M’s surgery was last Wednesday. He is recovering comfortably at our home. The first thing the surgeon (M’s new orthopedist) said after the surgery was, “I sure wish I’d seen him two months ago. I could have done more for him.”

The original orthopedist had gone back and forth, telling us his foot was broken, it wasn’t broken, it was broken… We obtained copies of all of M’s medical records since the accident and the xray and MRI technicians clearly saw and made notes about the breaks on the Talus. We’re not sure if Ortho #1 didn’t even bother to read those reports or what but he is responsible for the additional damage done to M’s foot since he and the nurses told M when he was still in the ICU that he needed to go ahead and start putting weight on the foot. He is also responsible for the much longer recovery period M will have. The 9 weeks of recovery following the accident were a complete waste of time since M must now start all over on recovery following his surgery. He now faces 8 weeks with no weight bearing, 4 weeks trying weight, several weeks of physical therapy, and 12 weeks of only part-time work allowed (4 hours/day max). Had M been correctly diagnosed and operated on immediately, he’d already be back on his feet. It is heartbreaking that a doctor screwed up so badly that it’s ruined M’s entire season of employment (he is a chef and works seasonally in Bar Harbor). By the time he is able to work full-time again, it’ll be close to Christmas and the restaurant closes for the Winter. He was going to be the sous chef, which would have looked great on his resume.

Anyway, the surgeon said he removed 25-30 bone fragments (Ortho #1 couldn’t see any of those in dozens of xrays, 2 MRI’s and 1 CT Scan?!) and one larger piece with 2 mm’s of cartilage on it. Another large piece that had broken off the Talus was already healing in exactly the right place, thank goodness. Some of his tendons were damaged and had attached themselves to the broken bone fragments over the past 9 weeks so the surgeon had to fix those. Not surprisingly, we are furious with Ortho #1.

M is doing better this week. He seems to have accepted his fate (but he is getting legal counsel because of the ongoing financial problems he will have for the rest of the year due to Ortho #1’s ineptitude). We’ve been giving him things to do while he’s stuck on the sofa with his huge, bandaged foot elevated above his heart. He can peel potatoes and other veggies if he shifts sideways a bit, read books to Mason, and play computer games with Max. He’s great at coming up with weekly menu ideas and corresponding grocery lists. And, he’s great at folding clothes! Yesterday, I had to take our daughter to her first physical therapy appointment and M had to babysit Mason. Nobody else was here. Mason is very well-behaved and stayed by M’s side the entire hour I was away. (Before I left, I told Mason that HE was babysitting M and Mason took that job VERY seriously.) 😉

This Week’s Masonism:

Mason is a big huggy bug right now. He LOVES to give big, long hugs. The other day, he was cuddling with me before bedtime and he said, “Mom, can I kiss our eye?” I said he could and he did. Then, he said, “Can I kiss your hair?” Again, I said he could and he did. I cracked up when he then said, “Mom, can I kiss your nose hole?”

Hugs to all

Angela

ADVERTISEMENT

HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY! by Angela Hoy
Using Angela’s MEMORY TRIGGERS, recall memories that have been dormant for years, and record those memories in chronological order in your memory notebook. Using the memory notebook as your outline, write your autobiography! **Also works for biographies and memoirs.**