Thursday, April 14, 2011

Yukon and His Elbow


A quick Yukon update before collapse in front of my laptop after another crazy day of appointments, phone conversations, and medication juggling.

The patient continues to do well, evidencing excellent skills in the area of eating with one hand, tapping out cryptic messages on the computer, and even starting the dishwasher. Off pain medication but still on blood-thinning injections and oral meds, Yukon must remain close to home for careful monitoring of both. Which also means he is at my (ha) elbow all day; a lovely privilege for sure.

I drive Yukon to appointments and for the brief sojourns to his office for check-ins with the Boss Man Director. Usually he needs a nap mid-day; I guess the combination of stress on his body and stress on his mind means he needs extra recovery time and napping is the best way to return him to his usual bouncy self. I wish I could say the same for me. Nap? HA.

Physical therapy by our fabulous friend S. is tough, but according to Yukon, a wonderful hour of making sure things that are supposed to bend one way, do, and things that are not, don't. Today's session was mainly desensitizing the skin around the incision, an area full of nerves that have been through major trauma.

Friends, we have found, are a wonderful gift up here in Alaska. They have fed us, taken care of Bear, sat with us at the hospital, and, God bless their shooting arms, provided twice-daily injections to my husband's belly. These people are GOOD.

The photo above was taken at physical therapy this morning. Yukon manages a lovely smile despite the forthcoming twisting, turning, and flexing. That's my guy.

2 comments:

Marge said...

With the death of my laptop, I have lost the bookmarks of many of my favorite blogs and it has taken me a bit to relocate them. I had been wondering what was up with Yukon. I hope the crisis is over and he is now on the road to complete recovery. What an ordeal you have been through! I often wonder if God sends us these trials as a slap upside the head to pay attention to what is important!

Blessings and hugs.........

Natalie said...

Wow. Well, at least it's going to be a really cool scar. What a tough little family you are. And for heaven's sake, go take a nap. You don't have to be THAT tough! :)