Nancy, Missy and I jumped on a plane at 6:00 a.m. this morning for D.C. We arrived at the hospital around 9:00 a.m., went through an orientation process, and then were taken to Jake.
Jake was very tired and out of it nearly all day. Not sure if his being tired is medication, jet lag, lack of sleep, or something else. It's probably a combination of things. My guess is that he won't remember most of the brief conversations we had with him today.
We did meet with an orthopedic resident and found out more information. Both legs are broken below the knee. He had a compound fracture on his right leg. I'm guessing this is what caused the open wound on his right leg. Because they had to address the wound on the right leg, they discovered that two of his four major ligaments had detached or torn. You've heard of someone tearing their ACL? Well, that's what happened to Jake's right leg. The bones in his left leg are broken too. They haven't operated on his left leg so don't know if he has ligament damage on the left. They can only see ligament damage if they open him up or do an MRI. They can't do an MRI because he has a metal contraption on his left leg holding it completely steady so as to minimize further damage. They haven't operated on the left leg because it was swollen. The swelling is going down so they might operate early to middle of next week.
The operation they performed yesterday on his right leg was to put in a metal plate. This plate will hold the bones in place without any chance of their moving during the healing process. The plates stay in place primarily because they don't want to do surgery again to remove the plates once the bone heals. They need to perform the same operation on his left leg.
They don't consider these injuries minor nor do they consider them major - they are somewhere in-between. The bone break in his right leg could happen to someone skiing and the ligament breaks could happen to a football player.
The hospital itself is very nice. It is inside an army base, so to speak, so not everyone can get in. The staff is great. The staff is much more attentive to patient needs than I've seen in other hospitals. We must of had eight people, at least, introduce themselves to us and tell us they were responsible to ensure a part or all of our stay was comfortable and productive. They certainly are tending to Jake well and are doing a good job of ensuring our visit is hassle free.
It is sobering to see the many soldiers who are in much worse shape than Jake. Many I saw today have lost limbs. We are grateful that Jake's limbs, and the rest of him, have once again been saved.
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