Today's visit to the hospital shed a little light on the road forward. The doctor explained to Mum and I what the situation was: basically Dad's arm is a big mess.
The damage to the arm is consistent with a high velocity impact, into his armpit. The bones are shattered in his lower arm, but the arm is being kept still with some scaffolding (big metal bits on the outside of his arm, but joined to the inside bones). His shoulder is also a mess with many framents.
The arteries were repaired to a degree - not perfect but enough to get blood flow they're happy with. I noticed though that his fingers are getting darker today which is probably not a good sign.
The worst part are three nerves that have been ripped out at the neck and are the ones that operate the lower arm.
At the moment we basically have to wait for the surgeons (vascular, neuro, and orthopaedic) to decide what can and can't be done for Dad.
Amputation is looking to be a high possibility, although the doc today said that it may only be at the elbow, because the nerves to the upper arm aren't so bad.
Hopefully tomorrow we will hear from the doctors about the possibilities for Dad and his arm. Think positive!
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3 comments:
All our thoughts are with you all in your time of need. We all wish Al the best, positive thoughts for the outcome.
Sad to learn abt yr dad's accident. Hope u & yr family will stay positive and strong at this time as yr dad will need lots of care and encouragement fm you when he wakes up.
Pretty shitty news all round, and it freaked me out a bit as it was a week short of 1 year since I came a cropper in that area.
I was really hoping to see yer dad at the bbq on saturday in order to thank him for his help and support.
As much as the situation sucks, I am more than happy to repay his kindness in the same way.
Don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything I can do for you and the family.
Hope to see you saturday.
Chris
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