Life continues...

Well, again it's been a while.

I can report that the amputation went well, as far as that sort of thing goes well. And the shoulder now has many screws in it.

The good thing is that Dad is moving on with life and each day keeping himself amused, particularly with coping with only one arm.

The next stage is considering the options for a prosthesis.

This may well be the last post, as Dad has indicated a reluctance to post information in this way. He is most happy to talk to friends and family in the usual manner to keep people updated. Give him a call or email whenever you like (it'll help keep him from calling me all the time with the free calls!! hehe).

Thank you to everyone who has supported Dad and the family during this time, and continues to do so. I really appreciate it, and I'm sure Dad does too - even though he may not directly say so.

Keep smiling, and keep in touch.
T

Amputation

Ok, so it's been such a long time since I've posted anything on this blog, to the point where I'm not even sure if anyone out there is still reading it!

In any case, I am pleased to report there is some progress, although it may not sound so great it is a positive step forward.

Dad will be having an operation on the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremony to have his arm aputated. This sounds terrible, and in a way it is, but given the fact that the arm is non-functioning and has no chance of repair it is simply in the way, a hinderance and more than likely to be a danger (in terms of injury and infection). Having the amputation will mean a move in the forward direction - Dad can begin the next stage of life, having to deal with life with only one arm, literally!

The amputation is planned for between the elbow and the shoulder and will occur over two operations. The first to remove the arm, and the second (three days later) to finalise the skin grafts and dressing the stump so it looks nice.

Shortly after the shoulder bones will be fused - more on that when it comes to hand.

I think it will be time again for lots of positive support to get him through this dramatic change.

Come on Down (under)...

...and get a new car!! (like Price Is Right gameshow).

Yeah, Dad is back home in Oz and I think he had a positive experience travelling to Germany.

Now back home he has got his new car. Its slightly modified for one arm driving and I will have to describe it further once I'm home in a couple of weeks and have tried the car myself ;-) (That is of course if I'm allowed to.)

Until soon....

Germany

Dad decided that since there was no particular progress with his treatment he would take a trip to Germany and visit me, and use his frequent flyer points which would otherwise expire at the end of the year.
So far Dad's been here a week and a half, and its good to see he's still as stubborn as always. What I find unfortunate is the defeatist attitude he has. Rarely is there a positive word. Perhaps I just try to think too positive, or don't understand how things work.
In any case I do think it is doing Dad a world of good, particularly mentally, to be out and about doing something (rather than sitting at home moping about). I'm hoping that by the time he's back home, he'll be better able to go about his daily life.
Here's hoping!

License to drive, without a car....

Its been a while (again), and there's good news, and not so good news.

The good news is that Dad has had a driving test so he can drive an automatic transmittion car, with a steering ball/knob on the wheel (so he can steer one handed). He passed this test last week with flying colours so is now allowed to drive an automatic car, but with a catch. There needs to be this ball on the steering wheel, AND all the switches (lights, blinker, washers etc) need to be on the left side of the steering column....which basically means a modified car is needed. That should be paid for by TAC, but that will take time.

The not so good news is that I am feeling rather helpless here in Europe knowing things are not going so great back home. Dad was meant to have had an appointment with all the doctors about two weeks ago, and that time passed without going ahead. Unfortunately the doctors office didnt ring Dad to make a time, and Dad didnt ring to find out what was happening. I am really hoping that he's not being forgotten, and that all his mates are rallying to keep his spirits up.

New toys

Just a quick update...Dad has received some new toys for around the house. For example a special board where you can slice bread, and butter (or other spread) bread with one hand and the bread doesn't slip away.

A few appointments coming up in the next week or so. So hopefully there'll be some good news to follow.

EEG scan - nerves

Dad had an EEG scan this week. This was a scan of the Brachial Plexus - a junction point of many nerves near the shoulder. The very initial look at the scan appears to show that the nerves from the spine are not damaged as much as first thought, although its still pretty much a mess. So there may be some hope of upper arm function.

As for the lower arm, it appears there are no funtioning nerves. Of course that basically means no use of the hand or wrist.

This is of course only an initial look at the scan. A much more in depth discussion will be had early September with the docs, surgeons and rehab people. Wait and see what outcome they can report.

Finally some movement at the station...but not much

Dad saw the doctor/surgeon last week, and he was very surprised he hasn't had any rehab or counselling up until now. It doesn't appear very hopeful that the arm can be repaired. So looks like an amputation is still likely at some stage and probably some sort of prosthetics.
The doc has scheduled a few tests in the coming weeks that will hopefully reveal some good news. Neurological (ie nerves) tests and I think some other scans will be done to check and see if there is a chance the nerves can be repaired. The main problems are that Dad isn't the youngest chap (which goes against the chance of nerve repairs); the muscles in the arm are either gone or damaged leaving little to make the arm work; the elbow is pretty much destroyed and would require lots of operations to try to repair; and the is little to no chance of any function in the hand. So not exactly a great prognosis, but at least we have an idea of where we stand. Tests may reveal something different.
This week Dad went to the rehab centre for first time, and they were also astonished he hadn't been referred sooner. Just goes to show you need to keep on top of things yourself - it's too easy to get 'lost in the system'. Anyway, Dad was able to see the possibilities with prostethics, and begin the rehab process.
An Occupational Therapist (OT) is coming next week to see what can be done around the house to make things easier for Dad.
I am really disappointed that I can't be there to help Mum and Dad through this. I think Dad needs his friends around him, so a visit every so often from his buddies out there would be really great! It'll help keep his spirits up.
Keep thinking positive.
I'll add another entry in a few weeks, when there's some further news.

Next appointment - came and went

Well, Dad went to see the doc yesterday (Thurs) and of course the doc didnt have access to the files from the hospital because the appointment was in the docs consulting rooms near our home. VERY disappointing!!

So another appointment is due next week in the hospital....wait and see what that reveals!

Next appointment

Again, not a lot to tell.

Dad has an appointment with the surgeon again in early July to discuss the next steps in the healing process. Hopefully that will reveal some direction.

In the last weeks Dad's strength has improved well. He can walk no problems now, and even does the odd trip into the city with the bus/train with Mum. After a long day out or a long walk it is a bit tiring so needs to rest, but it's good to know he's out and about.

Thanks for the encouragement from everyone - that's helped to keep his spirits really positive. Not the best for me to try to be encouraging from the other side of the world.

Slow progress, but progress nonetheless

You’ll notice that I haven’t updated this site for a while….for two reasons. First, not much has changed, and second that I haven’t got the ready access to the internet in Germany as I thought I might (there are internet cafes but they cost money and people smoke in them!).

Since Dad’s arrival back home he has been improving very well. He goes for a walk each day and is gradually building up more and more strength. He can walk around the block without any trouble. Although it does become quite tiring for him so he does need to rest a bit throughout the day. The wound where the infection was (see blog entry on [insert date]) is slowly closing up and when it is fully closed Dad will consider going in the pool :-)

Last week he went for a visit to the doctors who basically saw him for five minutes and said all looked fine….see you in a month’s time. So basically not much will change in the next few weeks.

Home again

Dad has now been home a couple of days, and it sounds like things are not going too badly. Of course things are different at home - no nurses to call on 24 hours a day ;-)

Mum is of course helping with things too, but I know its quite tough to get used to doing things a little differently. Its nice though that Dad is back home, and can sit on the balcony, in the rain, with the dog and watch the beautiful view outside.

Still not sure what the MRI scan revealed, but I'm sure there'll be more to tell after next week's appointments back at the hospital....but this time as an outpatient :-)

Day 52 - nearly home again

It's been a while since the last post because I have gone to Germany, and so have had to wait to settle a little before updating the blog.

Not a lot changed though. Dad has started to walk more around again, and has been moved into a room with another roommate. Last I heard they were at loggerheads over the curtains - Dad wanted them open, while the other person wanted them closed. So Dad just goes out to the lounge area to get the bright sunny rays.

On Saturday (I think) Dad had an MRI scan so we are still waiting for the results - I guess the docs need to get together to discuss...which could take a little while.

Apart from that, I believe Dad is going home tomorrow (Tues). So hope things work out at home.

Day 45 - bed sores + new bed

Today was pretty uneventful, except for the discovery of developing bed sores on Dad's back due to him lying on his back so long. Let's hope it doesn't develop further as it seems this could become another source of infection! He has received a new bed with a special air matress which helps with the circulation so that should help relieve the sores developing any further. This bed also works....the last one broke and didn't want to go up or down anymore.

On a different note, my car decided it didn't like the engine timing belt and that karked it! Not great timing when I have so many things to do before heading overseas on Thursday. :-(

Day 44 - recovering

In a way, it was a bit of a good thing that Dad had to go back to hospital on Friday because it fast tracked the next operation.

Yesterday (Saturday) he was in the operating theatre again. The source of the infection was treated - a cyst had formed at the site where an artery was taken from to use in the repair of his arm on the day of the accident. The cyst had become infected and over 500mL of fluid was drained/cleaned out! At the same time, the scaffolding (officially called "external fixators") was also removed, which has made the arm look better.

He has some tubes attached to him again, but they are due to be removed in about two or three days. So, it's not quite so bad this time.

Dad is recovering quite well from this surgery actually, having a slightly different view from his hospital bed this time. His skin grafts are growing more all the time, and it is looking much more like normal skin again.

Day 42 - ...and back again...

At 4pm today, Dad was taken by ambulance back to The Alfred. His body temperature rose to 39.7 degrees C and he became weak and had no appetite. It appears an infection has once again reared its ugly head.

Since Wednesday Dad has enjoyed being at home with the good food, and Chloe (the dog) and of course Mum and Oma to help look after him. However I think it was pretty tough having to carry his arm around (with the metal fixtures still in place) and not having his full strength back yet. I think getting around the house was a little more difficult than Mum and Dad had expected.

For now Dad will stay in the hospital, and tomorrow he is scheduled to have the metal scaffolding removed from his arm. He will also have a clean up of an inflamed lump where they took a donor artery in the first surgery (for his arm) on Day 1.

Day 40 - Home sweet home :-)

40 Days and not quite so many nights and Dad is finally going home. At 4pm today he was transferred from The Alfred to home.

He is by no means recovered, but there is no need for him to remain in hospital for the time being.

I'm sure this will be a much better environment for him to recover in. There will be special equipment given to him to help deal with everyday things like going to the toilet, washing and moving about the house.

Further surgery is still required but that will only mean a short stay in hospital (hopefully anyway) on those occasions.

I'll put more news up at a later stage about his experience coming back home. I'm sure the ambulance ride home will be interesting :-)

Day 37 - The rash you have, when you don't have a rash

You may be thinking I'm getting slack not updating this blog everyday, but there really hasn't been anything to tell.

Since the vacuum dressings and vancomycin has been removed (last blog entry) Dad's skin grafts are healing and the wounds are therefore closing. The place on his leg where the skin grafts were taken from are also healing. Dad says it feels like having a gravel rash, like when you fall off a bicycle.

We have been waiting now for a few days to hear what the orthopaedic surgeons want to do with the scoffolding in his arm. Hopefully tomorrow we'll hear something.

Day 33 - Off with her head!

"Off with her head!" said The Queen of Hearts (of Alice in Wonderland fame), and so too did the doctors about the vacuum dressings and drip for Dad. Well, not quite in those words but essentially the same meaning.

Dad's vacuum dressings are off.
Dad's vancomycin drip is off.
The rash will go away.

The skin grafts are looking healthy and good, so now he has a normal gauze and bandage on his arm. They should heal nicely and close the wounds over the coming weeks.

Dad was so excited to have the machines off him. Standing up he felt a bit faint, so had a bit of a rest, then moved on again to walk to the toilet, and begin the onward journey in life.

Now that Dad is a little less 'anchored' down (with no machines to cart around) he will be able to concentrate on walking and moving around more.

The next step is to talk with the orthodaedic surgeons about the scaffolding on his arm, and what they want to do with it - leave it or replace it with something more comfortable. He may even go home very soon :-)

Day 31 - A rash! ARGH!

Just a quick entry today.

Well, it's officially one month since Dad's accident and he's still in hospital. We were hoping he'd be home by now. But I think it's better that he's healing slowly than not at all.

Over the last few days Dad has been getting bored and lonely, only to be occupied by an annoying rash the nurses call "Red Man Syndrome". This is coming from the antibiotics he's getting to combat infection. Basically, he's getting a red rash all over his body which is irritating and making him very uncomfortable. Not to mention there's a bit of a heat rash happening on his back from lying in the bed all the time.

Tomorrow they will look at his skin grafts, so we may have a better idea of what the future holds.