A Three-fer

For Friday's surgery, we got a "three-fer". The doctors removed

• the external fixator on Seth's right leg
• one of the screws in his sacrum
• the scar on the top of his head

Here are the before photos:

He went into surgery Friday afternoon, and it took about two hours. It was supposed to be outpatient surgery, but because his pain was pretty severe and because he needed to sleep upright to stay off his head, we opted for one night back in the inpatient ward.

We were disappointed when his right leg came out in a cast. We were hoping for a fiberglass walking boot. But the cast only has to be on a week, so we'll get over our disappointment.

We came back to the apartment Saturday afternoon--after Seth had pancakes, cereal, yogurt, fruit, Sprite and a chocolate milkshake for breakfast. (After our last inpatient stay where he didn't get to eat anything, he figured he'd better make the most of his one "free" meal!)

His scar removal was, interestingly, the most painful part of the three procedures. He now has a four-inch incision with 14 staples. But it will heal to a narrow line which his hair will cover easily. For the record, it was  my vanity and that of our nurse case manager that prompted this surgery, not Seth's. We will never know if his scar was from an injury or a pressure sore.

Grins and Giggles
So when we met with the plastic surgeon on Wednesday, when the doctor came in (she turned out to be a resident), she asked Seth was he was there for. He responded, "I'm here for a boob job." She didn't even crack a smile, but I was laughing hard. To our delight, he got to use his joke again when the "real" doctor came in. He at least gave Seth a smile.

There were three types of breast implants sitting on the table in the room. We asked the doctor if any of them would work in Seth's tush. The doctor asked if Seth wanted them for cosmetic purposes. We said, No, Seth's lost much of his butt fat, so sitting can become painful. The doctor said butt implants are just like sitting on something hard, so it wouldn't help Seth' problem. Oh, well. It was worth asking.