Mom was given a different medication this morning, possibly
in preparation for her surgery. She had an allergic reaction, & broke
out in welts, 1/4 - 1/2" in size. The itch became all consuming, & Mom
told Tom she could think of nothing else. She was scratching herself to
the point of bleeding, although Tom was trying to help her
stop. After trying several things, the nurses finally found a
prescription cream that would help. But by then Mom had became quite
agitated, & the nurses had to give her something to calm down. Mom
asked if she could go to sleep early for her surgery. She went to surgery
at 9:30 MST. Surgery is expected to last 2-3 hours, and Dr Stafford will
determine exactly what all he will be working on as he goes. He may or may
not rotate her leg on the rod, but he will definitely aerate her open
wound.
Mom's surgery went well. Dr Stafford did spin
her right femur on the rod. He cleaned out her right tibia cut &
removed all dead & unhealthy tissue. This left a larger open
wound. She doesn't have enough skin to cover it. He left a
vac-sponge on the wound, and will go back in, perhaps on Monday or Tuesday to
clean again, & determine what method should be used to have skin cover the
wound. He plans to have a plastic surgeon at the next surgery, to assist
in the determination. Dr Stafford feels at this point (which could change
after next week's surgery) that it will be at least 2 weeks before the skin is
healed over the wound. He didn't believe she should be released until the
skin protects the wound.
He also readjusted the rods on her
left ankle external fixator, so she shouldn't need to complain about how tight
her 'roller skate' is anymore! Her foot had actually swelled up so that it
was touching the rods, causing her discomfort.
Her itching appears to be less severe
as the day has progressed.
Tom took on one of his most challenging roles today. He
is helping Mom with her hair cut. I haven't seen her new 'do yet, but I
expect it will be cute.
He has become familiar with texting,
& asked the score of Kaleb's game, after he received a picture Morgan took
of Kaleb shooting a basket. Burns Broncs Jr High Boys won both the
7th & 8th grade games against the Southeast Cyclones.
Tom had arrived in Tulsa
around midnight, & he & Mom sat & talked until 2 this morning.
He was telling me about the very good conversation they shared when he lost his
phone signal. He did tell me that Mom asked again who was driving.
She also wanted to know if we'd had services for Dad yet, & when he told her
we'd waited for her to be there, she was pleased.
I have yet to come to grips
with Dad being gone ... in fact, I frequently forget. Even when I talk
about it, or work through the details of affairs, the emotion that says I am
dealing with my Father's death doesn't always get attached. But through
this pain we have so far experienced at the loss of our Father, awareness
has come as to what others must feel in their own loss. I cannot
believe that since Dad's death, there has been a sudden rash of loss among the
people I know. I am just more in-tune with what loss means. Probably
the first time I realized this was the day I went back to work, in
mid-December. Walking through the office after my morning route, everyone
I saw shared in my loss. But it was when I saw Bill that I became
speechless. His sweet wife, Del, had gone to her Lord and Savior on the
21st of October. I saw Bill in a different light that day, & I wanted
to tell him again that I was sorry for his loss, but I didn't know how.
Bill, I still don't know how to say it, but I feel it. ~ Val &
Tom