Here are a few more pictures of Dave standing yesterday at PT, he was up (on the tilt table) at about 40 degrees for 10 minutes!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday
David went with me to my Dr.'s appointment, which accomplished nothing......he did really well being out all afternoon. Which brings me to the good news: We got a day pass for tomorrow and can go downtown for the whole day! Not sure how long we will last, but this is a really big step to being out patient!
Here are a few more pictures of Dave standing yesterday at PT, he was up (on the tilt table) at about 40 degrees for 10 minutes!
Here are a few more pictures of Dave standing yesterday at PT, he was up (on the tilt table) at about 40 degrees for 10 minutes!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
David and I had a good weekend, I spent all day Saturday in the ER while Dave slept. Nothing too serious, I have had jaw problems for a few years now and it has really been bothering me the past few weeks. During our lunch I bit into a Subway sandwich and my jaw locked on me, which is very painful. So after a few minutes of David begging me to go get it looked at I went down to the ER. 6 hours and a shot of Demerol later, they diagnosed me with Trismus. So today I am going to have a head & neck CT done. I am a little scared I will have to wear a cage around my head to fix this, but I guess Dave and I will match!
Enough about me, David is doing much better pain wise ( or at least he is hiding it better) He graduated to a regular bed, so that he can get back in by himself after being in his chair. His old bed did not lower far enough so he couldn't butt scoot in. And yesterday he got a "big boy potty"......just kidding although it does remind me of potty training or something. He will probably kill me for writing all this....
I learned how to adjust his pins yesterday so that we can do that on our own and I also showed a new ortho doc how to do a dressing change on his leg. I may have missed my medical calling in life......
Enough about me, David is doing much better pain wise ( or at least he is hiding it better) He graduated to a regular bed, so that he can get back in by himself after being in his chair. His old bed did not lower far enough so he couldn't butt scoot in. And yesterday he got a "big boy potty"......just kidding although it does remind me of potty training or something. He will probably kill me for writing all this....
I learned how to adjust his pins yesterday so that we can do that on our own and I also showed a new ortho doc how to do a dressing change on his leg. I may have missed my medical calling in life......
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A Huge Thank You
David and I cannot express enough Thank you's to the Barksdale Freedom Riders and everyone who helped make the ride for us yesterday so successful! We appreciate everything people are doing to help us out!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Standing on Both Legs
As you can tell by his face, this was VERY painful but he did stand up on both legs for a few seconds!
For Sale
2008 Nissan Sentra
If ANYONE is interested or knows how we could get out from underneath this vehicle, PLEASE let me know. I have been calling dealerships all morning, what happened to all the pity people???? I know there is some dealer or person out there who wants to help out an American Hero!!
*normally I do not play the hero card, but I am getting desperate....
If ANYONE is interested or knows how we could get out from underneath this vehicle, PLEASE let me know. I have been calling dealerships all morning, what happened to all the pity people???? I know there is some dealer or person out there who wants to help out an American Hero!!
*normally I do not play the hero card, but I am getting desperate....
Monday, July 20, 2009
A few pictures....Warning some are Graphic
This is before the halo surgery, they were doing a dressing change, keep in mind what your seeing is Dave's abs on his leg:
The large dark lump was removed during the halo surgery, this is how they monitored the flap with that special machine.
Pirate Dave
After the Halo surgery:
Dave will have this baby on for almost a year, 3-4 months of growing his bone then 6-8 months stabilizing it.
The large dark lump was removed during the halo surgery, this is how they monitored the flap with that special machine.
Pirate Dave
After the Halo surgery:
Dave will have this baby on for almost a year, 3-4 months of growing his bone then 6-8 months stabilizing it.
Friday, July 17, 2009
I just got back from the hospital, it was a long night. Dave needed more blood, his levels were really low for some reason even after the 2 bags the day before. For those of you who don't know, 2 bags of blood takes all night, we started at 11pm and they just put the 2nd bag on at 5am. I finally could not take it anymore, what you may ask? The vital checks every fifteen minutes and the beeping, those stupid machines beep all the time, just when I get back on my chair and close my eyes......beeeeeeep beeeeeeep.
Needless to say I am a tad bit grumpy this morning.......but hopefully Dave will feel better!
Needless to say I am a tad bit grumpy this morning.......but hopefully Dave will feel better!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Standing Up
Dave with his shoe on the way to stand up:
Putting on the sleeve:
With the leg on:
Sitting upright:
Tilting:
Almost there:
Standing on one leg:
Flamingo style:
Cool down with some Foosball: (this really helps his hand)
Putting on the sleeve:
With the leg on:
Sitting upright:
Tilting:
Almost there:
Standing on one leg:
Flamingo style:
Cool down with some Foosball: (this really helps his hand)
Late Night/ Can't Sleep!!
Sorry I have not been posting much lately....sometimes I just can't think anymore when I get back here to the hotel......
So here's what has been going on:
Yesterday (Wednesday) Dave got in his wheelchair for the 1st time since the flap surgery, he scooted from his bed to the chair all by himself! This is BIG, before it took 4 people to move him! Then we went down to the MATC and he was given the sleeve that he will wear under his prosthetic leg, to get used to wearing it. THEN while we where down there he had to go to the bathroom (this might be TMI, but it is also a HUGE step for us) He got onto a toilet!! I had to hold the ex fix leg but he did it!! Keep in mind that he is missing 1/2 of his abdominal muscles too! And has a huge scar that is pretty painful. So an hour later, he is worn out so we call it a day and head back up to the room. But first we stopped by another ward to see an injured EOD guy that Dave knew from the schoolhouse to drop off well wishes and a Tshirt.
This morning I went to Bolling AFB to sort out my monthly financials, so Dave was left to fend for himself, he got down to the MATC all on his own! They took a mold of his nub to make the prosthetic. It should be ready tomorrow for (insert drumroll here) when he will stand up on his leg!! Things are really moving along for us now, it is very exciting!
As for medicine, he has discontinued his PCA and is no longer hooked up to the Dilaudid drip, his epidural was pulled out this afternoon, and he is using much less Oxy. Since the epidural was taken out they will be able to remove his catheter tomorrow morning too.
Tuesday he will have another surgery to remove the ex fix and put on a halo. This will give him a little more freedom, as it is not so heavy and will be below his knee. They are also going to put skin grafts over the flap.
Side note:
Since Dave has an iphone he is able to read the blog and REALLY enjoys reading comments people leave, so please leave a message for him. I know more people read than are leaving comments, so don't be shy, talk to us, it really makes him feel good!
Hopefully I can get some really good pictures tomorrow!
So here's what has been going on:
Yesterday (Wednesday) Dave got in his wheelchair for the 1st time since the flap surgery, he scooted from his bed to the chair all by himself! This is BIG, before it took 4 people to move him! Then we went down to the MATC and he was given the sleeve that he will wear under his prosthetic leg, to get used to wearing it. THEN while we where down there he had to go to the bathroom (this might be TMI, but it is also a HUGE step for us) He got onto a toilet!! I had to hold the ex fix leg but he did it!! Keep in mind that he is missing 1/2 of his abdominal muscles too! And has a huge scar that is pretty painful. So an hour later, he is worn out so we call it a day and head back up to the room. But first we stopped by another ward to see an injured EOD guy that Dave knew from the schoolhouse to drop off well wishes and a Tshirt.
This morning I went to Bolling AFB to sort out my monthly financials, so Dave was left to fend for himself, he got down to the MATC all on his own! They took a mold of his nub to make the prosthetic. It should be ready tomorrow for (insert drumroll here) when he will stand up on his leg!! Things are really moving along for us now, it is very exciting!
As for medicine, he has discontinued his PCA and is no longer hooked up to the Dilaudid drip, his epidural was pulled out this afternoon, and he is using much less Oxy. Since the epidural was taken out they will be able to remove his catheter tomorrow morning too.
Tuesday he will have another surgery to remove the ex fix and put on a halo. This will give him a little more freedom, as it is not so heavy and will be below his knee. They are also going to put skin grafts over the flap.
Side note:
Since Dave has an iphone he is able to read the blog and REALLY enjoys reading comments people leave, so please leave a message for him. I know more people read than are leaving comments, so don't be shy, talk to us, it really makes him feel good!
Hopefully I can get some really good pictures tomorrow!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sunday
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, ours was pretty good! I got to relax all day then my parents and I went out to dinner. We went back to the hospital to watch fireworks from on top of the parking garage, we actually got a pretty good view of all the fireworks in DC. I stayed with David again last night and came "home" to shower for the day. I am going to the AT&T National this afternoon, so look for me on TV!
More later.....
More later.....
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
ICU Day 3
Things are looking great! After Dave's last flap failure the hospital got these new machines that monitor it better. Dave is at 68% oxygen/blood flow rate in the flap which is really good! He also got some really great rest yesterday while I went to pick my parents up at the airport.
Today should be a good day!
Today should be a good day!
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