Hey Dave –
Well, I’ve been on a whirlwind trip to Colorado Springs and back – 17 days by my Rav 4. My son was rear ended last late October. He wasn’t feeling up to par and decided to continue some therapy with a chiropractor. After 4 months of seeing him and not feeling any better, and in fact worse, he requested an MRI. The doctor who was caring for him said OK.
Well, the MRI didn’t happen after nearly 40 days and Mike complained royally. The doctor basically said, well, 2 out of 3 problems fixed isn’t all that bad, just resume your normal activities and you’ll probably feel better. Mike did, and on May 3 called me crying in pain, saying his left leg had collapsed under him, he was on the floor, dragging himself to the front door to unlock it so he could get to the ER somehow – by EMS/ambulance or a friend. He said mom, you need to come out.
Mom and I packed our bags and off we went in my Rav 4 to Colorado. We arrived by noon on the 5th. Mike couldn’t walk at all on the left leg and was using crutches and was in a lot of pain and very disoriented. First thing I did was get his meds, put alarms in his phone for what he was to take when, how much and with or without food. 24 hours later he was a very different person already. I couldn’t believe it. I’m sure us being there was part of it, but he wasn’t taking good care of himself due to the amount of pain he was in.
I had picked up a deluxe air mattress on the way because I knew he didn’t own a bed, he sleeps in a hammock. Well, 18″ off the floor wasn’t good for mom at 86 and I had to gait belt her and get her to her feet each time she needed to get up for any reason, which was sometimes four times a night. That wasn’t working after several nights, including getting her up from his low couch, so I rented a firm recliner and a queen bed and a frame. That saved us both!
Long story short, a week later I had to take him to the ER and he ended up having emergency surgery – a discectomy, where they shave bone upper and lower and then trim the herniated disc. The procedure took 35 minutes, and the next day when I went to sit with him until released, when I got to the hospital, he was walking the hallway with a walker with the PT person. I stood there and cried. I never dreamed he would be walking by the time we had to leave.
He’s been unemployed since November, so I did a lot for him while there. Got him a different pair of crutches that works better for him and easier on his arm pits, a shower stool, an office chair since he couldn’t use his balance ball, a tall swivel chair with padded seat and back for sitting at the kitchen counter to prep foods or at the stove to cook, filled his freezer with meats and vegies, and cleaned his apartment and took care of him until he was good to be on his own. All he can’t do is laundry because of the bending. He’s got BLT regulations, no bending, lifting or twisting. His neighbor is taking his garbage out for him. He sees the surgeon Tuesday again, an attorney Wednesday for negligence with the chiropractor who told him to resume and never got the MRI, and another attorney Friday who was working his case from the person who rear ended him back in October. I’m just glad he’s walking and will get better with a lot of PT in his future, some for life.
Because of covid and many other things, we hadn’t seen him for 2 years and 4 months, so it was long overdue. He hated to see us leave, but yesterday he sent me a photo of a kitty – he got a kitty from the shelter and is feeling better mentally and emotionally. It’s very lovey dovey and he’s thrilled to own a cat again. He makes rent and groceries refurbishing Wii machines which he can still do, thank goodness.
My mom celebrated her 87th birthday out there. God bless her – she did better than I expected, but has a long haul of getting some strength back now that we are home 17 days later. If anyone would have said I was going to Colorado at the end of a pandemic, I would have said they were crazy – if they said I was driving it I’d say they were nuts, and if they said I was taking my 87 year old mother with me, I’d call them insane. It sure challenged me in many ways but we made it and Mike is on the road to recovery. Many blessings to be grateful for.
Feel free to post. I’m exhausted yet and just taking good care of myself this week until I get my senses back from it all. What a whirlwind!!!
Glad Isaiah has so much support – it’s so important.