Day 15 - July 16, 2010

Another surgery today. Last night we were told by one of the docs that Jake’s surgery would be first thing in the morning. That means he would leave the room around 6:30 a.m. for pre-op and we would not see him again until sometime mid to late afternoon. We took the opportunity to sleep-in and catch up on much needed wrest, did a little shopping in the morning and then headed over to the hospital arriving around 10:00 a.m.

Jake greeted us as we walked into the room! We were surprised, felt sad and experienced a few moments of guilt upon hearing that the surgeons had delayed the time of his surgery. Jake is up and ready for our arrival at 8:00ish because that’s when we usually arrive at the hospital, but today we didn’t show up. The OR was shut down the day before due to an air conditioning problem, so surgery was stacked up and Jake’s case wasn’t considered an emergency - he moved from first-in-line to last.

Jake described his good and long night’s rest. The local pain block inserted the day before had worked and he was once again comfortable. Shortly after our arrival, Jake was moved down the wide white hospital halls to pre-op. It is quite the enclave that moves with him in these situations with nurses guiding the bed-on-wheels and mom, missy and me close behind. Those watching our enclave maneuver into one elevator might think they are watching a Chevy Chase comedy.

He first went to pre-op where we all stayed with him as the anesthesiologists administered heavy-duty pain block medicine. Within thirty minutes or so, he was wheeled away to the OR by nice people dressed head-to-toe in green scrubs. We followed him as far as we could, but then he had to stop while he kept moving. Love was expressed as he journeyed step-by-step further away. We waved, wondered, hoped, and watched as he disappeared behind closed doors, doors beyond which we could not go. It is all too much like sending him off to war again. Through one door soldiers depart on their journey to distant lands while family wipes away tears as they depart through another door on their journey to a safe and comfortable home.
It is a long day for a parent to sit and wait with little to do, so we stewed hour after hour. I consider how much we take for granted. We move about freely. We are comfortable. We have TV, phone, and internet. We read, do crosswords puzzles, and lounge while our warriors, who are out of sight and out of most people's mind, pay the price for our freedom.

Six hours have passed since Jake was wheeled out of our sight. The waiting room phone brings welcome news that the surgery is over, everything went well, and the surgeon is on his way to give us an update. After all the surgeries he’s undergone, this is the first time we will be briefed by the surgeon himself.

Jake is fine and the surgery went well. He will probably be in a wheelchair for three months. It will probably take that long before Jake can put much weight on his left leg. One bone below the left knee has a large and long break while the other is broken into many pieces. They installed plates the other day, but they needed to install another plate to ensure all the pieces heal correctly. “His knee is a mess,” says the surgeon, “but it will, after many months of therapy, heal fine and he will walk normal.” He may not want to take up running as a hobby, but he will be able to run, when needed. His right leg is a typical injury that many docs in the U.S. might see, but the left leg is the type of injury docs do not see very often. Unfortunately, the surgeon tells us, such injuries are common for wounded warriors.

Jake awakes in post-op believing he is back in Afghanistan. He is shaken, disoriented, and anxiety struck. His wonderful nurse works quickly to convince him he is at Walter Reed and that his parents are close by. Jake shakes off his dream like state and some of his anxiety then, he asks for Dad.

I sat by his bedside talking of simple things. We talked of pizza that we hoped to eat for dinner once we returned to his regular room. An hour or two clicks by before we travel the wide white halls to his room. In his room we are welcomed by Mom, Missy, and the aroma of freshly delivered pepperoni pizza, pizza we consume freely and with much satisfaction.

Jake lays back to rest, reads a few emails, and begins to slip into the warmth of sleep.