Day 17 - Post #12 - Major Surgery #5

On September 16th, Devin had what we are hoping will be his final surgery. The surgeon could not keep from continually yawning as he briefed us after Devin's surgery... It was a long one - Devin left his room at 6:30am and did not return until 8:30pm and all of that time was spent on the Calcaneus and the cartilage between it and the talus bone, which, unlike on the right foot, was mostly salvageable... When I asked the doctor what he thought the chances of the cartilage healing correctly, he said that it sure better because this was his good foot and his right foot has no cartilage there at all, and that he spent over an hour just repositioning and cleaning up the cartilage and did everything he could to save it...

The doctors did a new nerve block on Devin's left leg and his foot is totally numb. He cannot feel it when I rub my finger across the top of his foot, however he has significant pain the same area that he did pre-surgery in the area around the bottom of his left foot and this nerve block has done nothing for that pain. I suggested that I thought it might not have anything to do with his foot at all since his foot was totally numb, that perhaps the pain was actually happening due to the damage to the nerves in his back, and the signal to the pain center in his brain were getting mixed up as a result. This theory was relayed to the pain management team and they decided after some discussion and review that this theory was most likely correct. As a result they have increased the medication given to patients with neuropathy, which seems to help but only to a small degree. They cannot perform a nerve block to the nerve in his back due to the recent back surgery, so it looks like his only option is to suffer through it, and hope/pray that it somehow stops. The doctors have told us that his injuries put him in the same pain category with giving birth, which might put this into perspective for anyone that has had that experience without the use of an epidural, except that this level of pain has been there going on three weeks know and time tends to have a exponential effect on ones ability to tolerate it.

This morning was the first time the doctors brought up a potential release date saying that at the earliest it would be is in about a week, but that Devin would need constant care around the clock 24/7 for the foreseeable future. He will be bed ridden for several months and will need help doing physical therapy several times throughout the day. We do not yet understand how this will be possible...