Today is the 1 year anniversary... It is also Devin's first day of school since the accident, he started high school today at Lake Washington High School.
Devin's last surgery (which if I remember correctly was on May 14) was very successful, and continues to heal very well. In his last visit to the doctor about a month ago Devin was given the OK to begin to start bearing full weight on both legs with the assistance of his crutches. Since then he has been making progress, walking a little more week by week. His body is still healing and his energy levels continue to be very low, but he is going to school this year and is hoping to be able to handle 5 of the 6 classes for almost a full load.
The nerve damage he sustained in the fall seems to be healing more slowly than anything. He still has pain, most significantly in his left heel and foot. Foot massage (mostly pressure) still gives him relief.
He has gained back all of the 40 pounds he lost in the first weeks after the accident, and perhaps a few more. he has also added 2-3 inches in height this past year. He looks like he has been lifting weights (with the exception of his legs which are still much smaller than they were), but he hasn't been (that makes me wonder what his appearance would be like if he had not been injured and was able to continue to work out).
His attitude is still remarkably good. I think he is a little concerned about his ability to do well in school, he has not been able to learn nearly as easily as before the accident and has only experienced minimal improvement in that regard in the past 10 months.
I'll try to post a picture or two soon...
Week #36 - Surgery Update #3
Devin just got home this afternoon which is much sooner then the standard 5-6 days for this type of surgery. The main reason that he was able to return home this soon was due to the fact that we have a very good relationship with the surgeon and several other doctors and nurses at Harborview and they know we are prepared to take care of him at home, which really made the surgeon feel comfortable with him being cared for at home - he basically told us we could bring him home as soon as he could physically handle the ride home.
During the surgery the doctors cut his femur below where it was already broken and notched it a little to adjusted the angle, along with adjusting the angle where the bone was already broken. This helped make everything line up the way it needed to.
They removed all of the hardware put in the first surgery and replaced it with brand new (and different) hardware to hold things in place while it heals. The hardware from the first surgery was designed such that most people keep it in place even after the bones are healed. The latest hardware he got from this surgery is often removed after the bones have healed, mostly because it is more intrusive and can easily be felt under the skin (Making it very painful when it gets bumped).
Here is a picture of Devin in the hospital with his little
brother who was very excited to get to see him.
During the surgery the doctors cut his femur below where it was already broken and notched it a little to adjusted the angle, along with adjusting the angle where the bone was already broken. This helped make everything line up the way it needed to.
They removed all of the hardware put in the first surgery and replaced it with brand new (and different) hardware to hold things in place while it heals. The hardware from the first surgery was designed such that most people keep it in place even after the bones are healed. The latest hardware he got from this surgery is often removed after the bones have healed, mostly because it is more intrusive and can easily be felt under the skin (Making it very painful when it gets bumped).
Devin went directly from the car to his bed as soon as he got here and went to sleep. His trip home wore him out, but all-in-all he is doing remarkably well.
Here is a picture of Devin in the hospital with his littlebrother who was very excited to get to see him.
Week 36 - Surgery Update #2
The surgery has been completed, he was in the OR for about 8 hours. The surgeons were all in agreement that it went very well, and seemed much more optimistic about his chances of the bone healing. The hardware installed back in September was removed and bone grafts done and new (and different) hardware was installed to hold things in place to give the bone a change to heal.
Week 36 - Surgery Update
Devin went in for surgery today. He was scheduled for a 2pm start time until last night when we got a call form Harborview to change it to noon. We got there at 10am as requested and at 11 the surgery had been delayed. Devin when in for surgery around 1:30 this afternoon and will hopefully be done between 6 & 9 tonight.
The anesthesiologist and attending doctor at the surgery preparation room were both amazed that three top surgeons all well known and respected are all collaborating on this surgery and will all be in the operation from start to finish saying that this is unprecedented. The surgeons all agree that this will be a challenge, we are hopefully optimistic that this will help his leg/hip recover.
The anesthesiologist and attending doctor at the surgery preparation room were both amazed that three top surgeons all well known and respected are all collaborating on this surgery and will all be in the operation from start to finish saying that this is unprecedented. The surgeons all agree that this will be a challenge, we are hopefully optimistic that this will help his leg/hip recover.
Week 33 - Going back under the knife
We have been to the hip specialist who took some more x-rays and CT-Scans, and after careful review of the CT-Scans said that there is still a chance that the ball joint of Devin's hip will not die and that it made sense to try and save it. The operation is scheduled for May 14, 2009. It would have been sooner (like tomorrow) but the logistics were a bit tricky as there will be 3 head surgeons involved in this operation, each are renowned surgeon in their own right. Finding a date that worked for all three put us out a few weeks beyond what we were hoping for.
The operation will consist of taking out some of the titanium and then filling the rather large hole in the bone that results from its removal using downer bone. Next will be grafting some of his own bone into the rather large gap between the broken bones in his femur. Best case scenario, this will set him back in his recovery several weeks, the more likely scenario is several months. This is great news compared to many other possibilities but none of us are looking forward to another surgery, especially Devin.
The operation will consist of taking out some of the titanium and then filling the rather large hole in the bone that results from its removal using downer bone. Next will be grafting some of his own bone into the rather large gap between the broken bones in his femur. Best case scenario, this will set him back in his recovery several weeks, the more likely scenario is several months. This is great news compared to many other possibilities but none of us are looking forward to another surgery, especially Devin.
Week 31 - The regression of the hip
Yes, it has been 10 weeks since I've updated the blog. Life is far too busy... I think however that I've been a bit hesitant to makes updates until we get some good news regarding the neck bone of the femur, which I think is sometimes referred to as a part of the 'hip joint'. The good news is slow to come, so after many weeks of putting this off I've decided that it is about time for an update...
So, here is the news: Almost 4 months after surgery on his femur, and after we were told that it was healing very well we went to see the doctor that did his many surgeries on his feet and ankles. This doctor decided to do some additional x-rays on his hip area prior to giving him the OK to start doing some 'vertical' therapy (that just means doing stuff in an upright position, in chest deep water). The x-ray technicians cursed his name as they did the x-rays (they specialize in x-rays of feet, not hips), well long story short the bone appeared as though it was not healing - in fact it was a major regression from the x-rays from last October. I have no special training in reading x-rays, in fact I could not tell from looking at an x-ray that my own leg was broken, and it was not only broken but it had twisted 90 degrees... but in looking at Devin's x-ray it was pretty obvious that not only was it not healing, but the two ends of the broken leg were not even connected... In fact, not only were the two ends not connected, but they weren't even close to touching... In fact, it looked to me like you could drive a truck between the two bones. Well, a very small truck. Ok, you couldn’t drive a truck between them at all, but they were still pretty far from being connected (not to get to far from the subject, but a side effect of going through something like this is that the lack of sleep does affect you in much more dramatic ways than you might imagine, for example my becoming more Dave Barry-ish in my writing style, that is with the exception that I don't have a talent for writing, and... well I don't have a sense of humor... but I think that you most likely understand what I'm trying to say..).
To get back to the point, this was a regression that was, for us, totally unexpected given the previous x-rays showed that it had been healing very well. Since then we have been back to the doctor every month to get additional x-rays, CT scans etc only to be told that it was still showing no progress, but didn't appear to be getting better. Given all of the various factors of this particular situation there are no good options, the bone just needs to somehow heal by itself. if not... a bone graft won't help due to the location and type of break. There is already an assortment of titanium holding it together, although not very well. A hip replacement is possible, but given his age he would need multiple replacements in his lifetime and due to where the break is he will run out of bone to connect everything too before his need for additional replacements leaving him with no working leg unless some unforeseen and unimaginable scientific breakthrough occurs before then to give him some type of alternative, however at this point that is less likely than winning the Lotto (and I've never purchased a ticket, which I think reduces my odds of winning, if only slightly).
Two months ago we were told that if it wasn't showing significant improvement by the next month that he would be going into surgery - not sure what exactly they planned to do and neither did they... last month they decided to hold off one more month. Dr 'B' knew a specialist that he regarded, and wanted to confer with him before taking any action. We are going to see this specialist Friday, and are hoping for some long awaited good news.
So, here is the news: Almost 4 months after surgery on his femur, and after we were told that it was healing very well we went to see the doctor that did his many surgeries on his feet and ankles. This doctor decided to do some additional x-rays on his hip area prior to giving him the OK to start doing some 'vertical' therapy (that just means doing stuff in an upright position, in chest deep water). The x-ray technicians cursed his name as they did the x-rays (they specialize in x-rays of feet, not hips), well long story short the bone appeared as though it was not healing - in fact it was a major regression from the x-rays from last October. I have no special training in reading x-rays, in fact I could not tell from looking at an x-ray that my own leg was broken, and it was not only broken but it had twisted 90 degrees... but in looking at Devin's x-ray it was pretty obvious that not only was it not healing, but the two ends of the broken leg were not even connected... In fact, not only were the two ends not connected, but they weren't even close to touching... In fact, it looked to me like you could drive a truck between the two bones. Well, a very small truck. Ok, you couldn’t drive a truck between them at all, but they were still pretty far from being connected (not to get to far from the subject, but a side effect of going through something like this is that the lack of sleep does affect you in much more dramatic ways than you might imagine, for example my becoming more Dave Barry-ish in my writing style, that is with the exception that I don't have a talent for writing, and... well I don't have a sense of humor... but I think that you most likely understand what I'm trying to say..).
To get back to the point, this was a regression that was, for us, totally unexpected given the previous x-rays showed that it had been healing very well. Since then we have been back to the doctor every month to get additional x-rays, CT scans etc only to be told that it was still showing no progress, but didn't appear to be getting better. Given all of the various factors of this particular situation there are no good options, the bone just needs to somehow heal by itself. if not... a bone graft won't help due to the location and type of break. There is already an assortment of titanium holding it together, although not very well. A hip replacement is possible, but given his age he would need multiple replacements in his lifetime and due to where the break is he will run out of bone to connect everything too before his need for additional replacements leaving him with no working leg unless some unforeseen and unimaginable scientific breakthrough occurs before then to give him some type of alternative, however at this point that is less likely than winning the Lotto (and I've never purchased a ticket, which I think reduces my odds of winning, if only slightly).
Two months ago we were told that if it wasn't showing significant improvement by the next month that he would be going into surgery - not sure what exactly they planned to do and neither did they... last month they decided to hold off one more month. Dr 'B' knew a specialist that he regarded, and wanted to confer with him before taking any action. We are going to see this specialist Friday, and are hoping for some long awaited good news.
The first picture shows the x-ray from October and the second shows a more recent x-ray taken in February.
Week 21 - In the pool
Devin is at home, and going to a nearby pool where he has worked up to being able to walk in chest deep water without assistance. His ankles, feet and toes still have almost zero mobility. Pain, while ever present, has not been a critical factor so far and we are hopeful that he will regain full mobility in his joints.
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