Friday, September 13, 2013

Not So Fabulous July 5th.... Flying and Crash Landing

I woke up July 5th, 2013 with the sounds of my dear husband outside calling for help and banging on the side of our house, just outside our bedroom window.  A husband calling for help cannot turn out well.  I ran outside to find a ladder leading up the roof, but no site of husband.  "Where ARE you??!!!" I cried out, looking frantically for him up on the roof.  "Down HERE!" he hollered back at me from down beneath the back deck, on the ground.  Looking down, I immediately realized he had two broken legs - and who knew what else was broken that I couldn't see???!!!  Later he would tell me he was trying to fly, and the flying was great but the landing gear failed to work.  Baaaaddd understatement!

Thankfully, by some miracle it turns out his only injuries were the two broken legs, ankles included.  I say "only" wistfully as his legs are badly broken, one more than the other, and yet by some miracle he has no other injuries from his knees up.  The ER docs and trauma docs that followed were all amazed not to find any spinal fractures, broken neck, head injury.  Apparently My Man knows how to fall and somehow bend his knees "just right".  But both tibias took the high velocity impact and after two surgeries his prognosis is good, full recovery.  Right now he's almost half way into his third month of non weight bearing existence!  This is a man who knows nothing about slowing down and not doing, doing, doing - whether at work or at home. 

The first two months we were in the capable care of our son and daughter-in-law Chris and Lacey, and the three grandchildren there.  We don't know what we'd have done without them opening their house and arms to us.  Chris and his friend Jason immediately built a ramp into Chris' "Man Cave" to turn it into a wheelchair friendly Mom and Dad suite if we wanted to move in.  We did of course!  In addition to all their help, they live just 17 miles from the medical center that took on my husband's complicated case.  We were there to see littlest grandbaby Ashlyn take her first steps and advance to walking!  Now she literally runs everywhere! 

On the art front, I have some news and will get to that shortly.  I wanted to touch base and let you know my absence was a bit out of my control this time!!