Friday, November 12, 2010

If you're squeamish, don't look - really

So on Saturday Jared headed out for one last bike ride on one of his favorite black diamond trails here before we move next week.  He came home with his elbow looking like this.


He took a bad spill and in order to protect his wrists (he's broken a wrist before on his bike), he tucked in and tried to roll - like you're supposed to - but he ended up taking the full brunt of the fall on his elbow.  Ouch!

So we all hung out at the ER most of the day Saturday.  The kids were actually quite pleased about watching TV in the waiting room rather than conquering the mountain we'd picked out for our hike that day.  They're not always pleased as punch about our hiking expeditions - they love it when we get going but the lead up isn't always a bunch of excitement.

The x-ray showed crushed elbow bones - a few little pieces floating around in random places.  He was scheduled for surgery on Monday.


The surgeon wired everything together and said he "sort of had to cram some little chunks of bone into the places where there were big cracks" - didn't sound all that great to me but the doctor said the surgery went very well and things should heal up quite nicely.  In 6-8 weeks he can use his arm again.  In 4 months he'll have good mobility and can lift things safely.  In a year he'll be as good as he's going to get and should be pretty normal - other than the fact that he'll probably experience some early-onset arthritis.

Here's how Jared's elbow looks now on the inside (this is the other side of the arm - that's why it's backwards from the other xray above):



And on the outside:
Yes, those are staples and yes, it is that swollen.  The incision is like 8 inches long.
I purposely didn't make this photo very big.
Jared's recovery hasn't exactly been a breeze.  He had a hard time finding a pain medicine that worked well for him and had some rough after-effects of the anesthesia.  But he's doing better each day and it could have been much much worse.  We're so grateful for good doctors and modern medicine. We're glad we're on a health plan with a $3500 deductible instead of the much higher deductible we used to have.  We're all so grateful that we've been able to have Jared around this week - we haven't had more than 2 days together as a family in months.  Even with him sort of groggy and quite needy, his presence makes everything feel better around here.

But moving next week may be a bit of an issue with my strong-as-an-ox husband unable to lift anything.  We'll be calling in all favors here and quickly making new friends in Odgen!

I'm packing like crazy but it seems like I'm barely making a dent.  We finally got our house here rented to some great people who seem solid but who could pull out if the sale of their house doesn't go through.  And we're crossing our fingers that the sale of the house we're buying in Odgen will close this week as planned.

Send a few prayers our way if you feel so inclined.  We could use them.

9 comments:

Suzanne said...

Thinking of you and yours... but especially YOU!!! My husband had back surgery last spring and now, six months later, we're looking at it again (different disk this time). But that's after his hernia operation next week! It makes for one crazy mommy, I know, but if anyone can handle a move and all that goes it with it, it's you, Saren. Good luck, and happy packing.

Eva said...

Saren,
Obichame te tolkola mnogo. Shte kazeme molitva sus sigurnos za vas. Dano vsichko da se opravi burzo. Ako bihme po blizko shtaihme da pomogneme.
Tzeluvki na vsichki.

Eva

Linda said...

This is all very interesting. I skipped past that one that I saw in the grocery store and almost had lean over on the grocery basket to keep from passing out! Every time I opened my phone after that it just kept coming up. I think I finally got it off. Anyway, congrats to poor Jared for surviving all that his his poor wife for trying to pack amidst being a terrific nurse. All things will work out for your good...somehow!

richard said...

If there is one guy on earth that could survive that bike crash and handle the surgery, it is Jared!
I am your biggest fan buddy!
Grandfather

Cath said...

Goodness! That was one enormous elbow! Poor fellow. The timing is stinky but hopefully, you'll have many hands to help you move. I wish there was a way I could help you!

eyre blog said...

My favorite thing about this Is Jared's grin in the first picture. Who else would be smiling after that?

Jonah and Aja said...

i am so sorry for jared and you sar and know you will make it through but we will and are praying for you. it was great to talk to ashton for a while yesterday but i want to talk to you.
love

Koni said...

I, too, was amazed that Jared was smiling as you took the photo of his elbow. I think that taking a picture would have been one of the last things on my mind. I'm praying for you. Wish I was closer so I could help out with your move. I'll pray that you get lots of help and that everything works out in the best way.

Rachelle said...

OUCH! Hang in there packing by yourself! WOW!

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