With a day like today, it is hard to know where to begin. It was a roller coaster ride of epic proportion.
Jake didn't have a good night. The day or two following surgery are always bad, but we thought time following this surgery would go a little better because the docs gave him very specific nerve blocks to control the pain. In spite of the blocks, he woke up during the night in excruciating pain. He said it was so bad that he started screaming. They wheeled him down to post-op and dosed him up with the pain medication they use during surgery to help him get comfortable again.
He was feeling pretty good when we arrived in the morning. He entertained some special guests around 10:30. Vermont's congressman in the House, Peter Welch, dropped by with Vermont’s two star general who, is responsible for all the troops in VT, Vermont's command Sergeant Major (the highest rank among the enlisted), a Sergeant that served with Jake in Afghanistan (home on leave), and several others. Jake seemed tickled to receive his guests.
A wonderful serendipity came when Missy met the Sergeant Major. She had an assignment in school this past year to interview an individual who had served in the Vietnam war. Missy found out that her teacher’s father had served in the war, so asked if she could interview him. She exchanged emails with her teacher’s father and was able to write an interesting paper. You’ve probably guessed by now, the Sergeant Major who visited Jake today is the very same man that Missy interviewed and made the subject of her paper. This was the first time they’d met in person. It was special and exciting for both Missy and the Sergeant Major – they hugged and chatted like old friends.
Shortly after Jake’s guests departed, his pain level began to rise rapidly. The pain was all in his left leg, the leg that underwent surgery. The medicine they'd given him in post-op during the night wore off. There's no gradual increase in pain when this medicine wears off - the pain just hits you sudden, hard, and in full force. An anesthesiologist had to be called in to give him some pretty strong medicine, once again.
Jake did fairly well for several more hours, but the pain returned with a vengeance mid-afternoon. It hit hard and fast coming in waves with peaks and valleys. He began to moan in pain and then he began to moan real loud – sort of a yell. Mom stood by Jake and held his hand. As the pain would swell in waves, he would squeeze her little hand. She claimed it didn’t hurt, ‘cause she’s “a tough ol’ bird,” but I could see her fingers and thumb turning purple; nevertheless, she stayed by his side and told him to squeeze away.
He was quickly surrounded by a team of nurses. Mom had to retreat back from the bed. His yelling was so loud that they shut his door to minimize the trauma his yelling might cause the “neighbors.” The nurses determined his pain was beyond their ability to help so hastily worked to get the docs to the room. It was very hard to watch and we felt helpless, especially mom.
As the nurses were darting about to locate the docs, Dad approached the bed and grabbed Jake’s hand. With his other hand, Dad wiped Jake’s brow with a cool damp cloth. The pain began to swell and Jake began to writhe in pain. Amidst the groans, Jake quietly looked at Dad and asked for a priesthood blessing. Dad’s hands were on his head in less than a blink of an eye and a blessing of few words given. Jake instantly became calm.
Docs and anesthesiologist arrived within seconds of the blessing. They began to poke, test, and worked quickly to assess the reason for this third major incident of terrible pain. The docs wondered if Jake was in pain because he was so calm. With 0 being no pain and 10 the worst he’d ever experienced, Jake explained that his pain was 9 or 10, but that he felt at ease and calm. During a moment in which the docs were consulting with one another, Jake motioned for Dad to draw near. Jake pulled Dad to his chest and cheek-to-cheek he whispered in Dad's ear, "The blessing worked. The pain is just as bad, but I am calm."
As the docs continued their work, they soon learned one of the nerve blocks wasn’t working as intended. A new catheter to feed pain block medicine might be required and the old catheter removed. Jake was immediately moved to the anesthesiologist’s room and a procedure performed to install a new catheter. Within the next 45 minutes, Jake went from intense pain, but calmness in his heart and mind, to no pain and back up to his room.
We ate a peaceful dinner together in his room. A doc came in to explain that Jake would need another surgery tomorrow (Friday) on his left leg. We learned that the bone in his left leg (below the knee) had been broken into nine or ten pieces. One of the pieces shifted following the operation and they wanted to fix it immediately. We also learned that this type of injury requires months of rehabilitation. This next surgery won’t be long or nearly as extensive as the one he received yesterday, but a surgery none-the-less. We believe this will be his fifth surgery and there’s at least one more to go to fix the broken ligaments in his right leg.
We finished off the day with a musician coming to the room. He brought some fun instruments and we all participated in a little concert. Jake conducted the music, Missy played a rattling type of instrument, mom played the “rain maker” instrument, and dad joined the musician on guitar. The words of the song go something like “Hold on, change is coming soon.” A performance given by our little musical troop was not only a tribute to Jake’s durability, but also a great way to transition from a day of roller coaster struggles to what we hope will be a night of peace.
May we pray that our troops and their families find calmness of mind and peace in their hearts amidst the pains and sorrows of war.
No comments:
Post a Comment