He's Home!!

Wow - am I sorry ..... I did not get an update on this site very timely! I'm sure you'll understand though...Edson came home last Friday (10/10). Things are going VERY well for him. He was a little quicker getting to his house then his new bed, etc. were, but it all worked out in the end. He enjoys sitting in his comfy new chair when he can, and his independance is increasing daily. For those of you that have heard about mom's little eye issue, it is slowly improving. Her surgery went well, now she just has to be good for the recovery period. Dad is doing a stellar job of taking care of things so that Edson and mom can recover. He even delivered a nice big TV and Wii - I wonder if they have started having Wii tournaments yet?? My daughters are planning wheelchair races with their uncle, so I'm sure as soon as they discover he's been honing up his Wii skills, it will be "game on!" If you know how to contact Edson - go for it! He just got email today, he's at his own home so he can get his "snail mail", & he's probably up for texting and phone calls. Keep him in your thoughts, he's on the right road!

He's improving

Yesterday Edson was able to get out of bed and take a walk again! That felt good for him. They were able to figure a way to put his brace on over his gall bladder drain with some padding that wasn't too uncomfortable. Talk is beginning of when he can be released from the hospital - and right now the plan is for him to be able to go to his own home instead of back to St. Camillus. He's very anxious to get out of that "hospital-like" environment and into the comfort of his own surroundings. Hopefully as early as this week!

It was a rough weekend

Even though they were able to finally insert the drain very late Sat. night, it didn't offer him much relief. Turns out the stuff they were hoping to be able to remove with the drain was too thick to drain on it's own, so they had to draw it out of the tube (not a comfortable process). After the recovery from the drain insertion, and dealing with the actual draining, he still wasn't feeling much relief on Sunday. As of Monday, I think that his abdominal area is finally beginning to be less painful, but after being stuck back in bed for 5 days, he is beginning to be achy all over. They hoped to get him out of bed, but needed to deal with the complication of the gall bladder drain being in the way of where the back brace covers. (Isn't it always something?!?) I didn't hear how the rest of today went, but I do know that he is currently watching Dancing With the Stars with his sister - I think she has him a captive audience and stole the remote! Mom and dad are hanging in there....dad was able to spend most of the weekend with Edson. Mom spent the days with Edson, but took a turn leaving the hospital to sleep in a real bed for a couple of nights. Us sisters are constantly reminding mom and dad to take care of themselves too - but we know how much we'd all like to be able to tend to Edson and assist him, so it isn't easy.

Finally they know what it is!

They've determined that it is his gall bladder after all, but have not been able to give him any relief from it yet. He's "stable" on constant doses of painkillers, but the thinness of his blood is complicating matters. Because of his broken neck and back, they can't operate to remove it completely, but they are planning on inserting a drain to temporarily solve the problem until his broken bones heal. However, until they get his blood thick enough, they can't do that. This all started Thursday morning, and I'm writing this Sat. morning. They had hoped to be able to insert the drain this morning about 10am, but his blood is still too thin. They are giving him more plasma and aiming for later today. In the meantime, we really feel for him because he hasn't been able to eat or drink anything, he's been stuck in bed for two days so he's thirsty and getting very sore on top of the gall bladder pain. Please keep him in your thoughts as mom is doing a stellar job of tending to him and dad is keeping a steady vigil!

Well.....he was doing excellent

Well, at St. Camillus Edson was progressing beautifully. He was participating in PT/OT and one other rehab program. With the ability to walk 50 ft., eat a normal diet, etc. as of late yesterday (Wednesday) the plan was for him to be released to his own home on the following Tuesday. Unfortunately at 4am today, he was hit with horrendous abdominal pain. After a rushed ambulance trip back to St. Joe's, he's been in the hospital all day, and has been admitted now following several tests. They are still unsure what is wrong and causing him such unbelievable pain. After all he's been through, it's hard to have him go through yet one more bump in the road, worse than the last. The hospital staff is working hard to keep him comfortable, but with the level of pain this is causing him, that's not an easy task. So far they have ruled out a pancreatic issue and a gall bladder issue, we're hopeful they will figure it out and fix it soon, please keep him in your thoughts.

He's Headed Back to St. Camillus

Great news! He's being released from St. Joe's today! I visited with him on Sunday and witnessed him walking. It's incredible. He can haul himself up out of bed in one quick motion and then he just cruises down the hall and back again on two broken legs! They have walking cast boots that they put on both legs, and he uses a walker. His spirits are good, he's talkative, and is speaking up for what he wants/needs. He doesn't have much of an appetite though. Of all the injuries, his back still bothers him the most. We forget how much our back does for us until you watch the motions that are hard for him and understand how uncomfortable it is for his back. The blood clots in his lungs are receeding as expected, and they have the blood thinners at a level they are happy with, however they expect it will take about 6 months for the clots to completely dissolve. Today will be a long day for him as he says his goodbye's to the great staff at St. Joe's that have come to love him, and gets settled at St. Camillus for a bit. He's very anxious to be released to his own home, so we expect he will work hard on his recovery while he is at St. Camillus! For those of you emailing him....unfortunately he doesn't have any internet access while he is there at St. Camillus, so you might want to switch to "snail mail". :-)

Tuesday, Sept. 16

He's continuing to hang in there.....I enjoyed spending the day with him on this past Sunday. His spirits were much better then they had been the previous couple of days, although he continues to be in some discomfort from the blood clots. The surgery to insert the filter in his leg and pic line into his heart were both a success. Because all of his vitals remain so strong, they have decided to keep him at St. Joe's. While I was there on Sunday, I got the joy of meeting a few of his nurses and one of the main physicians that are following him. I feel comfortable saying that he is in very good hands. They all really care about him there - he isn't just another patient. They spend time with him, they've gotten to know him, what he likes, who he is, and his personality. That will help all of them immensely in his journey towards recovery. Last night the orthopedic doctor removed all the bandages and soft cast from the leg that had been operated on in South Dakota, and much to everyone's delight, they discovered that Edson DOES have mobility in his ankle. It isn't much yet - but that will take a long recovery and physical therapy. He also cleared him to begin putting some weight on that leg (what a surprise to all of us!!). For now, the plan seems to be to keep him fairly still in bed, administer heparin via the pic line, and keep doing tests to watch the blood clots until his body absorbs them, and then look to transferring him back to the rehab facility. No idea on the timeline for this, but it could be a while. They are encouraging him to breathe deep and cough despite the fact that it is uncomfortable because on top of everything else they don't want him to develop pneunomia. If you're a friend and wishing to visit him, or emailing him and not hearing anything back - please don't take it personal. He just isn't up to having visitors yet, and with the almost flat on his back that they are making him stay, he has a hard time doing much of anything except watch tv and sleep. I'm not sure what St. Joe's policy is for mail - but I'm sure he'd enjoy receiving some if you'd like to send it! Keep him in your thoughts, it's working for him so far - he's one tough guy!!