Kyle's H.O. Surgery with "The Best of the Best"

Return to Atlanta

So we are back.  And Kyle has already seen and hugged his therapists with immense gratitude!

We are here for Kyle's Heterotopic Ossification (H.O. for short).  Big words, but I'll put it simpler.  Our bodies are always making new bone, but usually where it's supposed to be.  When H.O. occurs, our bodies get signals mixed up and bone cells create new bone outside of our skeleton. When it's the result of trauma, surgery can be performed if the new bone growth has stopped.  Kyle's elbow was frozen, and his orthopedic surgeon believed surgery was the only way to go and it was time.

We took Kyle to dinner at Maggios our first night here. The waiter asked if we were celebrating anything. "Well, I guess we are!" we replied, and told him Kyles story and that he was about to get his arm fixed. This is what the waiter brought him!  Everyone is so unbelievably nice here in Atlanta. 

The Arm Surgery

Kyle arrived Shepherd Center almost seven months ago.  After all the surgeries in Fairfax ICU to fix multiple broken bones, he arrived Atlanta with stitches still needing to be removed.  This photo, taken last July, shows how his arm could still straighten at the time.

Seven months later, now January, these photos of Kyle's arm being shaved for surgery show the limits of his elbow movement.  These two photos show the extent of his straighten and bend.  That's how much extra bone had grown in his elbow.

This is how we left Kyle, without a care in the world, before he headed off to surgery.

The surgery was successful.  I am not squeamish, so I really was interested in how exactly they remove the bone.  The good old fashioned way! They take a chisel and hammer away!  There was also a nerve that was squished behind all the new bone growth so they pulled that forward.  

                                                                                                 

 

Soon after surgery, Kyle was taken to Oncology where he received Radiation Therapy, the same as given to cancer patients.  This kills the unwanted growing bone cells, in hopes they will not return.   He laid on this hard slab table for close to two hours.

Kyle stayed three days in the hospital in order to carefully monitor the fluid drainage and to begin intense therapy.

Kyle's therapist was given instructions for aggressive therapy.  She came three times a day and an hour before each session Kyle was administered an anti inflammatory drug along with morphine.  

The morphine allowed Joanna to straighten and bend without limits. 

Up and out of bed, Kyle begins trying his therapy on his own.

A hand cycle helps with the straightening and bending.  

Looking good!  And we're outta here!

Our thanks go out to Dr Peljovich and Dr Gillespie of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center of Georgia,  more than they will ever know!  When deciding on where to have Kyle's surgery, we were told by many they were the "best of the best".  These two doctors are the greatest.  Every day Kyle shows me his excitement for all the things a bending elbow can do.  You don't realize until you don't have it.  Now we just wait for time to regenerate the nerves that so he will regain the use of his hand.

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

The Return to Atlanta

Road trips can be fun.  Well, that is for me,  if  you have a talker in the car.

Greg and Kyle have never been much for talking so when we were deciding whether to fly or drive for our return trip to Atlanta, I knew the answer was simple... fly and rent a car for the three weeks we would be there. That is, until I saw the prices for renting these days.  What the heck are all these added fees?  They are more expensive than the car rental!  Guess it's been a long time since I rented a car.

So we drove.... for ten hours.

But two things made this trip fly by.  One, the "new" (and I say that with much love in my heart) Kyle, talks so much more to me now.  Our five hour trips to NJ fly by, so what's five more hours?
A cake walk.

And two, we were going to Atlanta!  "Home  of the Braves", home to the best darn peaches you'll ever taste, home to over 70 streets, road, circles, courts, etc that are named Peachtree (yes over 70!), but especially, home to Shepherd Center, where our hearts embrace the best rehabilitation and the best therapists for brain and spinal cord injuries that you'll ever encounter.

Kyle's Discharge on October 24, 2014

Kyle's last day of therapy two months ago
included hanging out with his pet therapy
friends, listening to some music entertainment
at lunch time, and of course his "graduation"
send off, from the families we met, and from his beloved therapists.

.

“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.” 
― Frederick Buechner

Ryan and Kyle had Trucks and Patriots in common.  Ryan went home to Florida to his adored children that he painfully missed so much.  I hope to see Ryan and Brenda again someday, as they are always in my thoughts.

Coincidentally, the Pathways program brought in a band to play for patients and
families on the day Kyle was being discharged

Pizza for lunch and then hitting the road!

Kyle's dedicated therapy team.

A very well deserved "Certificate of Achievement"

♪ "Hello, hello... I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello" ♪

One of the last things we did that final week was to go to the top of the Westin Hotel and enjoy the view from the revolving restaurant.  These photos are a fitting good bye and now a hello again to our home away from home that was for over 4 months.

And so here we are once again in Atlanta, with a few days of surgery, and then recovery, and then two weeks of therapy.  Surgery and rehab photos coming tomorrow.

Thankfulness

Today, I am thankful.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, but right now it is early morning Wednesday, everyone is sleeping (including Leo!), it's raining, and it's just the right time to write of thankfulness.

I went and retrieved Carl and Mom from NJ last weekend, to spend Thanksgiving here. Now my thoughts are of Alex arriving safely through this storm that I am watching.

Alex is what made me think about thankfulness this morning. I received a text from him two nights ago from Wisconsin that went something like this...

"Some a-hole just blew past me at 80 miles an hour blowing snow all over my car making me spin out! Now I am stuck in the median and need a tow truck!"

Really?.... Really?.... Did I really just get that message from Alex?  Is is possible it just won't stop for our family?  I am thankful (that's an understatement) that he is ok and can't wait to see him!  Now I just have to get through his plane ride today.  Will the anxiety I've come to experience each morning, as I lay in bed thinking, ever subside?

Back to thankfulness.

When Kyle awoke nearly 6 months ago, he couldn't talk, move his limbs, or track movements with his eyes.  But just last month, we flew home for Kyle's senior portrait, determined that he would be back in school and walking across that stage in June!

For this I am thankful!

For this I am thankful!

I am thankful for Billy Grogan.  This man. This man helped save Kyle's life.  Our first responder.
He told us the complete scenario, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We can now lay the rumors to rest.  He showed us his snapshot of Kyle laying tangled in the barbed wire fence, barely a breath coming from him, with his leg twisted up near his head.

I can hear you saying "You looked at the photo???"

Yes, I did. Enough time has passed.  It helped in some odd sort of way.






I am thankful for sooo many things...  the many friends and strangers (yes, strangers)  who sent gift cards, gas cards, meals.  Those that dog sat, or found our dog straying in the road and walked her home!  Those that just communicated via the blog, giving words of support.  The various fundraisers, the thoughtful presents, the many visitors.

 I am thankful for all the times Greg flew to Atlanta, giving me relief and support.....

....(but more importantly, being Kyle's eating buddy).

For this I am thankful!

I am thankful for the bond between these two brothers, the support from Alex, the hours of being there in good and bad.

For this I am thankful!

I am thankful that Mom is happy and that Dad is smiling with us from above.

I am thankful for moments like these!











And moments like these!

And above it all, we are all thankful for the leaps and bounds in Greg and Nancy's recovery!  (and the power of social media to bring our family together this wonderful Thanksgiving).

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family, near and far!...
Greg, Nancy, Crystal, Shannon and Carter!

Overwhelmed? What Makes You Think That? plus Final Therapy Photos

   Overwhelm

   o·ver·whelm

     verb

1. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.

2. To present with an excessive amount: I am overwhelmed with (fill in the blank) 

Trying to play "catch-up" is not easy.  Once you get behind, well then what?  Despair?  Throw in the towel?  Just don't give a crap?  Or maybe just take one day at a time, and do what you can?  Hoping things will fall into place?


It's really, really difficult trying to catch up on writing. But what I am really talking about is that "fill in the blank" section.  That's my never ending ,  overwhelming, "to do" list.

I used to like to  read "organizational" advice when I had the chance.  It really does make one's life easier... to be organized.  Doesn't it?  Case in point.....

Never, ever, be away for 5 months and not see any of your mail!

I must say, Greg made a valiant effort handling all the bills and mail coming in, and organizing all the insurance claims forms, the forms that let you know how your claim was processed (or even is it was ever processed!). He did this all in the beginning.  But now it is for me to sort through,  catch the mistakes (yes, insurance mistakes) and prioritize all the piled mail, and know what I am doing.  It's an overwhelming task when you've been gone for five months.   And guess what?  Every day the mail still keeps coming.  Go figure.

If only we could just go throw our junk mail away and answer every piece of mail at that moment.  Every day I look at it all and say "Where do I start?"  It is spread all over my dining room table and my two coffee tables and my kitchen counter.  I wonder where my family will sit for Thanksgiving dinner?  Or better yet, where will I even prepare the meal?

But for tonight, I will put all that aside, and indulge myself with my favorite past time (which I am missing oh so much!).

Fun Photography Catch-Up

Kyle's last week of therapy had him all "revved"up.......

....... revved up and ready for racing!  NOT!

Good balance is a must if Kyle wants to ride again.

Working on weight bearing on that left arm.

Fluidotherapy

Fluidotherapy fun!

 The Fluidotherapy machine combines dry heat with an airstream that blows around tiny particles similar to sawdust.  It helps increase blood circulation, range of motion, and reduces pain.  In addition, there are tiny little objects placed in the bottom which here, Greg passes to Kyle to improve fine motor function.

Sharing in on the fun.

Picking up coins for fine motor function.

 Splint Making                                                                                                

"Look, it's the arts and crafts room",  I whispered to Kyle, not realizing I could be heard.  We got a good laugh from our wonderful therapists with my referral to what really was their splint making room.

Kyle's splint will be fitted with a pulley system, in order to flex his fingers.

Team work.

Adjusting for the pulleys.

Heating and shaping the splint.  

The final product!  Such a beautiful piece of art AND fashion statement!

Winding down the day in the apartments' rec room.