Day 30 - Post #15 - Devin Released from hospital
Devin was released from the hospital after 4 weeks. He still requires care 24/7 and is restricted to remaining in a prone position. He cannot get upstairs, where all of the bed and bath rooms are, so we have done some minor remodeling to accommodate him. He is currently in the dinning room, which has been converted to his new room for the next 1-2 months when we are hoping that he will be healed enough to go into inpatient rehab at Harborview or possibly the Seattle Childrens hospital.
Day 23 - Post #14 - One week since Devin's last surgery
After spending a week in the intensive care unit and two weeks in the acute care unit of Harborview medical center, the doctors are now starting to discuss the next steps... Devin still needs professional care around the clock. With the severity and locations of the injuries, Devin is unable to do anything for himself. He is not able to even sit, let alone stand up or walk, infact it takes 3-4 people to help him change positions in bed (Try laying on one position, and see how long before you want to move). The doctors are still trying to determine what is wrong with his eyes, as he is unable to open his eyes without pain... When you are in the hospital, time seems to go by very,very slowly... and with the trouble with his eyes he cannot do things to help the time go by like watching TV or playing any type of video games or even read... Either Mom or Dad have been with Devin around the clock since he has been in the hospital - mostly Mom who has only left the hospital once in the past three weeks while Dad goes between home and the hospital trying to take care of things at home including three other children, and spending as much time at the hospital as possible to give Mom a chance to get out for fresh air, eat, catch up on some much needed sleep (both Mom and Dad have been surviving on 3-4 hours a night the past three weeks). Mom and Dad have spent a considerable amount of time ensuring that Devin does not suffer from a mistake made by any of the hospital staff, and as good as they are mistakes do happen on a daily basis and having someone here who understands all of the various complexities of what is going on has helped tremendously. They have also been able to read to Devin (He cannot yet read due to his injuries) which has helped the time pass and hopefully lower his anxiety.
Because of the eye problems that Devin has, when he first opens his eyes after having been asleep, everything is a total dark blur. This is very unnerving, as you can imagine. Initially he was also seeing double, but this problem has slowly subsided as the swelling in his face began to come down, after about two and a half weeks this problem went away.
The doctors are currently discussing the next steps for Devin as it will be several months before he is able to start rehab. Mom and Dad would love to bring him home as soon as possible, however the house is no where near ready for someone with his level of care needs and getting him to and from the hospital for the various doctor appointments that he will need will require the equivalent of an ambulance ride to and from the hospital (which cost $12,000 per round trip which make a $2,000 per day stay at the hospital seem cheap). There are a lot of unknowns, and not too many answers... The doctors are currently saying that they think he will be ready to be moved from the acute care unit by this weekend - but to where?
Because of the eye problems that Devin has, when he first opens his eyes after having been asleep, everything is a total dark blur. This is very unnerving, as you can imagine. Initially he was also seeing double, but this problem has slowly subsided as the swelling in his face began to come down, after about two and a half weeks this problem went away.
The doctors are currently discussing the next steps for Devin as it will be several months before he is able to start rehab. Mom and Dad would love to bring him home as soon as possible, however the house is no where near ready for someone with his level of care needs and getting him to and from the hospital for the various doctor appointments that he will need will require the equivalent of an ambulance ride to and from the hospital (which cost $12,000 per round trip which make a $2,000 per day stay at the hospital seem cheap). There are a lot of unknowns, and not too many answers... The doctors are currently saying that they think he will be ready to be moved from the acute care unit by this weekend - but to where?
Day 21 - Post #13 - X-Ray images: Surgery-Left Ankle
During the long surgery on Devin's left ankle, he had over 20 pins inserted into his foot to help hold things in place while two large pieces of bone from a donor about the size of two cherry tomatoes, were grafted into place after the surgeons made wide gaps in the Calcaneus when trying to reshape that bone back to its normal size, shape and position. The Calcaneus bone had been severely crushed, misshaped and misaligned, and getting the normal size and shape were critical to the healing process. The good news is that the cartilage between the Calcaneus and Talus bones was still there (unlike in his right ankle).
After hours of reshaping the bone, and putting the pieces all back together again including the new bone grafts and pinning it all together, then the plates were added as a more permanent way to hold everything together while the bone heals over the next several months. Most of the initial pins driven into the bone were removed once the plate was secured with larger screws, however as you can see from the x-rays, not all of the pins were removed.
After hours of reshaping the bone, and putting the pieces all back together again including the new bone grafts and pinning it all together, then the plates were added as a more permanent way to hold everything together while the bone heals over the next several months. Most of the initial pins driven into the bone were removed once the plate was secured with larger screws, however as you can see from the x-rays, not all of the pins were removed.
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...
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...
Day 15 - Post #11
Devin has really had a lot of very painful days/nights. The doctors consisting of his "pain management team" are doing their best to keep the pain level to tolerable levels, but his injuries are so severe that he is still unable to rest due to pain. With his inability to move or do things for himself, it has made for many very long nights...
The doctors expected severe pain with the surgeries done to his right ankle/foot/leg, but the pain to his left foot has been much more severe. The doctors think that is due to nerve damage so bad that the nerves are sending pain signals to the brain for areas that were not even injured.
Devin goes into surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) for his left foot. He is scheduled to be the first and only operation for his surgeons and they expect that it could take all day. Please continue to keep Devin in your prayers, he is only at the beginning of what will be a very long recovery. He has appreciated the cards and messages he has received (you can send messages to Devin from the Harborview web site).
The doctors expected severe pain with the surgeries done to his right ankle/foot/leg, but the pain to his left foot has been much more severe. The doctors think that is due to nerve damage so bad that the nerves are sending pain signals to the brain for areas that were not even injured.
Devin goes into surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) for his left foot. He is scheduled to be the first and only operation for his surgeons and they expect that it could take all day. Please continue to keep Devin in your prayers, he is only at the beginning of what will be a very long recovery. He has appreciated the cards and messages he has received (you can send messages to Devin from the Harborview web site).
Day 12 - Post #10 - The second Foot & Ankle surgery to the right foot
Devin was scheduled for a 12 hour surgery to his right foot. This foot was just operated on 3 days ago and the surgeons were going in to finishing putting what was left of his foot and ankle back together again. Based on the information that we got concerning missing cartilage and bone fragment, it has been difficult to feel very optimistic about his chances for a recovery that would enable him to compete in track as he had done previously. Osteochondritis is most certainly going to occur, and walking pain free let alone running are statistically very unlikely.
The surgery today seemed to go well. I don't have all the details, but it only lasted half of the expected duration. The surgeon was able to determine why Devin had such severe pain when the general surgeon team made its daily rounds and insisted on grabbing Devins big toe... The extensor hallucis longus tendon was misaligned due to the trauma and was actually stuffed inside of the joint between the talus and calcaneus bones - very painful...
The surgery today seemed to go well. I don't have all the details, but it only lasted half of the expected duration. The surgeon was able to determine why Devin had such severe pain when the general surgeon team made its daily rounds and insisted on grabbing Devins big toe... The extensor hallucis longus tendon was misaligned due to the trauma and was actually stuffed inside of the joint between the talus and calcaneus bones - very painful...
Day 10 - Post #9 - Post surgery update - Right Ankle & Foot Surgery X-Rays
Devin has had a significant increase in the pain in not only his right ankle/foot (which is expected post surgery) but also in his left foot. In fact the pain in his left foot has reached unbearable levels, well beyond the post op levels of the right foot. One of Devin's surgeons, Doctor Novak postulated that it could be due to the extensive nerve damage at least in part in the ankle region, possibly in the sciatic region as well. The severity of the pain that Devin has been experiencing is very difficult for someone to comprehend who has not had the opportunity to experience that type and degree of pain themselves, so they often think of his pain in terms of their own experiences with pain that leave them somewhat apathetic to his current condition... Having suffered severe pain myself (Broken neck, back, calcaneus, leg, foot, skull, and other traumatic injuries resulting in nerve damage, to name a few...) it is very difficult to be patient with apathetic care givers.
One of several types of pain that Devin has had aside from the more normal pain one would generally associate with a broken bone is what is referred to as Nociceptive pain which occurs when pain-sensitive nerve endings called nociceptors are activated or stimulated. The doctors in the pain management team were unable to bring Devin's pain into bearable levels resulting in several sleepless nights. After considerable and very consistent 'discussions' with the nurses, head of the nurses, surgeons and the entire pain management team we were finally able to convince them to try a procedure called a "nerve Block". Basically Nerve blocks are injections of anesthetic around the fibers of a nerve that prevent (or 'block') the pain messages relayed along the nerve from reaching the brain. They may be used to relieve pain in specific parts of the body for a short period; a common example of this type of nerve block is the lidocaine injections given by dentists before drilling or extracting a tooth. Some nerve blocks are injected in or near the spinal column to control pain that affects a larger area of the body; an example is the epidural injection given to women in labor. The doctors were at first adamant that they never preform the nerve block procedure prior to surgery for a variety of reasons, so Devin must be the first, at least in the history of Harborview. That procedure helped enough with Devin's pain that for the first night since his surgery on Tuesday, he was able to sleep pretty much through the night.
Below are a series of X-Rays taken during Devin's surgery. These X-Rays show the procedure done to his right ankle on Tuesday September 9:
One of several types of pain that Devin has had aside from the more normal pain one would generally associate with a broken bone is what is referred to as Nociceptive pain which occurs when pain-sensitive nerve endings called nociceptors are activated or stimulated. The doctors in the pain management team were unable to bring Devin's pain into bearable levels resulting in several sleepless nights. After considerable and very consistent 'discussions' with the nurses, head of the nurses, surgeons and the entire pain management team we were finally able to convince them to try a procedure called a "nerve Block". Basically Nerve blocks are injections of anesthetic around the fibers of a nerve that prevent (or 'block') the pain messages relayed along the nerve from reaching the brain. They may be used to relieve pain in specific parts of the body for a short period; a common example of this type of nerve block is the lidocaine injections given by dentists before drilling or extracting a tooth. Some nerve blocks are injected in or near the spinal column to control pain that affects a larger area of the body; an example is the epidural injection given to women in labor. The doctors were at first adamant that they never preform the nerve block procedure prior to surgery for a variety of reasons, so Devin must be the first, at least in the history of Harborview. That procedure helped enough with Devin's pain that for the first night since his surgery on Tuesday, he was able to sleep pretty much through the night.
Below are a series of X-Rays taken during Devin's surgery. These X-Rays show the procedure done to his right ankle on Tuesday September 9:
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