Remember my daddy if you say prayers
Monday, 1 September, 2008 at 1:07 PM Although not generally one to put a prayer request list on my blog, I thought I'd ask today.
My parents are building a house. Sometimes they contract help, but quite much of the project is being done on their own, on their own time. Apparently Daddy was working alone today and got hurt. Through my mom's More ADD Than I Will Ever (hopefully) Be filters, I learned that a beam fell and perhaps hit him in the head AND broke his foot. Is that possible? Maybe it wasn't the same beam. Or maybe a single beam's trajectory was just right and took Just That Kind Of Swipe.
Either way, he's been hurt, and is at the hospital getting tests now. She's confident he's fine - just in a lot of pain (as if that, in and of itself, isn't enough.)
So if you happen to be one of my readers who also prays, you may remember my daddy. That would be very much cool... You don't want anybody to have pain, but especially your parents, right?
Thanks, ya'll!
Melody
Thanks to those who commented and also those who called. I got an update on my Daddy last night. It ain't pretty, but - as he said - at least I'm alive!
Seems the injuries came from an offending beam and the post that was meant to support said beam.
He was back home last night - that's good news, right? But with injuries so complex that he had to go home until the swelling goes down... then he has to have some surgery. Seems there are three bones in the foot that have been partially crushed. And some fracturing in his ankle and in his leg. 61 years with no broken bones? Thought he'd do it up right this time!
Anyway, thanks for continuing to remember my Daddy in your prayers and thoughts. He's in a lot of pain. But he still has his typical optimism intact and says "I'm going to do exactly what they tell me!"
Reader Comments (9)
Sorry to hear your Dad was hurt. I'll be sure to say a prayer. All will be well soon. I have no doubt!
Take care,
Cheryl
Yikes!
Thinking about you and your family! Please update when you know more...
Jen
Hey!
Mom and dad called me today to tell me about your dad's injury. YIKES! That sounds really painful. I hope he can sit still long enough to heal. Hope you are all doing well. Michelle (the twins' mom)
Hey there woman!!! (To the others I didn't respond to immediately, so sorry; it's not a slight. I haven't heard from THIS childhood friend in AGES!!!)
Thanks for all your kind words and prayers. It's nice to hear from you. Waiting for the latest - last I heard, there was lots and lots of pain, and maybe surgery but still unclear about that. :( Poor Daddy.
More soonish!
Yeah...I guess i tend to drift in and out of the lines of communication! Right now I'm trying to type this while William is running across the couch and Maddie is cleaning out the silverware drawer. Oh good...he's decided to join her. I love how they lick the silverware and then redeposit them into the drawer.
Funny that I posted here for the first time this week. I just got a facebook invitation from someone who I think I know from perhaps Washington Avenue? Maybe Carolina? I'm not sure. It's one of those where you close one eye and stare off in the distance thinking - do I know this person and if so how? I do know that a dear childhood friend of mine is a friend of his on facebook so I confirmed him (not my typical MO - Clay calls me a facebook snob).
In all seriousness, I really hope your dad feels better soon. Maybe once the swelling goes down, they find out they don't have to do surgery.
Michelle
Hey, Melody!
I appreciate all the interest and concern that your readers and everyone has expressed in my situation. I've gotten a lot of "fan mail" which is comforting. You mentioned to me (privately) that you are not sure how to explain the injuries.
BTW, thanks to MCJ for her concern. I don't see her much now, but I have great memories of her growing up with my "three." She is now rearing her own "two." My, how time flies!
The best I can tell, the corner of the beam, measuring 5 1/2" X 11 1/2 inches X 16 feet long, took a direct strike at the top of my foot. It fell from 8'8" above to my foot, which was of course on the floor. If the beam hit my head at all, it must have been a glancing blow. I assume that it was the post which hit my head, which sports three knots. Both of my eyes are black, but a CT scan of my head indicated no significant head injury.
I was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon by the ER Doctor. He examined my foot, the ER x-rays, and another series of x-rays which he ordered. While the bone damage is significant, he is more concerned about the skin damage. This is the part about which I think you are having problems.
He says that the foot is covered by a very thin layer of skin, with little underlying tissue, except tendons (and bone). The danger is that the skin can die, and the lack of underlying tissue leaves nothing to graft skin to. There is nothing that can be done to determine the course fo healing; we can only wait and see.
When I saw him (Ortho Dr.) again on Thursday, I thought he seemed to be optimistic. I am to go back Monday, and he thinks the terrible blisters which cover most of the foot may have begun draining by then. He may be able to clean it up some, and see more about what is happening.
While we all want something (good) to happen right now, we have to follow the process. I have an idea that surgery will come at some time; I only want the course of treatment which will restore the health and function of my foot.
I hope that this is not too involved for a blog response. I don't know how to say it any clearer or better, but I am expecting that I will have a full recovery!
Love,
Dad
Daddy, you explained that very well. Thanks for the help. People really do want to know...and from my blog stats, they're coming to check back in so yours was the perfect voice to share it.
Hope you're feeling much better today. You sounded great on the phone last time we talked!!!
Michelle, it still blows my mind you're the mom of not one, but two. Twins! Wow. Considering that makes me just so nostalgic.
The FB thing can be tricky. Some people have hundreds and hundreds of friends on there, which makes me realize either I'm not as social as I think I am, or just that we're all using it very differently. I, too, tend to want to decline invitations from people I'm not sure I know... even if we have mutual friends. I'm not sure that makes us snobs! SpeakinOYourHoneyman...is HE on FB? Say hi for me? AND to your parents.
Happy weekend. And write again! Or you can send an email - that'd be cool too.
Well Melody, Thank you for your positive reaction to my previous writing. It is now Tuesday, and I saw the Ortho Doc again yesterday. I had hoped to write something when I got home, but I was there longer than I expected, and when I got home some friends came by to do some things that I couldn't do for mysielf right now--like place the offending beam in a position to reduce the likelihood of warping, and repair the brakes on the Toyota, whcih Chose the present time to begin rubbing. When everything was done, I was pretty much wiped out.
When the Doctor saw my foot, he seemed to be pleased. He said that the part he was most concerned about looks better than he expected it to look at this time. The expression on his face told me as much as his words. The largest of the blisters had begun draining, so he did something called "deroofing" (he removed the skin from the top of the blisters). That skin is already dead, but the skin underneath is not. He said that we are "not out of the woods," but we are progressing. The techs dressed it with Silvadene, like a burn would be dressed. Mom is to dress it daily when I shower, and I am to go back Friday. He will probably do some x-rays to see what needs ot be done about the bones.
I appreciate your continued prayers. I am still expecting a full recovery, and believe that all healing comes from God. Doctors play an important role, but they are using the principles which God has placed in the universe to bring about recovery.
Thanks to all who have expressed an interest in my progress!
Dad/Don
Daddy, thank you for posting this. So you know, even though there aren't a lot of comments here, according to my blog stats, people are still coming back to check this page and read your updates. And they're asking about you, too.
Such good news. Looking forward to hearing more.
Love you!