Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Home sweet home!



Yesterday Lori and I made the trek from Salt Lake back to Jackson. Everything went as smoothly as can be expected, which was nice. We did the dressing change on my feet bright and early and the nursing staff was just wonderful about packing up supplies, procuring a wheelchair to get me downstairs, and all of the million little details that come with getting discharged from the hospital. The night staff isn't typically involved in wound care which made it extra special that they were so helpful in getting that done at 6am.

The airport staff was also wicked helpful, though it turns out that neither airport uses wheelchairs that can elevate my foot. Oh well, we managed. Lori was just amazing as well -- lugging bags loaded down with books and food that have been pouring into the hospital while also pushing me through a super-crowded airport. It was good for me to get a preview of what I'll have to navigate on my own next week.

The plane ride itself was uneventful. Luckily there were plenty of empty seats so Lori and I had a whole row, both sides of the aisle, to ourselves. That allowed me to crank my foot up onto the seat next to me which minimized the discomfort. Anytime my right foot is below my heart there's some pain, and the lower it gets the higher the pain. My mantra therefore is, elevate, elevate, elevate.

So, we got into Jackson, came home, and I promptly passed out on the couch. The fatigue I was feeling from that 1 hr flight was right up there with the jet lag of flying to Europe. It worked out though, as the computer guy hadn't made it over to fix the internet over the weekend. He came over that afternoon, and by the time things were up and running I was having short periods of consciousness interspersed with uncontrollable napping.

We ran through wound care again before we went to bed, since we decided that evenings were going to work much better for us than mornings. I think that there's been a ton of progress over the past few days. The sort of dead yellow layer has peeled off in a large area and revealed a pink/purple patch of skin with lots of spots where blood is coming through. It was difficult to tell in the light whether we were looking at something healthy or not so I don't want to get too optimistic. There's also another patch that remains yellow with some brown and green splotches. Anyway, so we're going to do the dressing change in better light tonight so that we can see what we're looking at.

So I've got the day to do work and be supervised by Nurse Sophie (pictured above). She's taking her duties quite seriously and doesn't appear willing to leave my personal space anytime soon. It's awful nice to be home. I slept through the night for the first time since I went into the hospital. The furniture is also a heck of a lot comfier than my hospital bed or a wheelchair. In fact, it's so comfy that staying awake is going to continue to be a battle. Oh well, it's worth it. Being back in the Tetons has given me an amazing sense of peace and calmness that I haven't felt in over two weeks. I can't imagine that that won't help with healing.

3 comments:

  1. Fabulous news Biz. Thanks for the update. Keep up the good work. Today I learned the slogan of the trail group down in Lynchburg: "It never always gets worse." You've come a long way Bizyah. I'm so glad you get to keep your feet attached.

    -Schrades

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  2. Indeed. Really fine news Chris. And Keeley was excited to see her school bus on the computer this evening as well! First thing she did was click on it to see what happens... kids these days :)

    Happy as well to hear that you are done with the extended hospital stay and getting closer to home. You've done amazingly well. Keep it up. Lots of people pulling for you.

    Erik, Sarah, Keeley & Max

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  3. Hi Chris,
    Just checking in to read about your progress. It's great that you are back home, and taking in the energy of the mountains. It's reassuring to know that you have loving care.
    Things in the TC are going well. It's "Spirit Week" at school, and I assure you that the kids' spirits are very high!! In other words, I can hardly wait for next week:) Take good care.
    Mike Seaman

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