A Challenging Start

The New Year began, filled with promise of better days. Harry was looking better, and he was enjoying working on Jackie Joyner Kersee in the studio.

On January 3, a Saturday morning, daughter Anne came out for a visit. We enjoyed coffee and pastries, and Anne was pleased to see how well her father was looking.

Harry got up to walk to the bathroom. As he crossed the kitchen, he tripped on the foot of a chair that he has walked past for 20 years without ever touching it. He fell onto the hardwood floor. To avoid hitting his head, he twisted to the side, and catastrophically broke his left hip. It was dreadful.

Anne was a big help, comforting Harry on the floor. I called 911 and an ambulance was dispatched. The dogs were locked into the bedroom, cars were moved, and I called Jane to wait near the mailboxes and direct the ambulance to the house. Harry’s pain was almost unbearable, and the three paramedics dealt with a difficult carry out of the house, with great compassion and expertise.

I followed the ambulance. Harry’s condition was so dire, that it was decided to take him to a closer hospital than our usual St. Luke’s. He was taken to Progress West, which is a BJC hospital in St. Charles County.

The Emergency Room waiting area was like something out of The Pitt. It was a Full Moon, which often portends trouble, and it looked like there were many troubles at hand.

After a while, I was allowed back to the room where Harry had been taken. A day of very bad luck, shifted to a few bits of better luck. On the way to the hospital, I had called Brett, who made some calls to his medical contacts. He sent me a list of four surgeons, and advised we use one of them.

The PA on Harry’s case turned out to be Kelley Dufour, a horse person with whom I had worked at The Tack Trunk. We both showed pinto horses years ago, until Kelley became a medical professional. A familiar face was a huge reassurance in a terrible time. Also, Dr. McLaughlin was on the list, and on call. He stopped in and confirmed that Harry’s hip was badly broken. I will not publish a picture, since some people do not like medical photos, but the head of the femur was dislocated, and the bone was snapped raggedly in two, below the joint.

The best luck of all, as everyone who knows us will understand, is Jane, who lives next door, and who immediately stepped in to look after the animals while I stayed with Harry. I decided the horses could just live outside for the winter. They have a shed, and thick winter coats.

After what seemed an eternity, Harry was moved to a room in the hospital. The pain was unspeakable. Because he was on blood thinners, there was little relief they could give him. His blood pressure was very low after three doses of fentanyl in the ambulance. Other pain meds at the hospital complicated his precarious condition.

On Saturday night, Harry was moved to ICU. To my astonishment, I was allowed to stay with him. Every bed in the hospital, including ICU, was equipped with a couch that became a bed for family wanting to stay. Thanks to Jane, I could stay for the duration.

Sunday morning, Harry was able to get a nerve block in the hip, which gave him some relief. Several doctors convened at the bedside to explain to Harry that his case was too much for this small hospital. He needed a hospital with more resources. They were putting in a transfer to MOBap, or Big Barnes. Two things stood in the way of that.

As I mentioned, it was a Full Moon weekend. Both of those bigger hospitals had no ICU beds available. Brett had warned me that his contacts told him the “health census” was very high, making a move problematic. Additionally, Harry did not want to be moved. The big hospitals are farther from home, and Harry wanted to die at home with his dog if things didn’t work out.

Then, Dr. McLaughlin, the young surgeon (who was on Brett’s list) showed up. He admitted that Harry was a complicated case, because of his heart and lung issues. But he said he could do the surgery in 15 minutes, which would mean only one hour of general anesthesia. Harry chose to cancel the request for transport, stay at Progress West, and take his chances. In addition to the compassion and confidence of Dr. McLaughlin, there was the fact that he would be able to do the surgery Monday morning, whereas Tuesday would be the earliest possibility if Harry was moved. Every 24 hours elapsing after a hip fracture before repair, increases the odds of mortality significantly.

Monday morning, Harry went to surgery. I waited anxiously in the high tech surgery waiting room, with electronic displays revealing each patient’s progress through the procedures.

Dr. McLaughlin came out and told me that all had gone well, and someone would come and get me when Harry was conscious again. The display read “Phase 1”. I asked the lady at the desk what that meant, and she told me it meant that he was in recovery.

Time proceeded very slowly. After an hour, I asked the lady at the desk if there was a “Phase 2”. No, she said, someone will come and get you.

I was filled with dread and waiting in a chair near the elevators, directly ahead of the doors to surgery. Two hours had gone by. The doors opened, and I saw Dr. McLaughlin coming toward me. I feared the worst news. Then, he saw me, and said “What are you doing here?”.

“Waiting to be called back to Harry”, I replied. Dr. McLaughlin told me the patient had been back in his room for over an hour. I was so relieved, I did not mind at all that I had been overlooked. I rushed back to ICU, where Harry was awake and alert, and had assumed I was talking to someone, and had forgotten about him!

Jane brought the dogs to the hospital, and Weedy, who is support dog trained, was allowed to visit Harry in the ICU room! That certainly contributed to Harry’s recovery. Eddy enjoyed the trip, but his enthusiasm is beyond therapeutic, so he waited outside.

On Thursday, Harry was removed from Intensive Care, and suddenly, on Friday, January 9, we were discharged from the hospital. We hired a wheelchair van to transport Harry home. Jane helped me move all the furniture to accommodate the patient’s needs. Jane had also gone to Walgreen’s for a commode and had seen a “Transport Chair”, and purchased it. It’s like a wheel chair, but lighter and has no large wheels – a VERY handy piece of equipment I would never have even known about, if not for Jane!

So, now Harry is home and recovering. Why have I not posted sooner? Well, being a full time caregiver is a lot of work, and I am exhausted most of the time. Meanwhile, Jane is doing all of the outdoor work, feeding and caring for the horses and barn cats, and doing all of our shopping.

Amongst all the misery and bad luck that started this New Year, we are astounded by the good fortune we have had at every turn. Our greatest good fortune is, obviously, Jane’s friendship and heroic work ethic. She is right next door and all the animals know and love her, so it was an easy (for us) transition to her care.

Brett was a hero in medical guidance, and being a surgeon himself, came here to check Harry’s site and dressing when Dr. McLaughlin was called out of town on a family emergency. A doctor’s house call, which included all sorts of delicious food, is legendary good luck these days!

Dr. McLaughlin being on the list and on call, was auspicious. All of the medical professionals at Progress West were kind and capable. We will always be grateful to the skilled Warren County Ambulance crew for guiding us to that closer hospital, this side of the river.

Which is not to discount our doctors at St. Luke’s, who kept in touch and monitored Harry’s situation throughout the ordeal. Medically, we are holding aces, as the saying goes.

We are here, in this beautiful place, where we can see birds, and horses and even coyotes. Every day is a blessing, despite the news of the outside world that makes us weep.

Anyway, this post is to bring readers up to speed. My aim is to return to daily blogging. In the meantime, here are some pictures…