Two Left Feet - An Update on Benjamin

Tomorrow (Thursday) will be Benjamin's last full day of in-patient rehab.  On Friday, he will attend the morning session, and then he'll be released and - we'll go HOME.  He's excited.  He's made a lot of progress.  It's amazing, really - like witnessing a miracle.  A part of me doesn't want him to leave and lose the momentum he's got going.  I'm afraid he'll get home and take it easy.  It's easier to push forward when a physical therapist is challenging you versus mom & dad telling you to do something.  He will be getting outpatient rehab 3 times a week, though.

Tomorrow we're invited to his morning rehab session where they'll communicate more about his move home.  We ordered equipment he'll need for the home stay.  When Tricia got to the hospital yesterday, they were practicing getting into and out of a car.

I still don't know how they got this car up on the second floor.  Regardless, he's able to get in and out.  His mobility is getting better in his legs.  He got off of the muscle relaxer and most of the pain medication.  When he tried to get off of the Gabapentin (nerve blocker) medicine cold turkey, he experienced excruciating pain.  He didn't sleep a wink that night.  He's back on it and feeling better.  Benjamin is feeling lots of pain in his right leg/ankle/foot as they try to stretch it.  It is still swollen.  That's the leg that is not load-bearing, yet.  He'll have an appointment in 2 weeks.  Once he is load-bearing on the right leg, he'll start walking with a walker.  Things still have to heal up for now.

He's had his sights set on returning home and sleeping in his own bed and eating home-cooked meals.  I wanted to set his sights on a more ambitious goal.  As I passed his place of employment in Westlake, LA, I took a photo of it and told him and his physical therapist that his new focus needs to be on getting healed so he can get back to work.  He's ready to work toward getting back to gainful employment as fast as he can.

So two left feet.  I'm not a good dancer.  I've never been a good dancer.  I always say I have two left feet.  Tricia, on the other hand - that little lady can dance.  Tricia always wants the boys to kick off their shoes and dance around the kitchen with her.  The boys are always not too thrilled with that idea.  After much coaxing, they'll dance with their momma, but it takes a lot of arm-pulling.

Earlier this week Benjamin received a text from my brother.  Tricia asked Benjamin about it.  My brother told Benjamin to keep up the hard work - that he'd be up and dancing in no time.  After Benjamin told Tricia about the text, he got real quiet.  Tricia looked over and noticed Benjamin was real emotional.  Up to that point he'd been real stoic throughout this whole ordeal...  until now.  He told Tricia, "Mom, I'd do anything to be able to dance with you right now!"  

So in addition to getting home and into his own bed and eating home-cooked meals and getting back to his job, he's got another goal - to dance in the kitchen with his momma!  Get your dancing shoes ready, Benjamin!

The State of the Rehab Address

Tonight's post will be short, but informative.  I promised a report after our Family Meeting this morning at 9:30.  Benjamin, below, with a spoiler alert as to how the meeting went:

The three of us were led to a large conference room and were invited to sit at the head of the table.  The objective of this meeting was to communicate Benjamin's progress, set goals for continued rehabilitation and recovery, and discuss the projected release date.  I'll let the cat out of the bag on the last point.  Benjamin will be released from in-patient rehab in 10 days - September 29th.  There were reports from each group:

Physical Therapy:    Goals were as follows: By the time he leaves, he'll be able to get into and out of the bed with no help, Put back brace on/off while lying down in bed, Stand and turn on walker on load-bearing leg without hopping, get into/out of a car, Begin electrical stimulation on right foot and ankle.

Occupational Therapy:    Will take a shower today.  First time in over two weeks.  Benjamin said, "Dad, I stink!"  Goals: to continue to get independent in self care, bathroom, bathing, etc.  We talked about the numbness/pins and needles in his right (dominant) hand.  They want to give it more time, but there are therapies like an EMG nerve study (I think?) to help as well as doing a C spine MRI to locate potential areas causing this.  We communicated that he doesn't have a lot of fine motor skills in his dominant hand, so writing with a pen is hard as well as typing.  They were happy to add those skills to his training regimen for the next 10 days.

Speech Therapy:    The rigorous testing on cognition is over and Benjamin did great.  No brain injury.

Dr. Alyson Jones:    Overall, Benjamin is doing great, improving every day and motivating others in the gym.  Still watching his ankle that is oozing.  He will go home on September 29th, but so as not to lose momentum, will get out-patient or home health therapy 3 times a week along with exercises/homework.  He will have an appointment with his neurosurgeon and orthopedic surgeon in Lafayette two weeks after discharge from rehab.  Once orthopedic doctor gives the green light to bear weight on his legs (~ 6 weeks) he can resume rehab with learning to walk, gait, etc.  We asked about pain meds.  He is not needing near as much as he did previously.  He'll go home with pain medication and other prescriptions, but said he could experiment weaning down.  We asked if he would have chronic, long lasting pain/arthritis.  They said perhaps his ankle would tell him when the weather was going to change, but they foresee a good recovery and are optimistic.  Benjamin asked if he would ever be able to run again.  Dr. Jones quickly answered, "Yes."  Generally, the Return to Work date is 3 months post accident date, but she said they would assess that as time goes on.

All in all it was a very encouraging and positive meeting.  We thanked the entire staff and thanked the Lord.  As I type this, I'm overwhelmed by the last two weeks.  God has been so good to us.  You prayer warriors have been so faithful.  We love you, from the bottom of our hearts, we love you!

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Benjamin - Two Weeks Post Accident Status Report

In about an hour and twenty minutes, it'll be two weeks since we learned that our 22 year old son, Benjamin, fell from the third story of a parking garage in Lake Charles.  He suffered terrible injuries, but is recovering.  We thank God for His Goodness.  We thank you, family, friends, and readers for your prayers.  What we've seen is nothing short of a miracle, and God's not done yet.  We thank all the doctors, nurses, ER staff, ambulance drivers, surgeons, and support staff that have been wonderful!

We are currently at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital In-patient Rehab where Benjamin has a team of doctors and therapists working on him, assessing speech and cognition due to the skull fracture.  He undergoes a couple of hours of occupational therapy each morning in which he is being taught to put on a back brace and use a slide board to move from bed to wheel chair, from wheel chair to commode and back.  He also undergoes a couple of hours of physical therapy in the afternoon where they work with him to regain strength and mobility in his damaged legs, pelvis and back.  He is EXHAUSTED in the afternoon when all that is done.

Matters are complicated due to his two badly broken legs.  One of them is non-load bearing, so he cannot put ANY weight on it while it heals.  This could be anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks.  We have a family - treatment team meeting on Tuesday morning at 9:30.  I'll give another update Tuesday night as we'll know more about prognosis, goals, treatment plan moving forward.  You would not believe the improvement we've seen in the last week.  Here he is in the wheel chair.  The tape on his right arm is for nerve damage - numbness and pins and needles from elbow to fingers.  Feeling has not returned.  We're still praying about that.  

Staples in his left leg and right leg, except where the compound fracture was, come out tomorrow.  Staples in his spine come out Tuesday.  They are trying to figure out how to accomplish teaching him to shower with the restriction of no weight on the right leg and no hopping - only pivoting on the left leg.  Other than the numbness in his right arm and numbness on his left forearm, his upper body strength is really helping his recovery.  

He wanted to get out of the room for the past two days, so he pushed himself all over the hospital in his wheelchair.  His brother, Russ, was there to assist should he get tired.  Tricia wanted to avoid being in the photo.  She's hiding behind the door.

Benjamin had not been outside in 13 days, so we went out to the butterfly garden so he could get some sunshine and fresh air.

We anticipate being released to home for a number of weeks until his leg is load-bearing.  At that point, he'll be back in rehab.  This week I'll be moving a bed from upstairs into his old downstairs bedroom.  That bed is shorter.  I'll also be building a small ramp to enable him to get into the house over a four inch threshold.  We'll also remove the door from the bathroom in his room for easier access.  We will also be figuring out how to get him back to work as quickly as feasible.

Stay tuned for a "normal" post tomorrow night and then another update on our patient on Tuesday following the big meeting.  You'll never fully understand how appreciative our family is of your prayers, love, encouragement, and concern since this occurred.  Much love to you from the Sonnier's.

A Change of Scenery (Benjamin's Move to In-patient Rehab)

Yesterday we received the news that there was nothing medically keeping Benjamin from starting in-patient rehabilitation.  An ambulance transport was scheduled for Thursday at 7 am.  We decided it would be a good idea to dress for success and get a clean shave so he would look all spiffy for the trip.

Physical therapy got him situated in his wheelchair and we went for a spin around floor 10.  He pushed for most of the way and then I took the wheel for a while.  I must admit I was a little cautious.  I didn't want someone to come around a corner or out of a door and hit his legs. 

The ambulance arrived and loaded our guy for the trip from Lafayette to Lake Charles, a hop, skip and a jump down 1-10 westbound.

Benjamin really got good service and care in Lafayette.  They were all great.  He was excited about starting his rehabilitation.  We arrived at the hospital in Lake Charles and met with the director, doctor and staff.  They were welcoming and had been praying for Benjamin.  A speech therapy assessment was done along with a meeting with a counselor to ensure that he was psychologically ready.

Dr. Jones showed us the x-rays of his legs PRIOR to the surgeries.  This is the tib-fib fracture on his left leg:

And this is the tib fib fracture on the right leg.  You can tell why his right leg is classified as non-load bearing for 6-8 weeks.  He won't be able to put ANY weight on this one for that long while it heals.  OUCH is all I can say.

Amazing work was done today.  First, he met with Occupational Therapy.  He was changed out of his gown and into shorts and a t shirt for the first time since September 4th.  He moved from the bed into a wheelchair and from a wheelchair to a commode.  The plan is to work with him intensely for two weeks to get him to be able to go to the bathroom, dress, and move into a wheelchair and back to bed on his own.  Once those goals are met, he will convalesce at home until his right leg is load-bearing.  Then, we'll return for learning to walk and regaining tools he needs.

Then he met with Physical Therapy where he was assessed for areas of numbness/nerve damage all over his body.  He was taught to use a slide board to go from wheelchair to bed and back.  He will undergo cognitive testing to ensure that there is not a brain injury that has not been detected.  His days will be filled with therapy and, yes, pain.  But he will get better.

From today until Tuesday, he will get a thorough screening to evaluate all injuries, current status, prognosis for recovery, set goals and formulate a plan to best achieve those goals.  We are invited to meet Tuesday for this presentation.  We are happy to be here.  Everyone seems professional, caring, and very capable.  He worked hard, was in pain, and showed grit and determination.  We're very proud of him.  By this afternoon he was exhausted.  

Tricia has been sleeping at the hospital in Lafayette all week.  Tonight, he's on his own.  Tricia will be coming home.  We'll see him tomorrow at lunch.  Which reminds me, from now on, he was told no more eating in bed.  He has to get up, sit in a wheelchair and eat.  We told him we loved him, prayed with him and told him good night. 

In the meeting on Tuesday with the staff, we'll get an idea of how long his recovery will be, what that recovery will look like, what lingering, long-term effects of the injury will be, and when he can return to work.  We pray that he will fully recover.  We wanted to thank all of you for the emails, comments, texts, cards, and prayers that you have offered on his (and our) behalf.  We have learned a lot about how to care for others by watching your example.  You mean the world to us and we thank the Good Lord for you.  He is so good to us.