the Swing Trainer (for his golf swing).

David in the PACU after surgery yesterday meeting General Byers. This gives a good view of his left leg in the EX FIX and his stump. (Stump is actually what all the Dr.'s and all the other amputees call it, just so you don't think I am being heartless.....) David calls it Stumpy.

Monday

I spent last night with David to make sure I was there for the early morning Dr. rounds. We have been waiting all weekend to talk to Dr. Bachelor "The Surgeon". All weekend everyone kept telling us Dr. B will have a plan for us Monday, he will answer our questions, and make it all better, blah blah blah. So at 6:15 this morning Dr. B and his team come in the room. So we are told Dave will be having surgery today to do another cleaning and by the way your NPO, so put down that water. This totally blind sided us, as we were told Monday would be another rest day and the day to figure out what to do with The Leg. Also an Air Force General and some other people are going to be coming by this afternoon to see David, we made arrangements for this to happen today based on the info above.

GRRR.....

So another surgery this afternoon.....they said he would go back around 12, so that means he will probably be in his room till 3 and will get to see the General after all. Even though they are going in to clean The Leg, we are most likely going to choose to amputate. We talked to some guys this weekend who waited and then ended up having to choose amputation a year or 2 later. David and I decided that we want to move on, get out of the hospital bed, start rehabing, and get on with our life together. It is a hard choice because The Leg looks just fine, but problems come up quickly with all the open wounds that David has. He does not have enough skin or muscle to cover the bones in his lower leg. Since the back flap did not work, we don't want to risk losing any more muscle, have it not work, then hinder his rehabilitation later. Also David is in a lot of pain, pain that 40mg of Oxycontin, a Dilaudid drip, and 10mg Kalodapin a day can't relieve. Don't quote me on the exact dosage numbers and spelling. David has been keeping track of everything-its actually funny how he can remember it all. Oh and Valium too.

Don't worry, they didn't leave me out of the pharmacy, after 2 days of basically begging for pharmaceutical relief and some help from David's mom, they hooked me up too.

I will update tonite after surgery......