As some of you guys may know, my dad is very active in his church and around the house. A couple weeks ago, he was working at his church putting a new roof on a lawn maintenance shed they have. Long story short, a non secured piece of plywood slipped, causing him to lose his balance. To avoid falling into a mess of concrete blocks, rebar, and fence posts directly below, he opted to jump and clear it, a drop of about 15 ft or so. He landed on his feet, and severely sprained his left ankle, and shattered the heel of his right foot. He was in plenty of pain for a few days until the swelling went down enough for surgery. Well, his surgery was last Monday. They were able to reconstruct it, with plenty of screws and pins, but he is in a great deal of pain. He had a little bit of nerve damage and the pain medication dulls it at best, while bringing along nausea, etc. Keep him in your prayers, he's really bummed out by having to lay around. He has always been very active, could outwork people 1/4 his age many times over, and being laid up is rough on him. He has found the end of the internet a few times now, and there aren't enough Perry Mason and Gunsmoke episodes in existence. Thanks much...
Ouch...what a bummer. Sorry to hear that. I hate to give the old "could have been worse" line, but it's true given his age and the fall...back, hip, etc. Tell Phillip I feel for him and wishing him the best.
we'll be rooting for him up here in washington. knowing most of us older guys hate taking meds have to advise him to seek a good pain specialist. controlling pain really helps the healing process. lived with pain for years then with a few acupunture visits got past it and lots of other things got better. energy level increased, blood pressure lowered and not to go unmentioned lot better mood at the end of the day.
Zap- :unitedstates:
Pulling for him from Oregon. Believe me I know what he is going thru wanting to be active and not being able to. The effects of aging has me in that position now and it's slowly gaining ground but I'm just too damn stubborn to let it win. He will definitely be in my thoughts when I have my daily talks with the big guy.
James, tell your Dad hi for me and I hope he gets moving around quickly. It's no fun being hurt and can't get around. I'll be praying for him and tell him to jump on my facebook comments, they're appreciated. Jim
Sorry to hear that, hope he feels better soon.
James, your Dad needs to accept his situation or it will only make it worse. His bones and nerves will need a LOT of time to heal. Like Zap mentioned, accupuncture, and physical therapy can cause little wonders, that pills can't. I have been through several spine and bone surgeries and years of daily pain. even if only a little, still, after a year it feels a little better than last year and so on. I wish he will be getting over that and be on his feet again soon !
James as active as your dad was/is I just know it is killing him to sit and wait. I will pray for him first to heal well and second that he has the grace to let God do His work.
James
Extend my best wishes to your dad. Tell him that I will be praying for him also. Remind him that he has to keep up his faith.
I'm looking forward to our hooking up next week. Did you decide what day that you are heading up my way? Remember that on Wednesday and Friday evenings we have big car cruises in the summer. Jay
James, sorry to hear about your dad's injury. I know I would not make a very good patient either. We take our mobility for granted. I agree with the other comments that having a positive attitude is very important during the rehabilitation process.
Not that he's ready yet, but you might want to check around at yard sales, and look for an old Schwinn Exerciser bike. They never wear out, and usually sell for under a $100 at yard sales. Having him ride one will allow him to maintain his muscle tone and cardio conditioning, without weight bearing exercise, like walking and running. It can also be done inside, and at any hour. It might help out to get him going, before he's back to 100%.
James:
The Southern California guys also send our well wishes for your Dad's speedy and complete recovery. But as the others have said, it could take a while. Bummer, the older we get the longer it takes us to mend.
Bob
57 AGIN
James:
Sorry to hear about your Dad's accident. I, too, will remember him in my prayers.
I wish him well in his recovery.
John
Thanks much for the prayers, guys. Now that he has his meds straightened out, they are doing their job, and he is able to rest some.
that's good news
Will be adding your dad to my daily prayer list. Time will heal ever thing up, but it is hard to wait and go through the pain, that is for sure.
My dad was the same, always busy and taking too many chances.
Went out on an icy day when he was bored, slipped and broke his hip.
That convinced me to think more, move slower and buy labor saving tools.
Hope your dad heals up soon.
Ron.
He's on our prayer list in Texas. Hope he's doing better.
Hope all is well James.God Bless.
He had a little episode with his medication, but once he got that straightened out, he is able to rest. The downside to the medication, is that he has no appetite. He said he has to make himself eat so that he can take his medicine. He is healing, just on the long, long road to recovery. Thanks for all the well-wishes, guys.
James if I remember corectly your dad didn't have much extra to give up unlike fat boys like me. Might look at something that worked for me and a good friend that had throat cancer. He couldn't/didn't want to eat but needed nutrition to heal. The thing that worked was milk shakes. Milk shakes or malts with two raw eggs beaten in when the thing was blended up.
I used those back in the day when I was young and bullet proof to slim down while lifting and running. They worked for me and for Lou.....just a thought.
Ill be going back up in a couple weeks. I will see if that will help him out some. When I talked to him today, he sounded better than he has been. I know he's just bummed out being stuck inside while my mom and sister were mowing the grass. Thats the one thing that sucks being so far away: when something bad happens, you cant be there to help as often as you need to.
Sorry that your Dad is not doing as well as he wishes. Will pray he gets better .
James, think about your dad very often, any update on how he is doing with recovery?
Yeah, the shattered heel has been repaired with screws and is healing ok, just his body isn't liking the screws. They are waiting until Oct 5, and they will probably take them out then. It will still be November sometime before he can start putting weight on it, and maybe then, he can start getting around a little. In the meantime, he is buying stuff online for his car, and stacking it away, waiting for when he can get back in the garage. He's still in good spirits, but you can tell that he is sick of laying around. When I brought my 427 by the other day before coming home, he had to get up and come outside to check it out. We both feel like I got a great deal on a hardly used engine. It is so clean, it looks like it could have just come out of a crate, except for the slight discoloration on the exhaust ports. He is ready to get his wiring buttoned up and get his cranked. He had bought an H-pipe for his right before his spill, but never got it installed. I saw it on his workbench when I was there. I am anxious for him to be able to get back in the shop. Maybe this spring, he will be back up and around again.