a truly amazing hubby...

Hubby has recovered in much less time than anyone could have predicted... not only did he get his braces off yesterday, but the doctor released him to work, with no restriction. Well, he can't run and jump yet, but that isn't something he would do at work anyway... and his facility is very smart, they don't lift patient manually and all the beds are raised, etc... So he doesn't need to be able to kneel or lift... This means he is returning to work more than a month earlier than any of his doctors thought it was humanly possible to return... All the predictions were from 3-6 months... no one thought less than 3 months was even something to hope for... except hubby... he kept saying, "once I can walk on the fractures again, I will be good in one week..." Yesterday's release is certainly true to that goal...

Again we have seen the hand of miraculous healing in his behalf... he has NO play in the tendons in his knees... his surgeon who repairs hundreds of knees every year, thought that was really something... and he commented on how hard it is to get the tension just right on multiple tendon replacements and considering how many tendons hubby had replaced the surgeon was very surprised with the amazingly tight joints that hubby is already presenting, just 8 weeks after surgery... Hubby's knees are pretty close to as tight as though the tendons were not damaged as far as his flex from side to side is concerned. This should be very tight and hubby's IS... and those tendons may even be stronger than before the accident... he isn't a really young buck any more...

Building strength back in his leg muscles and building up his normal endurance will take some time... but he is doing great at working on that and only needs the cane for support... Just getting back to normal life will facilitate the rest of his recovery for him and he will continue to exercise... He has to readjust his sleeping schedule to days again... because he works nights, but we both feel he will get some extra help with that too... he plan is to start back on his normal schedule soon... He will work on retraining his brain to sleep days over the next 2 nights and will be returning to work on Thursday night...

We are both so happy and feel like the windows of heaven have opened up on us... that is a tremendous feeling... We thank every family member, friend and/or stranger that prayed for hubby's recovery... this whole event from start to finish has truly been a miracle and we are completely humbled to have been granted so great a blessing, especially when we know that so many others suffer great losses in the midst of our joy...

I just had to share the GREAT news.. and now we are headed to the temple with some of our kids to celebrate this great blessing!!!

look ma... no braces...

Hubby sees the doctor on Monday, but has already been exercising on the elliptical for a week without the braces... this is allowed... the exercise is a controlled movement, and he takes it in stages... 20 minute cycles seem to work the best... He puts either a movie in or listens to music, podcasts, or books...

He is going to ask the doctor about returning to work earlier than expected... he has more faith in that being allowed than I do... but we'll see...

I am very glad that he is doing so well... I am proud of him for working so hard to get strong again and for being so willing to follow orders and get "really" well... it's just that now that light is at the end of the tunnel I worry a bit that he is pushing... Not that I know anything about THAT! [insert laughter here!]

the road to recovery...

is SWEET...

just ask hubby after a great workout on the elliptical machine.......

we're walking... we're walking...

Hubby finally gets to put his full weight on his right leg now. It's been 7 weeks since the accident... and he sort of pushed his doctor's orders to start walking on the leg yesterday... Rehab to build his walking strength begins in earnest with this new motivation to move... Not really surprising to those that know him is the fact that walking with a walker is too slow for him already... and he has found that he is OK with a good sturdy cane, at least around the house... It is so good to know that he feels strong and able to already use a cane... at least until next week when he sees the doctor and gets the braces removed... then we will need to review just how stable he feels with only a cane... but in any event the wheelchair is already a thing of the past for him and his rehab energy will be in full throttle today... He will have a full 3 hours of exercise once the day starts and everyday to come will build as rapidly as he is allowed. Walking, lifting, and bending those knees into submission, forcing his atrophied muscles to gain the strength they need as mobile appendages again. As a nurse he walks upwards of 20,000 steps a shift... and he wears a pedometer normally, so he has a lofty week-by-week goal program for increasing his steps.

One unexpected reality for hubby has been and still is, that he gets worn out fast when doing minor tasks, things he took for granted before... This was NOT what he was expecting... don't ask me why... he certainly has enough experience with others who have faced disabling factors... He is very patient with me when I have set backs in my energy levels... I suppose it is because he is a determined and strong person, and has never needed to be dependent before... I know I always feel that I should be able to do more than I am able to, every time I go through a bad spell... It is not natural to give up your independence and I am really happy for hubby that this is a temporary condition.

Anyway, hubby thought he could just mind over matter this challenge once he was allowed to walk... and to some extent he will... but this has been slower going than he was expecting. Little does one (who has never faced such challenges before) know what hard work it is to allow your body to heal and then regain lost strength... That whole healing process takes a lot more energy than hubby actually understood before... I mean, he knew all the theories and had read the studies that show calorie input vs. output, etc... but it is different to experience the process...

I suspect he will be an even better nurse for having had this experience...