Overwhelmed

When it rains it pours. In addition to my mom having back surgery this last week, my wife also ended up in the hospital.

Patient A - Mom
The surgery was on Thursday morning. We were to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. In true Arlene fashion, we were there at 4:55 AM.

Her vertebrae had shifted far enough that the bones need to be fused together to prevent nerve damage. The spinal column carries nerves for the legs and feet. The shift in Mom's back caused her pain and loss of feeling, especially in the left leg and foot.

The surgery started at 7:30 AM and lasted approximately 2 1/2 hours. Dr. Max Lee, a highly regarded surgeon, performed the surgery and said that everything went perfect and was a text book example of the surgery. Mom was transferred to the recovery room, and by 2:30 PM we were playing cribbage up in her room.

Mom is going to be in the hospital until Tuesday. I will be commuting between the two patients for a week or two until she becomes independent.

Patient B – Krista
Krista woke up with an infection in her finger on Friday morning, she immediately went to the emergency room as her finger expanded to three times its normal size with evident bruising and red marks traveling up her arm. She was admitted into the hospital, and after 24 hours of intravenous antibiotics, they decided to have her go into surgery. They drained the infection and delivered antibiotics directly into the infected area. Originally, we were hoping she would be home on Monday. However, the doctor revealed today that it is the flesh eating bacteria (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrotizing_fasciitis if you are not faint of heart). Therefore, she will be in the hospital for the rest of the week, and cannot see the children. We have family and friends taking of the kids while I am up in Milwaukee.