and one step back.
Tuesday was a difficult day. In Monday's surgery, the surgeons discovered some tissue deterioration in Seth's sacral wound, so they opened it and are going to let it heal from the inside out rather than try to close it. This means it will take longer to heal, and there is renewed vigilance to keep him off his butt--difficult to do when he can't be on his front because of the eternal fixators on his pelvis. Also, important to his healing is sitting up and getting out in his chair--both very difficult to do with this wound.
It was also a busy day with all kinds of visitors from a few team members from the Atlanta Braves to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. He was warm and gracious, and after he'd had a good talk with Seth, he talked to me. We both rued the loss of Bob Bennett.
We also had representatives of the Military Order of the Purple Heart who, we learned, have a service (among many others) that will allow Seth to get through airport security without a problem (remember, he's full of metal now). Another group came by with T-shirts that say "Veterans>Movie Stars." I like that sentiment.
When I arrived this morning, I heard from Ethan that they'd had a terrible night. In the doctors' quest to help the sacral wound, they ordered a very special bed that has silicone beads and air and water running through it. To switch the beds and then Seth was quite the ordeal and, at one point in moving him, the nurses dragged his butt across the rail, which, of course, put Seth in a great deal of pain. Once moved, he tried to sleep for two hours and finally, he, Ethan and the nurse decided it was a no-go, and so the whole ordeal was repeated--except this time, they didn't hurt Seth. I was so grateful Ethan was there; I think this might have put me right over the edge.
Seth and I discussed today that we didn't realize that healing was such hard work. For us, healing usually consisted of lots of sleeping and eating of warm things.
Random Reflections
I thought I'd list things we miss about Utah and home, but that's too obvious. We miss everything.
I'm sorry Tuesday wasn't a better day. I keep praying for all of you. For the record, I also think Veterans>Movie Stars.
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I had a feeling, there was a "bump" in the progress. I hope they are doing better with him nutritionally. His body needs the protein and the calories for the tissue to heal.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading a five part series on Kandahar and the hospital there. If you are interested, I can send you the link.
Continued prayers for Seth and your family.
N, I would be very interested to read about the Kandahar hospital. When I think about how miserable Seth's first week here was, I can't even imagine how awful it must have been for him in Kandahar. And I am so grateful to the folks there who did a great job putting him back together.
ReplyDeleteI had to heal my c-section after Petra the same way--from the inside out. I drank a protein shake every day after a nurse suggested that I do so. That, combined with a lot of prayer, helped me heal much faster than the doctors expected I would. I hope something similar happens to Seth.
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