MID-SURGERY, DAY 13

It is Tuesday evening about 10:30 and we are in the Surgical Waiting Room. One of the orthopedic surgeons just came out to us to give us an update. The news so far is favorable. Joe received 2 units of blood this a.m. to prepare for surgery, since they knew he would lose a lot of blood. He had 2 more units just when he went into surgery and several more units so far. They discovered at surgery that there were more fractures than they could see on the X-Rays, so the process of putting everything together became even more complicated. But they were able to wire all of those pieces together and then wire it all together with the hip. Basically, the whole right side is wired together. They drained about a liter of blood that had pooled in the thigh (making it look huge and swollen), debrided the muscle (which, according to the doctor, looked like shredded wheat. We don't know exactly what this will mean long-term, but it will be a long time before Joe is standing on his own two feet.) and cleaned it all and then placed a rod down the femur. The doctor was very pleased and felt that it all came together nicely. As he said, it was a very unusual fracture that required a very large incision. They decided that the fracture in the pelvis could just be left alone since he will just be lying still for so long. So far, so good. The incision has been closed, which the surgeon was not sure about. He considered leaving the incision open and just putting a wound vac. on it. The reason for leaving it open is that there is actually less chance for contamination. However, he did make the decision to close it and put a drain in the wound. If there should be the slightest question about any infection, he will immediately open the incision at bedside. So that will need to be watched very carefully. He, of course, is being pumped full of antibiotics.
The next team has taken over and is working to place a rod in the right tibia. That will be the completion of the surgery for tonight. We are anxious that it be over. Happy that he will not need to be in traction anymore, as that has made him miserably uncomfortable in the last couple of days.
It was a long day of waiting for surgery. We were all anxious and nervous. Joe could hardly wait for the surgery and asked all day long about it - when was he going, what time was it and he wanted it fixed right then and there. The whole, very long, recovery process will try Joe's patience.
The day was definitely not without its high notes. We were lucky enough to have Paul Toscino visit us again. You may remember he is one of Joe's guardian angels who flies with helicopter wings. He and his partner, Dennis, are pictured right at the top of the blog and are a big part of why we are even able to have this blog. We will never be able to thank them properly for what they did for us. It is hard to even find words to try to explain your gratitude for a gift of such enormity.
Please continue to keep Joe in your thoughts and prayers. We are heartened by all of the messages we have received and by the number of people pulling for him. It is still going to be a very long road. Signing off for tonight. Love, Cindi