Medical Update from 9/25

So, I am told people would like to hear a medical update. Hope this isn’t too long or detailed.

A lot has occurred since the update I sent in the wee hours of September 11th.
Surgery occurred and for those friends who discredited the warnings that my pain and swelling might be equal or worse than the actual injury, you are nuts. J The pain was way worse. Let me quantify. The day or two after the injury had me taking 10 milligrams of Oxycodone every 4 hours. Within a few days, I reduced that to 5 milligrams and stretched the durations as I could. Well, after surgery I was on 20 milligrams of Oxycodone every 3 hours and for the first two days that wasn’t always enough so they gave me morphine through my IV.
Initially I was unable to move my left eye due to pain and they were worried that something was catching inside. After what seemed like a near death experience, they opened my eye and using some fancy forceps verified the eye was not trapped. WOW, was that wild.
I was able to be discharged Sunday evening, which should have put the worst behind me. Not true. By Monday evening we had to call 911 and I took an Ambulance ride to the Renton Valley ER for dehydration and intestinal distress. They gave me two units of IV and did as many tests as they thought necessary before sending me home. Again, that should have meant I was on the mend.
The nausea and intestinal distressed continued. Friday I was again admitted to Harbor View ER for dehydration and other unknown ailments. This time they checked everything: liver, gall bladder, appendix, blockages, blood, etc. They suspected a disease called Clostridium Difficile. It turns out Renton Valley had concluded the same but received a false negative when they did the test.
Without waiting for final results they prescribed two types of medicine and sent me home. The nausea and intestinal distress began to decline, if only in baby steps. Unfortunately, something new was developing. It turns out one of the medicines was attacking my mental frame of mind and I suddenly felt overwhelmed with anxiety and feelings of panic. By Monday I was given a new med and I soon felt like the sun had re-appeared in my life. Finally the healing process was ready to begin.

So, here is the engineering stuff: I have a copy of my post operative CATSCAN which shows 6 titanium plates and by my count 35 titanium screws. It also shows a biomedical material called MEDPOR in my eye socket that allows the eye to rest on something resembling tissue. I still cannot completely close my left eye due to swelling and suture so my eye tends to dry out (try sleeping with your eyes open). Consequently, my left eye sight is not very good. The Ophthalmologist assures me that it is due to the dryness. Once I can close my eye, things should return to normal. I have been able to hydrate the eye at times with eye drops and I have had momentary glimpses of what seems like full vision. The colors seem a little off but that is also likely due to the lack of hydration. Oh yah, I should mention that since my left eye lids don’t close quite right yet, you can see more of my left eye than my right. That is a little weird and un-nerving (just ask my teenager). This Sunday I get to start massaging the eye, eye lids and muscles around the eye. That should help make the lids close better and then make the eyes look more symmetrical. My wife says I look a little like Eye-gore.

All in all, I would say I am doing well and I consider myself very blessed and very lucky.
My Grandson was born while I was in never-never land and mom and baby are doing great."

Mike's Update of 9/10/09

Thank you for the many prayers and well wishes.

The hospital called and reviewed some of the “craniofacial surgery post-operative instructions.”
The surgery will begin Friday (9/11/09) at noon and will last 3 hours. I should be able to come home Saturday afternoon (9/12/09).
I have to admit to a little anxiety as I read the instructions and noted what to expect:
Risks: “You may be numb near the lips, cheeks, nose, teeth and forehead due to bruising or damage to facial nerves from the fractures and soft tissue damage. Numbness may last for months, and can last up to a year.”
Swelling/Bruising/congestion: “Expect swelling and bruising after surgery greater than or equal to the same swelling experienced at the time of injury. The second night after surgery will have the worst swelling.”
Incisions & Care: “You may have multiple incision sites including lower eyelids, under eyebrows, or intra-oral (inside the mouth) which will be closed with sutures. Coronal incisions (from ear to ear across your scalp) may be closed with sutures or staples”
What? Nobody told me about being cut from ear to ear. The doctor said it is unlikely but if they need to it is an option. Cool thing is if they do the incision it will be a zigzag from ear to ear. Maybe I shouldn’t have paid for a hair cut until after surgery.
Exercise/activity restrictions: “Some activities to avoid after surgery will include: nose blowing, sneezing, bending over at the waist, and heavy lifting greater than 15 lbs for two to four weeks.”
Pain: “After surgery your face will be sore, similar to when you were initially injured. Most of the discomfort after surgery will be related to swelling around your surgical sites. You will be given pain medication after surgery, but it is our practice that by two weeks post-operative you should be weaning off of the pain medicine.”
Two weeks? I expected only one week. Maybe I won’t be back to work as early as I planned.

OK, enough scary glamorization already. It probably won’t be even close to that bad.

While I admit to some painful anticipation my faith and trust is that everything will be fine and that the 2 week wait was sufficient to make sure the eye is ready for the experience.

Oh yah did I mention the coolest thing is that my second daughter is being induced early Friday morning and will likely deliver her baby boy sometime while I am out in never-never land. By the time I am brought out of my slumber, I may well be a grandpa, again.
That will be a nice pain killer.

Thanks again for everything and look for some before and after pictures.

Mike's Update of 9/8/09

Mike wrote this update a couple of days ago, and I just decided to post it on our blog.

Life continues.

I am feeling much better but I find that even that good news brings with it a double edged sword. I feel like I should be able to get off the couch and do more. I was even contemplating coming back to work. However, Sunday showed me I wasn’t ready to be on my feet for extended periods of time. Hence, here I sit and waste away. At least I am allowed to do some reading. I am thankful for ESPN, how about those BYU Cougars?

I am scheduled for surgery this Friday. They are going to give me a plastic eye socket and a face full of titanium plates and screws. They tell me the surgery will cause me as much pain as the original accident (Ooooh that sounds fun - I can’t wait). The good news is I will at least be starting the full-fledged healing process (versus waiting period). My eye sight is about the same. The last ophthalmologist appointment gave me a lot more information about the healing process. I understand why waiting two weeks for surgery was necessary. The vitreous material in my eye is what seems to be a little out of sorts. Until it settles down, the slightly blurry vision may continue. :)

Mike's Softball Injury

Last Thursday, I went to watch Mike play softball. I was late to the first game since Hannah had cross country practice, and I needed to drive her home. I was there for a couple of innings and saw Mike get a good hit and also throw some strike outs. It turned out that he had struck out 10 batters, an amazing thing in softball, but he said it was due to the sun being in their eyes. In the second game, Mike pitched a ball, and the batter hit it hard back at Mike. It hit him on the left side of his face. He went down on the ground, and someone said, “Call 911.”

Thursday, August 27 about 7:45 PM
I found out later that Mike asked Paul Munoz (the coach of his team) for a blessing right there on the field with a whole bunch of people who are not members of the church right around them. The ambulance came and took him to Highline Hospital. I wanted them to take him to Valley since it is close to home, but they were very worried about his eye, so they took him to Highline as it was a lot closer than Valley. He got there about 8:00 PM and had a CT scan there. Paul Munoz came to the hospital. Trent & Mykel Hainer came to give him a blessing. Mike was bleeding a lot from his nose, and it was draining into his stomach. He threw up blood several times (about a pint or more). After reviewing the scan, the emergency room doctor called the ENT doctor for advice. He had broken most of the bones on the left side of his face, and his eye was injured as well. The decision was made to transfer Mike to Harborview Hospital so specialists could treat him.

Thursday, August 27He was taken by ambulance around midnight to Harborview, and I drove and met him there. We were there until 5:00 AM. Most of the time spent at Harborview was a very long eye exam. The ophthalmologist did an exam in the emergency department, but then they moved him to the eye clinic with better instruments. They looked at his eye for about an hour. Fortunately he could move his eye up, down, left and right; some ways not as much as he should. The doctors confirmed that he did not tear or detach his retina, but that there was a lot of bruising (commotio).
Mike came home with me Friday morning—we left the hospital about 5:00 AM and got home a little after 5:30. When we got home, we realized that they had left an IV in his arm (he had one in each arm and they took one out, but not the other). Mike wasn’t worried at all, he just said that Carolyn Robbins (our friend and neighbor who works in the ER at Overlake Hospital) would take it out, and she did take it out later that morning. I went to sleep right after we got home, but the phone calls started around 8:00 AM, so I only got 2½ hours of sleep.
Mike had an appointment with the ophthalmologist Monday afternoon. He said the swelling and the blood on the eye had improved but that his vision wasn’t back to what it should be. The swelling in his face has gone down quite a bit. We met with the plastic surgeon this morning. He showed us the CT scan and all of the broken bones. They will be repaired with titanium plates and screws. He will also have a plastic orbital socket put in. Amazing medical technology! We went through all of the paperwork to get ready for surgery tomorrow—all that was left to do was get the okay from the ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist said wait until next week so the eye can heal some more. The surgery is set for next Friday, September 11. He has another appointment with the ophthalmologist this Friday.I was scheduled to leave Sept. 10 for Utah to help Nadine with her new little baby. She is due Sept. 11. I have delayed my trip for 2 days, so I can be here for Mike’s surgery. His parents will come up from Portland to help for the first few days following surgery and then Miriam is coming from Pullman to help her Dad.

Friday, August 28

Friday, August 28 (afternoon)

Monday, August 31

Tuesday, Sept. 1