September 2008

Water therapy - working for his gold medal!


Having way too much fun............."are you sure you're working?"


Leonard was doing so well with his water therapy 3 times a week and was feeling more like himself until this past week. On Sunday August 24th we drove to Apache Jct to visit a friend and by the time we got there Leonard was having the chills. His hip hurt and he was feeling pretty punk. When we got home he went to bed and I took his temp....it was 101. By morning it was 103.4 and I went into panic mode. I called his orthopedic surgeon and was advised to bring him into the ER at Scottsdale Osborn which is a good one hour drive in off peak time and during rush hour an hour and a half. But that's where he practices out of and I wouldn't have anyone else take care of him.

By Tuesday he was in the operating room. He had developed an infection in the hip area which was actually in the fat, not the muscle or bone. The surgeon was able to clean it all out and put some antibiotic beads into the open area and he gets IV antibiotics everyday. Also while he was in the hospital he asked Dr. Miller if he could get rid of his cam boot on his right leg so they did a CT scan and found out that the hardware was shifting and he will have to go through with another operation after he heals from this one. He is back to light weight bearing on that leg which is difficult to walk that way. Very discouraging and he's quite depressed about this latest development. The surgeon was talking about possibly doing bone grafts or if it's really bad fusing the ankle which we hope to avoid. We're hoping he can repair the hardware.

We are still thankful to God each and every day that he was spared and all things are fixable just takes a long time. Patience hasn't been one of his strong suits which I can attest to!

He came home on Friday August 29th but I will have to give him his IV antibiotics every day at least for the next week and then our daughter Michelle will be taking over for me as I will be leaving on 9/9 for my home state of Minnesota for my 45th class reunion and a long overdue visit to my family. Our daughter-in-law Noemi will be watching the grand kids and Leonard during the day and Michelle by night. I felt I should cancel my trip but everyone is insisting I go and I sure could use a vacation from all this stress. I'm worn out.

Please continue to keep Leonard in your prayers that he will regain his strength, heal quickly and get ready for the next round.