We have landed ourselves some PRIME real estate!! Somehow we fenagled a move across the unit and now have a spacious room with a gorgeous view. Not that we were un-appreciative of our "post suite", we will just say it was the equivalent of a "guess that sound" game show! AND, yay for knowing whether it's night or day...May the suns rays speed Kathys recovery! :)
Kathy has also been approved for soft solids and liquids! Good news, good news, good news!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Surgery update 10/18
The intention was to rebuild and pin the ankle...unfortunately, the ankle was still filled with rock and gravel debris. They cleaned it out thoroughly, and now need to wait out the infection zone. Ankle surgery is now scheduled for Thursday.
They cleaned and re-assessed her left leg and are hoping to start bone work on Monday. We were very relieved to see that they took a new approach to the swelling; they have widened the openings in the side of her legs and added a spongelike material and a set of drainage tubes. The swelling in that leg did some damage to the calf muscle, so now it is crucial to keep it under control. There is actually some give when you push on her thigh...before it felt like rock.
She is a little slower coming around this time and still on the ventilator, but she's definitely holding her own and should have the tube out of her throat within the hour.
They cleaned and re-assessed her left leg and are hoping to start bone work on Monday. We were very relieved to see that they took a new approach to the swelling; they have widened the openings in the side of her legs and added a spongelike material and a set of drainage tubes. The swelling in that leg did some damage to the calf muscle, so now it is crucial to keep it under control. There is actually some give when you push on her thigh...before it felt like rock.
She is a little slower coming around this time and still on the ventilator, but she's definitely holding her own and should have the tube out of her throat within the hour.
Photos of her injuries :(
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| Right ankle bone |
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| Del Norte EMT crew |
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| Ankle x-ray |
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| inside out left knee |
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| mangled left leg |
Kathy takes ICU head on 10/17
Kathys left leg has been stabalized by way of pins in five places, all connected by a metal rod. Her knee repair will be waiting the relief of the swelling...to help relieve the pressure they cut open long strips on both sides of her legs. This hardly seemed to help because thru the night she kept saying she felt like her legs were going to explode.
The nurses here are amazing and Kathy is so thoughtful and apologizes for being bad company and complaining! She is the epitome of thoughtful! Though her pain thresh-hold is frickin' amazing, she is in the thick of it for sure and is enduring immense amounts of pain. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers and please begin blogging your funniest most heart-felt Kathy stories. We will keep you updated on our end!
Love, love, love!!
Emanuel Legacy 10/17
Upon arrival, Kathy immediately went into surgery. She underwent 11 hours of surgery to reattach her right foot and repair the massive damage to her left leg. Though her left knee was shattered and lower leg bones broken, this surgery's primary goal was toward vascular repairs and in the end they had successfully established blood flow to both feet. VERY GOOD NEWS!!
This left her in stable condition under close supervision in the ICU. Emanuel ICU cares for the sickest patients in the State and boasts the best of care. We feel confident that with her amazing determination, excellent care and the incredible amounts of love and prayers coming her way, she will heal and be home for all of her friends to dote on her!
The Crash 10/16
Sunday the 16th around noon, Kathy, Ted and friends were on a ride back from the coast when Kathys bike clipped a guard-rail and sent her across both lanes to impact a rock wall. Ted was traveling two bikes behind, when he pulled the bike off her they discovered the severity of the injury to both legs.
Kathy was amazing!! Not only was she concious, she turned into her own EMT and began instructing everyone at the scene how to help save her life. She instructed Ted to lay her flat and put pressure on her leg "We need to restrict the blood-flow so I don't bleed out before the ambulance gets here!" She was asking to be thrown in the back of any passing truck, because she knew time was of the essence. She was afraid of loosing her right foot as it was almost completely severed.
Because her crash site was dead middle of crescent city and Cave Junction, the ambulance took 45 min. to arrive. After being transported to crescent city, the hospital had her air lifted to the Emanuel trauma center in Portland.
Kathy was amazing!! Not only was she concious, she turned into her own EMT and began instructing everyone at the scene how to help save her life. She instructed Ted to lay her flat and put pressure on her leg "We need to restrict the blood-flow so I don't bleed out before the ambulance gets here!" She was asking to be thrown in the back of any passing truck, because she knew time was of the essence. She was afraid of loosing her right foot as it was almost completely severed.
Because her crash site was dead middle of crescent city and Cave Junction, the ambulance took 45 min. to arrive. After being transported to crescent city, the hospital had her air lifted to the Emanuel trauma center in Portland.
Kathy is love!!!
To satisfy the, literally, hundreds of people loving, caring and checking on Kathy we have created this blog...We will update as we have news and hope that you will support her blog with words of love, humor and support!
Love, light and blessings to us all!
Jess
Love, light and blessings to us all!
Jess
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