Going back to Cali

Well, I'm heading back to California tomorrow. (Oh - for those of you, who don't know, Kuba and I have moved to Marin County, just about 30 miles North of SF.) Mom's step-sister, Linda, will arrive this afternoon to help her out for the next week. That makes going home a little easier for me... knowing that mom will continue to have help for a little bit.

I know the google calendar I put together to schedule meals for mom isn't working too easily. If you do want to bring a meal by for her, after 8/9 would be best. You can just e-mail me at jenluttrell@yahoo.com and let me know when you'd like to contribute. I'll be sure to let mom know when to expect you. She hates it that I'm asking for meals for her. That's my mom. Never asking for help.

Mom is doing pretty well considering the intensity of her surgery on Tuesday. She's staying on top of the pain and rested moderately well last night, once we got her a wedge pillow. She had a lot of visitors yesterday, which always seems to cheer her up.

Feel free to give her a call or stop by.

I'm thinking that mom might need some help after Linda leaves... I just don't see how she'll get that intricate splint on/off without moving her shoulder unless she has some help. Most of the visiting nurse businesses have a 4 hour minimum. If any of you know of someone, who would be good to help out a couple hours/day, please let me know. It would be good to have an option nailed down should we need it.

Thanks for all of your support.

love,
jen

Home at Last!

Wow. That was one lengthy discharge. The doctor didn't come to see mom until almost 4:30. He wrote her discharge orders, but, once he left, mom and I realized we really knew nothing about her care once she was home. No one had talked to us about how to change her dressing, how she should go about showering, and no one had ever even looked at mom's incision on her knee.

So... by the time we got all of those things addressed, we didn't leave the hospital until almost 7:00. (I even had to stop the nurse who was ready to take mom out the door in the wheelchair, to tell her mom's IV was still in!) It was quite a debacle, really, but we are both glad she's home. We're very sick of hospitals at this point, although we have become quite adept at navigating them.

Feel free to call mom at her house or on her cell. I'm here until Monday, then mom's step-sister, Linda, will be here all next week.

If you're interested in helping out by providing a meal/meals to mom, please e-mail me at jenluttrell@yahoo.com. Mom would never ask for help, but I think she's going to need it, as she can't move her shoulder for 6 weeks.

Thanks, Everyone!

love,
jennifer

Meal Sign-Up

Hi All.

Mom is expected to come home from the hospital tomorrow. She's still in a lot of pain, but everything looks good as far as follow-up from her doctor goes.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I've put together a calendar for friends, who are interested, to sign up to drop off meals to Mom. This is where I think she'll need to most help, since she won't be able to drive or use her left arm for six weeks. Help with occasional meals for the next 8 weeks would be great.

If you are interested, add your name and "lunch" or "dinner" to the day, which you choose on the calendar. To get to the calendar, follow this link:
http://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=e7_2_CN3t8FMRLFUWYfJJw

Thanks for your continued support during Mom's recovery.

love,
jennifer

A Real Pain in the... Shoulder

Well, Mom woke up at around 3AM in excruciating pain. It took a truck load of morphine to get on top of it, but today, she has seemed comfortable, although still quite in-and-out of sleep from the morphine.

I took advantage of her sleepiness and came back to her house to clean for a couple of hours. My friend, Nicole, helped me, which certainly made it all go by more quickly and cheerfully. Now, just a few more things to tackle at the house before she comes home, which won't be until Friday.

Thatcher has been depressed, so he's going to stay with Fred and his dog, Squeeky, tonight and tomorrow night. That way, he won't obsess on "where's mom?" all day and night. And, I can cheer up some people, but I don't really know how to work with Thatcher through his sadness...

I'll post again later or tomorrow.

love,
jennifer

Mom's Contact Info

Hi All. Here's Mom's contact info while she's in the hospital. She should be up for visitors starting tomorrow. Feel free to call or drop by to see her.

Bone & Joint Hospital
1111 N Dewey Ave
Room 328
Oklahoma City, OK 73103-2609
(405) 272-9671 (Room 328)

Mom's Out of Surgery

Mom's out of surgery. The doctor said he gave her the best shoulder he could, and that it thinks the recovery will be fine. It wasn't the positive "everything went great!" kind of report, but, given the extent of Mom's injuries, there was only so much he could do.

He ran into some dead bone around the shoulder so had to do some grafting (from cadavers) to hold the prosthesis in place. He suspects the dead bone came as a result of her blood flow being cut off due to the injuries. He also said she had soft tissue and muscles in very poor condition (most likely from lack of use for 10 months). He did muscle and soft tissue repair as well.

The knee portion of the surgery was a cinch. Took only about 5 minutes to remove the wire.

Mom will be in the hospital until Thursday or Friday. She'll need to be in a sling, unable to move the shoulder at all, for 6 weeks. Yikes. Then, she'll begin PT.

I'm planning on sending out an e-mail to ask for friends to help out with meals for her for a while. It's been hard enough for her to make her meals prior to this surgery (having to hold a cane to steady herself), but now it will be quite difficult. If you are interested in helping out in this way, please let me know and I'll add you to the e-mail.

Thanks, All, for your thoughts, prayers and support.

Know that my mind is tired and my recollection somewhat foggy. If some of my report doesn't make sense, that's why and I'll clear up any confusion later.

love,
jennifer

In Surgery...

Well, Mom is in surgery. They took her in about an hour ago. I must say seeing her wheeled off into the operating room was a bit of an ugly flashback for me. But, at least this time, she's conscious and going in for a routine procedure... not a life saving one.

I should hear something when they are mid-way through and then again when she is out of surgery. When they fix her surgery, they'll also go into her left knee and remove a wire that is working its way out. (Yes, they had wired her crushed knee back together after the wreck, using the wire like thread.)

I'll keep everyone posted as the day progresses.

Thanks for all of your support.

love,
jennifer

One last surgery

Hi Everyone. It seems like it's an appropriate time to blog again, if only for a little while.

The last few months, Mom has been recovering quite well, but, alas, there is one more surgery before she can continue her recovery. Tomorrow morning, Mom will have a full shoulder replacement of her left shoulder. The shoulder had been fractured in the wreck, but the fracture wasn't discovered until a couple months after. At that point, doctors thought it was healing well on its own, however, grueling PT and subsequent scans revealed that the shoulder is pretty much... well, f*cked. Sorry, but it is.

I am in town for a week to help mom out during/post surgery. We will be at the hospital (Bone & Joint in OKC) bright and early tomorrow - admitting at 7:00, surgery at 9:00AM.

I'll be sure to update the blog when Mom gets out of surgery. It's just the easiest and most efficient way of letting everyone know what's going on. Geoff isn't here this time to help make all the calls... and for good reason - he and Heather are expecting their first child 8/17! So, Mom has lots to look forward to and needs a new shoulder so she can play with her new little grand baby. :)

Please keep us in your thoughts, prayers, send positive energy, healing light or whatever works for you. We're all anxious. It's not fun to relive what happened last September, but we are also very ready to have the surgeries be a thing of the past, so Mom can move forward in her recovery.

Much love and appreciation.

jennifer

Brief Update

Hi everyone. I just wanted to send a little update. Clearly, we aren't updating as often anymore. I guess since Mom is home and able to respond to phone calls and e-mails, as well as to have visitors, there hasn't been as much of a need for the blog. So, if you'd like to find out what's going on with Mom, shoot her an e-mail at sherylwow3@aol.com or give her a call.

Mom is still in OT/PT two times per week and is continuing to make progress, although she still has quite a bit of work ahead of her before she's completely mobile.

We are still waiting for the preliminary hearing to be set for the woman who hit us. The date should be set at the end of March.

Thanks to all of you for following the blog. We'll post updates as we have them.

love,
jennifer

from Sheryl:

Hello from the "recovery base." I'd love to hear from friends/family now that I'm more able to answer.

Times are slowly getting better and I'm excited about fun times after this recovery. Jennifer has been an angel helping me thru a very challenging time.

Good wishes, safe travel to all.

Sheryl

Moving into the New Year

Happy New Year! I, for one, was thrilled to see 2008 come to a close!

Just a little update to let you know how everything is going...

Mom has been home since 12/23. I was in OK helping until last Friday, when I returned to Indianapolis. I'll be going back to OK 1/10 - 1/17 for another stretch.

In the meantime, mom has caregivers coming to help her with things that she can't do on her own... some meal preparation, light house-keeping, etc. She is getting stronger and stronger all the time, becoming much less dependent on the wheelchair (aka "Breezy"), using the walker instead. Soon, mom's doctors should upgrade her to outpatient status (now she's on home-health), which will allow her more freedom to go out to eat, to a movie, etc. Currently, she is still receiving PT and OT in her home a few times per week.

Mom is happy to be home with Thatcher and her birds, Perula and Romeo. She loves having visitors, so give her a call if you'd like to stop by sometime.

Here's to a much better, healthy and happy 2009!

love,
jennifer

Post-Christmas Report from Sheryl

Christmas was special by my return home to enjoy family and friends after my hospital stay. Had one of my life-long friends, Linda, here for a couple days visit and Jennifer & Kuba for Christmas. Despite the past months of hospital stays, I feel refreshed being home and among family and friends again in a normal setting.

My boxer, Thatcher, is beside himself with my being home. He shadows me 24/7! Jennifer is extending her stay to help me for a few extra days, thank goodness. On Wednesday, however, I'll have my box of kleenex handy as she has to go back home to catch up for about a week. (Therefore, drop-ins welcome!) Geoff & Heather will be here on the 16th for 3 days, which will be great.

Look forward to catching up/reconnecting with those who have shown such support. I am having PT/OT in my home several times a week in effort to fully recover in a hopefully short stint of time.

Feel free to give me a call at my house, 405-285-5558, to catch up.

Sheryl

Home for the Holidays

Hi Everyone. Mom will be discharged from Mercy rehab tomorrow, heading home. The doctor thinks she'll be on "home health" for about 4 weeks before she'll start on outpatient therapy. I think home health sounds like house-arrest... she won't be able to leave the house except to go to church, the doctor or to get her hair done. House-arrest without the ankle bracelet! While mom has home health, she'll have OT and PT 2 - 3 times each in her home each week.

Since she'll be home-bound, I'm sure she'll be happy to see visitors! I'll be here until Sunday, 12/28, when I head back to Indy. Christmas Day will be a bit sparse for mom, since I spend that day at my dad's, so, if any of you are out and about, give mom a ring and stop by. There's plenty of home-made egg nog at her house, ready to be consumed!

I will, most likely, come back to OK again in a couple of weeks to help out one more time before mom is completely on her own.

Happy Holidays.

love,
jennifer

Going Home Soon

Hi Everyone. Mom's medical/therapy team had their meeting this morning, and it looks like mom will be going home on Tuesday! She will need to modify a few things in her house and will use a walker and wheelchair to get around until she is stable on her feet. Once home, she'll have home health-care checking in on her several times a day and doing her PT/OT at her house with her. After she is adjusted to home and is moving around more easily, she will begin out-patient therapy, which she will need for a couple more months. I will be in OK until 12/28, so I'll help her until then.

She saw an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Hale, today. He is looking at her left shoulder to see what they can do to increase her range of motion. He's asking PT to get more aggressive with their therapy, but might do another x-ray to check things out. He's also going to x-ray both feet to see if they can get mom into some more comfortable, less obstructive, foot supports. The boots she is wearing now are quite heavy and cumbersome, and the bottoms are angled, much like she's walking on little hooves. They'll also be fitting her with a new wrist brace for her right hand before she heads home, so that she'll be better able to use her hand. Then, time will tell if the radial nerve, which was damaged when the humerus fractured, will heal itself.

Today, they will move mom into an apartment on this floor, so that she can see what's it like to go back home. The room has a regular bed, couch, and a kitchenette with a fridge and microwave. She's excited to have a bigger room with more windows at least!

That's it for now.

love,
jennifer

Okie Christmas

Hi Everyone. I got back to OK last night and will be here through Christmas. Mom is doing well and might get to go home as early as next week! She will still have to have outpatient physical therapy, but getting home will be good for her morale. Although mom is happy to be back in OK, being in the hospital, so close to her home, at Christmas-time, is certainly taking a toll on her spirits.

Feel free to give her a call and come by and see her. Her afternoons and evenings are generally pretty free. Just be sure to call first, as she has a different therapy schedule each day.

love,
jennifer

We're Back!!!

Hey Gang,

So we made it, but it would not be like us to do anything easy! At 9:45 on Fri morning, we rolled up to SFO in plenty of time to make our 11:40 departure. Well, our flight was delayed, meaning that we would miss our connector in Denver. "Are you in the car there," the attendant asked as she looked over at Mom, who had not yet gotten out of the car and into the wheelchair. "Yeah, that's us." "Well," she replied, "I can get you on a flight out of Oakland at 11:00 if you think you can make it." "Print the passes, we've got to roll!" We high-tailed it over the Bay Bridge to the Oakland airport. I pulled to the curb and went to check in. I almost kicked a kid out of his wheelchair, until I noticed his "Make a Wish" hat. Better to let him have it? With Heather's help, we got Mom into the chair and through security where she was thoroughly inspected. I sprinted through the terminal fast enough that Mom looked like she was in a wind storm. We made the flight and she did all her transfers with no problems. Back in OKC we found that our bags were lost. Great. Long story short, Mom's in the hospital, we got our bags, and all's quiet on the Okie front. Her address is Mercy Hospital, 4300 West Memorial Rd, RM 265, OKC, OK 73120. Give a call if you plan to stop by, as she has therapies throughout the day. Now on to Mom herself...

Look forward to hearing from everyone. I have bouts of acute cabin fever, but light at the end of the tunnel is now becoming visible. Got to do therapy now, so I'll catch you all later.

Sheryl

Red Dirt & Armadillos

Mom got the green light today to transfer back to Oklahoma tomorrow. Dr. Coufal is pleased with her progress and wants her to continue with rehabilitation, beginning to walk with the support of parallel bars as soon as possible. He expects that she'll need inpatient rehabilitation for 3 - 4 more weeks.

So, Mom will be transferring to Mercy Rehabilitation Center tomorrow! She is excited to get back to OK, to the "red dirt and armadillos" as she put it to Mabel, the CPMC Case Manager. Mom is a bit nervous about the changes ahead and the travel time tomorrow, as she hasn't sat upright yet for as long as she'll need to tomorrow. Luckily, her and Geoff's flight has a quick plane change in Denver, giving them as quick and straight a shot as possible between SF and OKC.

I know that many of you are eager to go visit Mom once she gets back on her home turf. She is excited to see you, too! I'll post her phone number and room number as soon as she is checked in and has her room set up tomorrow. Please give her a call before dropping by to see her, as she'll have frequent therapy sessions daily.

love,
jennifer

Road Trip

Hi Everyone. Tomorrow morning, Geoff will take Mom to Walnut Creek for her appointment with Dr. Coufal. This will be her first ride in the car since the accident. I think she's okay with it, as she's ready to just get out of the hospital for a little while. Geoff's a brave soul for being her driver on her first trip out.... I told him to just put earplugs in and ignore her. (Kidding, of course.) Tomorrow, we should find out the exact course of action for Mom's treatment. What that is will determine the level of care Mom will now require as she continues her recovery.

Mom will be transferring back to Oklahoma on Friday. We won't know, for sure, where she will go until after her appointment tomorrow. We will keep you posted. Mom is really excited to get back to OK, back near her friends, and closer to home. Being in California has really taken its toll on her morale the last few weeks. Geoff will fly with her on Friday and stay until Monday. I'll be there next Wednesday and will stay through Christmas.

That's all for now. We'll update you tomorrow after the road trip.

love,
jennifer

smooth as butter

Geoff and I drove over to the hospital yesterday so Sheryl could practice transferring into our car. Two of her very wonderful PTs Brian and Melissa guided her through the steps. Melissa's explanation was 1, 2, 3 and voilá into the car. And Sheryl followed 1, 2, 3, and voilá into the car she went. All by herself. Sheer determination on her face, Sheryl looked smooth as butter. Speaking of smooth, we were hoping to take her for ice cream but she wasn't cleared by her doctor. We weren't really up for creating a hostage situation for a scoop of Birite, although it IS worth it. We suggested Sheryl get a hall pass and we'll take her for a preliminary spin sometime before the trip over to Walnut Creek for her appointment with Dr. Coufal on Thursday.

I know Sheryl still has a ways to go. I do however think it is so amazing to think she is about 3-4 months ahead of schedule from the original prognosis. Her body gave her such an amazing gift of bones healing so fast and in places where the docs didn't think it would on its own. Amongst the chaos, there is so much to be grateful for.